~ Early Web Links ~

The Lundy Bird Observatory Sightings Archive is a long-running blog documenting bird and wildlife observations from Lundy Island, now preserved as a historical archive after migrating to a new site in late 2023. Years of detailed sighting reports, species updates, and passage records make it a rich resource for birdwatchers and naturalists interested in this unique Atlantic island.

Stern's Splendors of the Rain Forest is a richly illustrated site dedicated to tropical plants, focusing on orchids, bromeliads, tillandsias, cacti, and succulents native to the Americas. Featuring exotic photo galleries, cultural guides, and links to major plant societies worldwide, it serves as an enthusiast's showcase for rain forest horticulture.

Xeno-canto is a massive community-driven database of wildlife sound recordings from around the world, covering birds, frogs, mammals, bats, and more, browsable by region or taxonomy. Launched in 2005, it serves researchers, birders, and curious listeners alike with tens of thousands of freely downloadable recordings backed by an open API and active community forum.

Curated by the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division, this digital archive spans 1890 to 1961 and brings together photographs, documents, and original materials tracing the history of salmon fishing and the roots of the Pacific Northwest salmon crisis. Visitors can browse topics ranging from Native American fishing practices and salmon canneries to hatcheries and the Columbia River salmon industry.

Bugland is a Neocities site dedicated to insects and bugs, presenting a single striking image that hints at a nature-focused personal project. The minimal content suggests an early-stage site built around an enthusiasm for entomology and the tiny creatures of the natural world.

The Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria is a collaborative portal uniting 60 regional herbaria across Alaska, British Columbia, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and the Yukon, offering access to over 3.6 million plant specimen records and nearly 1.8 million images. Researchers and naturalists can search the database by label data or geographic location, download datasets for offline use, and consult a fully annotated checklist of vascular plants native to the Pacific Northwest.

Elasmo.com is a detailed reference site covering the teeth of both extinct and living elasmobranchs, the group that includes sharks and rays. Fossil enthusiasts and paleontology hobbyists will find specialized information on elasmobranch dental morphology, with a focus on Neogene-era specimens from sites like Lee Creek.

Produced by the staff of the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota, this reference site covers the distribution and ecology of native and introduced fish species found in Minnesota. Curated by Andrew M. Simons and Jay T. Hatch, it serves as both a scientific resource and a public education tool tied to the museum's fish collection.

Wild Harvests is T. Abe Lloyd's foraging blog focused on wild food experiments and plant identification in the Pacific Northwest, particularly Northwest Washington and Southern Vancouver Island. Posts cover edible plants like bulrush and beach pea, wetland ecology field courses, and hands-on accounts from decades of regional botanical study.

Created by Dr. John Hilty, Illinois Wildflowers is a comprehensive botanical reference covering prairie, woodland, wetland, savanna, and weedy wildflowers native to Illinois, complete with plant-feeding and flower-visiting insect databases. The site's depth is remarkable, extending beyond flora to include vertebrate animal interactions, botanical and ecological terminology, and detailed photo documentation built over nearly two decades.