Summertime at Potter Marsh In early spring hundreds of birds congregate at Anchorage's Potter Marsh and lay eggs after a long flight from the Lower 48. It's mid-July now and many of the birds have moved on but for a few. I took these shots on June 24th, 2017 right at the parking lot about [...]
From a NOAA Press Release: June 22, 2017 Marjorie Mooney-Seus Julie Speegle Beluga whales in Cook Inlet. Credit: Chris Garner, U.S. Army JBER NOAA Fisheries released today its biennial population estimate for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale. Scientists determined that the population size is between 279 and 386 animals, with a most likely estimate [...]
Tundra Swans Take Two Distinct Paths to Alaska By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]S[/fusion_dropcap]kiing to work over a persistent spring snowpack, I looked up to see a large white bird flapping gracefully over the spruce tops. A few gentle honks confirmed it was a tundra swan. After a long winter when all the large birds were black, [...]
Life Returns to Alaska's Kasatochi Island After Volcano Eruption By Ned Rozell Nine years after it erupted, Kasatochi Island is just beginning to resemble its neighbors. Kasatochi is a speck in the middle of the Aleutian chain between Dutch Harbor and Adak, about 75 miles east of the latter. The volcanic island had no modern [...]
Are Alaska Ravens Responsible for Wolf Packs? By Ned Rozell People who study animal behavior think they may have found out why wolves hunt in packs — because ravens are such good scavengers. Scientists who watched wolves on Isle Royale in Lake Superior came up with the raven-wolf pack theory after puzzling over a question: [...]
Northern Alaska Lake Trout Living in Mystery By Ned Rozell In early March up on the frozen Arctic Coastal Plain, as the wind sculpts snow into drifts, it’s hard to tell northern lakes from surrounding tundra. But lurking deep beneath that flat white world are toothy predators as long as your arm. In pools 60 [...]
More tropical nights in Alaska’s future? By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]B[/fusion_dropcap]y the end of this century, Alaskans may be enjoying tropical evening breezes for about a week each year. That's an increase from the almost zero such nights we currently savor. But it could happen, according to a graduate student who has tightened the grids of [...]
Lack of sea ice near Savoonga, Alaska and Lower 48 weather By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]L[/fusion_dropcap]ast month, villagers in Savoonga landed a bowhead whale. Before 2017, in every January people can remember, sea ice surrounded St. Lawrence Island, locking it in for the winter. Boat-launching and whale-taking were not possible. Now, the disc of ice chunks [...]
To Alaska and then some for Yukon Lynx By Ned Rozell [fusion_dropcap]A[/fusion_dropcap] lynx that roamed more than 200 miles from Kluane Lake in the Yukon Territory to near Chitina is still being tracked across the Alaska landscape, thanks to a curious couple living off the Edgerton Highway. A lynx that a couple in Kenny [...]
NOAA Fisheries finds harbor seals in Iliamna Lake not warranted for listing under ESA November 16, 2016 NOAA Fisheries/Dave Withrow NOAA Fisheries concluded that the listing of Pacific harbor seals in Iliamna Lake, Alaska as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is not warranted. The seals do not constitute a [...]
