Cold Bay

An unusual visitor showed up in King Cove in late November. Shankell Mack was able to get a picture. The great egret is rare sighting anywhere in Alaska.

"I am concerned about high levels of PFAS contamination in the drinking water?"

About a year ago, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation tested Cold Bay’s water wells for PFAS, and the results came back well above the levels recommended for human consumption. Cold Bay closed the wells for drinking when the test results came back, and the Eastern Aleutian community has relied on state-provided bottled water ever since.

It is egg hunting season in many rural Alaska communities, and harvesters want to know if they should be concerned about eating eggs from wild birds. According to guidance from the State of Alaska and USFWS, the risk from avian flu for people is very low.

There was a dead whale out in the bay by King Cove. Then couple locals pulled the whale into town.

This bird is a juvenile Great Blue Heron. It is rare sighting of heron outside of its normal range which extends into Southeast but not Southwest Alaska.

Possibly orphaned bear cubs are active during the winter when they should be hibernating.

"I got under my kitchen table and it was very violent and loud and lasted quite a while. The tsunami sirens started right after it stopped."

One theory is the pinks were traveling somewhere else to spawn, and taking a longer than usual route to avoid warming water.

Strong southerly winds brought moisture from the central Pacific in to the King Cove area. The FAA weather station at the King Cove airport recorded 4.93" of rain from the early morning of June 25 through the early morning of June 28, and half of that total (2.49") fell in 12 hours from late evening on the 26th to late morning on the 27th, and resulted in flooding.

Sea star wasting disease (SSWD) observed near King Cove

"It’s a bit because people are feeding them, and they’re getting into the dumpster now too. But I’ve never seen them like this before."

Weather is relatively consistent around this time of year, but this season, storms have come in quickly.

A small eastern Aleutian community is now getting nearly all of its energy from renewable sources. With a second hydro facility that began producing power late this spring, the city of King Cove has dramatically reduced its dependence on diesel.

The creeks were so full - I bet the oxygen levels weren't so good for them though.

It's still snowing in early May.

Several bald eagles were observed with sores around their eyes and bills.

"I learned from a community member that they haven't seen these type of birds here within town, they usually see them on the islands that surround our cove. With the warming temps. people have noticed more and more different types of birds showing up in our community."

Dead Crested auklet observed near the southwest end of the Alaska Peninsula.

Early Growth of Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis - Highbush)