Sitka

Last summer’s unusually warm weather fueled an explosion in the western blackheaded budworm, leaving masses of browning trees in many areas of Southeast. The worm, which is the larval stage of the budworm moth, is known to feed on the new growth of trees, leaving them with a brownish-red appearance.

An eagle that died in the Sitka National Historical Park this month tested positive for the avian influenza. A second eagle that died in the park was also tested for the virus, and results are pending. 

The grounding ruptured one of the tug’s fuel tanks, which can hold around 13,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

Rainfall in Sitka broke records on Wednesday, and February is shaping up to exceed the month’s typical rainfall by leaps and bounds.

The lab tests samples from 17 communities in Southeast, as well as from tribes on Kodiak Island.

Orthione griffenis, or O. griffenis, eventually kills its host shrimp, and soon the remaining shrimp can’t find each other to reproduce, rendering a blue mud shrimp population extinct.

The man was buried between 5-8 minutes before two other skiers in his group located him with avalanche transceivers.

The Coast Guard reported the dead 47-foot female humpback to NOAA on Sunday evening. It had washed ashore on the south end of Kruzof Island. The whale looked healthy and its belly was full of fish — most likely herring. But they did find some evidence of blunt trauma.

"This is the earliest I have ever seen a hummingbird in this region."

The bear tore through a chain link enclosure around midnight on November 4, and killed a 125-pound mixed-breed dog belonging to Georgiana Smith — who immediately informed her Indian River-area neighbors of the incident on the Sitka Bear Report Facebook page.

“For the killer whales, I honestly don’t know if this is normal or not,” said Mandy Keogh, the Regional Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries in Alaska. Dead killer whales simply aren’t seen that often.

An alarming number of gray whales have been found dead this year from Mexico to Alaska, triggering a federal investigation into what’s causing the die-off.

Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) seen in the north during typical nesting season.

Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) sighted far north of its usual tropical habitat.

Gray Catbird found northwest of its normal range.

Why did the sea lion cross the road? Scientists don't know yet.

Typically, cholera is associated with tropical destinations. But recently, the bacteria that can cause the disease was found in subsistence herring eggs in British Columbia. As Southeast Alaska tribes get ready to gather herring eggs, it’s left some people wondering about the future.

The Alaska Board of Fisheries faces some tough decisions this week. One of those is how to conserve dwindling king salmon stocks in a way that won’t financially cripple Southeast salmon fishermen.

A landslide in Sitka early Monday afternoon stranded people on either end of the road system for about eight hours, but otherwise there no reports of damage or injuries.

Pyrosomes were first seen on the Oregon coast in 2014 and every year since. Recently they have been reported in Washington, BC and Alaska. These weird organisms that resemble large pink thimbles, could signal really big changes in the marine ecosystem.