Sitka Nature Homepage

Highlights of Recent Photo Uploads


Photojournal

The summer of 1999 was the first time I returned to Sitka after my parents had moved south. I had started working on a website the previous school year, and had purchased my first digital camera that spring. I had dabbled with photography and journaling my outdoor adventures with analog tools (film and notebooks) previously. Now converted to digital, with family to keep up to date, I started my photojournal. It now has grown to over 3000 posts spanning 25 years, with more to come.

Recent Updates (includes older recently published or updated entries – go to the Photojournal page for only recent entries):

Yellow Pond-lily (Nuphar polysepala)

Fall-like June Weather

Heavy overcast with rain for much of the day. Breezy out of the southwest. I didn’t get out much today. I was out around …
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Crescent Bay Gray

Drizzly Morning Walk

Overcast with calm drizzle early, becoming breezy with rain later in the day. Temepratures in the 50s. In my continuing efforts to shift my …
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Franklin's Gulls

Gulls and Tern at Totem Park

Mostly cloudy with a fair bit of sun in the afternoon. Temperatures in the 50s. I was up early (for me) this morning as …
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Liverwort (Cephalozia bicuspidata)

Collection Work and Afternoon Walk

Heavy overcast with low clouds and rain for much of the day. A transition to more showery weather later in the afternoon brought some …
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Purple Mountain Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia)

Early Season on Bear Mountain

Mostly cloudy, then overcast with rain starting in the afternoon. Light winds becoming windy. Temperatures around 50F. With broken clouds this morning and the …
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Bear Mountain Hike

Low marine layer over town, gradually lifting through the day and breaking up a bit early in the evening before reforming again. Calm winds, …
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Radio Show/Podcast

The Sitka Nature Show airs on Raven Radio alternate Sundays 1:30-2:30pm, and recordings are available here sometime after (not infrequently after a long delay). Find the most recently uploaded shows below. I also have a full archive.
Chestnut-backed Chickadee at Nest

Sitka Nature Show #339 – Laura Kaltenstein

Download Radio Show The April 20th show featured a conversation with Laura Kaltenstein. Originally recorded and aired in April 2023, we spoke about bird …
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Gray Whale

Sitka Nature Show #338 – Andy Szabo and Lauren Eckert

Download Radio Show The April 6th show featured a conversation with Andy Szabo and Lauren Eckert of the Alaska Whale Foundation. They shared about …
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Cedar Cluster

Sitka Nature Show #337 – Zach LaPerriere

Download Radio Show The March 23rd show featured a conversation with returning guest Zach LaPerriere. He shared about the process of selecting, permitting and …
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Sitka Nature Show #336 – Alice and Chuck Johnstone (encore)

Download Radio Show The March 9th show featured a conversation with Alice and Chuck Johnstone. Originally recorded in 2012, Alice and Chuck had lived …
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Explore the Archive

Today in Sitka Nature History:

Moths and More

June 21, 2021

Another overcast day, though the rain mostly held off. Tomorrow is forecast to have even less chance of rain than today, but Wednesday, Thursday, and into Friday is looking more … Read more

Sitka Nature Show #213 – Joseph Cook (encore)

June 21, 2020

Download Radio Show The June 21st show featured a conversation with Joseph Cook originally recorded and aired in October 2013. Co-author of Recent Mammals of Alaska, Dr. Cook is a … Read more

Locating the Golden Eagle Nest

June 21, 2018

Late last week, Eric and Cathy Parker reported seeing a raptor and hearing calls that were probably a Golden Eagle. Yesterday Chuck Susie found a nest on the cliffs above … Read more

Moth Captures

June 21, 2014

Weather-wise, things seemed much nicer than forecast, at least in the morning, though I didn’t spend a lot of time out in it. I decided to take care of several … Read more

Rainbow over Cross Mountain

June 21, 2014

While up at the Kimsham ball fields, I saw an intense rainbow over Cross Mountain. I took a break from playing frisbee and grabbed my camera to take some pictures. … Read more

Red Bluff Bay, Final Day

June 21, 2010

On our last full day in Red Bluff Bay, three of us paddled over to hike up to Deep Lake. Adam went up to near the top of the hill … Read more

Daily Observations

June 21, 2007

Today we went for a walk along Westwood Trail and into the park. Weather: It’s been partly to mostly cloudy with minimal rain and temperatures that are comfortable, but not … Read more

Recent Observations

June 21, 2006

I have been trying to get things organized around the house lately, so have spent little time outside. I was able to get out on an Allen Marine tour Tuesday … Read more

Indian River Valley Hike

June 21, 2003

I had noticed a clearing in Indian River Valley from the top of Gavan Hill last time I was up there. The clearing looked much greener than the muskegs I … Read more


Selection of random posts from the past 25+ years.


SitkaBirds email List (subscribe here)
SitkaBirds List is an e-mail list for birding around Sitka. It serves as to share photos and ask questions about birds or birding in Sitka. Also to notify others of sightings that may be unusual or of interest. If you are interested, please subscribe here. There is also a Sitka Birds Facebook Group (while both are active, the Facebook group has more active participants).
Sitka Natural History Seminar Series
To be notified of upcoming talks in the series, you can (subscribe here) to receive the announcements
The Birds of Sitka, Alaska by J. Dan Webster.
A comprehensive summary of published historical records (including looks at museum specimens) for the Sitka area.
Species Checklists for Southeast Alaska (links below are currently only intermittently active, I have some work to do on that site)
Pre-2007 Photojournal
Photos and journal entries from 1998-2006 (on a different site – I eventually intend to migrate entries to this one)
Sitka Trails (on another site)
A trail guide I am working on for trails on the Sitka Road system. It was on (or just off of) many of these trails where I took many of the photos seen here. I started redoing it in early 2024, but haven’t completed the remodel.

13 thoughts on “Sitka Nature Homepage”

  1. This is an amazing effort, already well underway! As a botanist/naturalist, I naturally went straight to the plant page. Two hemlocks! You are so lucky. Thanks for the great photos and site!

  2. Thanks for the great site. Was referred to by Marge Ward and Marlys Tedin (my aunt). I’m a displaced native (not a blood native, just born there) Now living in Chicago. Your site really tugs my strings to get back there for an extended period of time. Keep it up. Your photography is really coming along! Hard to take a bad shot around that area, if you are “in it” as much as you are. Keep hiking and sending pics. I’ll be there soon!

  3. I had a friend send me some of the sound clips you have made. Wonderful! Do you have a mailing list in which you send out info from time to time? if so, please put me on it! great work! pat

  4. An eastern kingbird: St. Lazaria Island, 2 July 2010…. made forays from its foraging perch in a lone mature Sitka spruce on a slope otherwise dominated by rye grass and salmonberry.

  5. Thank you for posting all this photos, and keeping updated your quest of knowledge and beauty. I feel like walking with you on this wild path, day by day, you who wander, in this distant country. Magic of internet.

  6. Up In Pelican…Have had a Short-eared Owl around, and a small flock of
    Lapland Longspurs. Don’t see them often !

  7. Dear Naturalist,
    Do yoy know of a database containing observations of all kinds of species (but certainly mammals and birds are of utmost interest) in the Sitka area? (or perhaps all of southeast Alaska).

    I’m writing from Denmark. I once visited Sitka, it was a brief stay, but I hope to return next spring.

    Best regards Mads Kusk

  8. Thank you for identifying my many plants on iNaturalist. I had no service for 10 days so just took pictures to upload later. The plant life in Yakutat is quite different from the plant life is south Texas. I was however pleasantly surprised to find a number or plants that were native to both.

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