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Recent Updates (includes older previously unpublished entries – go to the Photojournal page for only recent entries):

Mt. Edgecumbe

Returning Gulls

Overcast. Enough snow fell overnight for the ground to be white, but without any real depth. Temperatures in the 40s. Precipitation mostly held off …
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Verstovia Trail

Snow Returns

Snow showers early, with mixed rain and snow later. Light to moderate winds. Temperatures from near freezing to the upper 30s. What snow stuck …
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Hooded Mergansers

March Birds

Clear skies becoming partly cloudy later in the day. Freezing overnight with temperatures into the upper 30s during the day. Light to moderate wind, …
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Hooded Merganser

Swan Lake Birds and Lichens

Clear skies. Freezing overnight temperatures rising to 40F this afternoon. Light to moderate winds. A text message from LP letting me know the Hooded …
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Experimenting with Exposure Length at Herring Cove Cascade

Visiting Herring Cove Creek Cascade

Overcast and calm. Temperatures in the 50s, without rain today. Road work started today. I got up to the sound of a concrete saw …
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Baranof Island High Country

Boat Trip and Returning Robins

Mostly clear to partly cloudy. Light to moderate winds depending on location. Frosty overnight, with temperatures into the 40s today. I heard a robin …
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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.

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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Sitka Nature Show #335 – Adam Haberski (encore)

Download Radio Show The February 23rd show featured a conversation with Adam Haberski. Originally recorded last February when he was working to complete his …
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Herring Egg Salad

Sitka Nature Show #334 – Mary Goddard

Featuring a conversation with Mary Goddard, Sitka-based artist, entrepreneur and plant enthusiast. We talked about art, nature, and food, and how culture and relationship weaves through all of them.
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Sitka Nature Show #333 – Connor Goff

Featuring a conversation with Connor Goff. We talked about bird highlights from the past year, and the adventures he’s been getting up to. These include hiking, boating, and diving in the Sitka area.
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Explore the Archive

Today in Sitka Nature History:

Birds, Whales, and Sunset Tidepooling

March 20, 2023

Mostly cloudy, becoming mostly clear by this evening. Calm winds through much of the day. Light winds out of the north this evening. I watched the gulls from the ramp … Read more

Herring Cove to Beaver Lake

March 20, 2022

Overcast and breezy, occasional light rain mixing with snow in places. Today’s main outing was a hike up Herring Cove and around Beaver Lake loop. I had been told of … Read more

Equinox Snow

March 20, 2021

Snow bridged the astronomical transition from winter to spring. It was snowing when I went down to bed last night near midnight, and a couple of inches had accumulated by … Read more

Spring Equinox Herring Weather

March 20, 2018

Tuesdays are one of my busier days, and this spring equinox was no exception. It was interesting to watch the volatile conditions (aka Herring Weather) outside as I participated on … Read more

Sitka Nature Show #102 – Alan Pope

March 20, 2016

Download Radio Show The 20th of March show featured a conversation with Alan Pope. He was in town as part of the Sitka Sound Science center’s Scientist in Residence fellowship. … Read more

First Day of Spring

March 20, 2015

July 2010 Sunset from Hillcrest Drive The forecast today was not particularly inspiring (100% chance of rain), and I had some work to do, so I didn’t pay too much … Read more

Who knew limpet teeth were some of the strongest t…

March 20, 2015

Who knew limpet teeth were some of the strongest things around? wanderinweeta.blogspot.com/2015/03/they-c…

Cumulus Clouds and Gavan Trees

March 20, 2014

Another day of active cloud formation over the mountains. They were not really moving fast enough for me to observe directly, but I suspect there was more motion than I … Read more

First Day of Spring

March 20, 2013

Although it’s officially the first day of spring and despite much of the last couple of months having above freezing temperatures, we received some snow and temperatures down into the … Read more

Nesting Raven

March 20, 2012

I was interested to see a raven gathering small twigs from a neighbor’s spruce tree today. This evening I was struck by the texture on a quarried hunk of Sitka … Read more

Snowshoeing in Indian River Valley

March 20, 2007

Fellow natural history enthusiast Kitty LaBounty wanted to make a trip up the West Fork of Indian River to look for mosses over spring break. I thought that sounded like … Read more

20 March Photos: Snowshoeing in Indian River Valley

March 20, 2007

Photos taken while snowshoeing up Indian River Valley.

Daily Observations

March 20, 2007

Today seemed very fitting for a last day of winter in many respects. Snow had fallen overnight and there were snow showers with clear and chilly breaks between. I spent … Read more

Neighborhood Deer

March 20, 2006

This evening the neighbors knocked on our door to let us know there was a deer out in the driveway. I got my camera to try taking a picture, but … 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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