Birds of Alaska

Researchers find malaria turning up in Alaska birds

These mosquitoes, collected in Fairbanks in the summer of 2012, are among some 6,000 taken in Alaska to be tested for malaria in California.

A new study reports that a form of malaria, generally considered a tropical disease, is being contracted by birds as far north as Fairbanks. "It is predicted that malaria parasites will spread to both higher altitudes and latitudes with global...

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Archive by category ''Birds of Alaska

BIRDS OF ALASKA

Study of rare bird ongoing in Kodiak

Data collected during a summer study by the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge may help put the Kittlitz's Murrelet, a rare black-and-white Alaskan seabird, on the endangered species list.
ALASKA NEWSREADER

Lucky Peninsula birder gets help documenting rare Alaska visitor

When Toby Burke, a technician for the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, spotted what he thought was a bird never before officially documented in Alaska, he was so dumbfounded he couldn't manage to snap a picture of it. Lucky for him , his wife returned to the scene later and kept her cool. Her...
LIVING

Local bird population booms as migrating species arrive

May brings tens of thousands of birds to town -- geese, cranes, swans, sandpipers and harriers, to name just a few of the commonly spotted species. The Alaska Zoo will celebrate that influx by observing International Migratory Bird Day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
FAIRBANKS

First geese of season arrive in Fairbanks

A flock of about 25 Canada geese landed at the Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Fairbanks on Monday. They were greeted by George Yaska of Fairbanks, who serenaded the birds with a welcome song in Koyukon Athabascan.
BIRDS OF ALASKA

Snowy owl rescued in Illinois coming to Alaska

Caregivers of an injured snowy owl rescued from a central Illinois field in January say the bird has recovered and will be sent to a raptor treatment center in Sitka before being released back into the wild.
WILDLIFE NEWS

Reclusive owls get social in West Anchorage

A strange owl summit is unfolding this winter near Cook Inlet, out by the Clitheroe Center and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Rarely seen species have been spotted day after day, perching on branches and hunting over snowy fields.
ALASKA NEWSREADER

Tiny Arctic bird migrates up to 9,000 miles for winter

A tiny songbird that summers in Arctic Alaska and Canada may be the farthest-migrating bird on Earth, Canadian researchers have found. The northern wheatear 's annual migrations between the Arctic and sub-Saharan Africa can reach up to 9,000 miles and take months, reports LiveScience .
ALASKA NEWSREADER

In absence of sea ice, polar bears learn to eat duck eggs

Polar bears in Arctic Canada appear to be compensating for disappearing sea ice -- from which they hunt seals -- by swarming onto near-shore islands and raiding eider duck nests, reports CBC News.
ALASKA NEWSREADER

Trumpeter swans choose Yukon winter over flying south

It started with one mating pair about six years ago. This winter, 14 trumpeter swans, including eight juveniles, are staying through the winter near Johnsons Crossing, on the Teslin River in southern Yukon, reports CBC News .
BIRDS OF ALASKA

Even smarter than we thought? Study reveals clever ravens

A new European study reports ravens commonly use gestures -- showing and offering objects to each other such as moss, stones and twigs. Such behavior puts ravens in rare company, making the birds the only non-primate confirmed as using pointing gestures to communicate.