Very early berries this year.

7-14-14 Abundant bees & berries - King Cove, Alaska, USA

"In a summer of continuous rainfall I would presume glorious growth and tons of picking...but this did not happen. The blueberries never took off, neither did the soap berries known to us as bear berries."

Salmon Berries (Rubus spectabilis) Early

An abundant harvest of various berries this year.

The blueberries are so ripe now that the best time to pick those are late morning while they are chilled down and the leaves are not so moist, otherwise they fall easily or squish in your fingers.

Is the abundance of insects unusual? Updates from around the state with picking and weather impacts.

"We usually pick salmon berries in early July."

The past couple of years there haven't been a lot to pick.

"This season we have observed many salmonberry bushes that appear to be defoliated. It seems something is eating the leaves. We have also noticed the berries look sickly."

These berries were on a south slope in a recently burned area. Seems early to me!

Silver salmon, Brant geese and berries.

7-24-13 More salmon berries - Nondalton, Alaska, USA

Observations and research across Alaska indicate shifting berry ripening times and unpredictable yields, with climate change as a key factor affecting these important subsistence and cultural resources.

A terrible year for berry harvest in the Upper Nushagak River.

Abundant berry harvest this year in southcentral Alaska

Crooked Island, 25 Miles south of Togiak. Remnants of blackberries.

Late blooming Laughing Berry (Gaultheria shallon) in Metlakatla

5-27-14 Early salmon berry blossoms - Toksook Bay, Alaska, USA

Potential problem for local trees, berry bushes and other plants.

Red and black currants are present on the property and the moose seem to be picky about what berry they like to consume.

Early salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) boom

Early blueberries in Jakolof Bay, Alaska

Early Ripe Blueberries (Vaccinium ovalifolium)

Little early for blueberry to be ripe.

Early and abundant salmonberries (Rubus chamaemorus)

Ripe blueberries (Vaccinium ovalifolium) in early June?

Robins are migratory birds, but may stay in one place if the temperature is warm and/or there is food available.

Pear shaped cranberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) are likely the result of a genetic mutation.

Early Salmonberry Blossoms in February on Kodiak Island

Raspberries (Rubus idaeus) are Ripe

Blooming Raspberry plants

More early bloomers in Southcentral Alaska.

Late Mossberry (Empetrum nigru) Bloom

Early Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum)

Year of the Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)

Early blooming salmonberry (was'x'aan tléiGu and blueberry (naanyaa kanat'aayi - Tlingit language) blossoms.

Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) Blooming in February

Blueberries are ripe early!

Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) are in full bloom on Baranof Island.

More leaf miners this year, less blue berry blossoms, but more cranberry.

Early bloom of salmonberry bushes.

Early Growth of Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis - Highbush)

Defoliation of willows, alders, and berry bushes may be related to different insect species depending on the plant.

Plants

Cloudberries observed in new area around Seldovia.

Early Salmonberries (Rubus chamaemorus)

Salmonberry blossom seem a little early this year.

Identified as a male Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius)

11-11-13 Weather effects caribou migration and season - Barrow, Alaska, USA

2-20-14 Very little snow - Bethel, Alaska, USA

During fall time, we only hand pick when the blackberries turn brown. As I was picking I saw this wild iris, like it bloomed just a few days ago. I was very awed to see this flower in October.

Delayed freeze-up on Lake Iliamna.

A great year for harvesting mossberries.

Earlier and more abundant then normal.

Heavy rains and flooding.

This morning I heard and saw a robin in Fairbanks right near the fairgrounds. I have lived in Fairbanks for more than 30 years and have never seen a robin this early!

Thawing all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trail.

Brown bear (Ursus arctos) caught in village.

Early bears (?), and snow cover still significant.

4-21-13 Early brown bear - Pedro Bay, Alaska, USA

Himalaya blackberry is an introduced, perennial, spreading shrub.

Brown bears spotted by a resident for the first time on the island of Shishmaref.

"While teleworking, I looked out the window to see a red breast light in a tree in the front yard in Anchorage, Alaska in January. It was an American robin."

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

A normal daily river level here is about 46', so we are nearly eight (8') feet above normal.

Although bears may hibernate for different lengths of time during winter, winter bear activity is an uncommon sight for Alaska Peninsula residents.

Normally, we have so many feet of snow throughout the village and the mountains would be packed with snow.

Drought, causing low waters in Goodnews River, no blackberries, and early cool weather.

Predaceous diving beetle

These ladies found a snail that they had never seen before and brought them.

We found an unusual looking spider or insect.

Squirrel parka tail plants early

Mid-January robin sighting in Chuathbaluk.

10-1-12 More brown bears - Koyukuk, Alaska, USA

Thawing and eroding is destroying river bank, impacting access, threatening infrastructure, and causing safety concerns.

Nearly all emperors winter in the Aleutian Islands, on the western and south side of the Alaska Peninsula, and on Kodiak Island. However, sightings have occurred as far south as California and even Hawaii.

The early arrival of robins in southeast Alaska.

We are losing coastline due to erosion and this is a sad sight to witness.

Drought and high temperatures have dried the creek and caused thousands of pink salmon and Dolly Varden to die before they could spawn. The event raises questions about vulnerability of area salmon streams to climate change, and for local residents food security.

Rusty tussock caterpillars can cause skin irritation for people when handled individually, and are responsible to large defoliation events when populations are high.

5-25-14 High spruce pollen McDonald Spit, Alaska, USA

Unusual mid summer storm in Golovin and local observations about changes in the salmon harvest.

Ticks spotted on a Northwestern crow may have picked up ticks while scavenging for food.

"Returning from a walk with the dog I was struck by a mass of bizarre fire orange fungus tentacles covering all the stems of some low lying juniper bushed in our driveway. This is the first time I have seen it in 21 years of living here with the same juniper bushes."

Highbush cranberries benefited from unusually warm, sunny conditions.

Residents puzzled about origins of underground fire.

Extremely high water on the Noatak

Warmer temperatures during this fall/winter seem to be changing there life cycle.

"This is the first time I've seen this kind of caterpillar in this area."

Permafrost is becoming exposed in Western Alaska, in areas where the landscape transitions to tundra.

At Cold Bay, snow was reported on five days during the month, the most for any May since 2013.

Foodscaping a Tribal College – The purpose of the project is to provide the Northwest Indian College (NWIC) and Lummi Communities with a model of food sovereignty and local access to organic, traditional foods.

A heatwave in Unalakleet, Alaska.

A severe decline in saskatoon berry production near Glenboro, Manitoba, has led to unsustainable harvesting, with potential economic and ecological impacts, likely exacerbated by recent droughts and heatwaves.

Berry farm owners Bjarni and Hrafnhildur at Vellir in Svarfaðardal report that this year’s wild blueberry harvest has started unusually early, with three shipments already arriving for sale.