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Declan Troy

@troydeclan.bsky.social
1.4K followers 118 following 1.5K posts

Alaska based biologist and photographer.

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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 3h
Dead beluga whale found at Anchorage’s Ship Creek boat launch alaskapublic.org/news/environ...
alaskapublic.org
Dead beluga whale found at Anchorage’s Ship Creek boat launch
Another adult beluga whale was reported dead in Knik Arm Monday but had not floated ashore.
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 4h
I've heard that ravens sometimes help wolves looking for moose, well I can confirm that this Bald Eagle was no help to me in my search. Just sat and watched. I guess they just want dead salmon this time of year. Anchorage #Alaska #BirdsSeenIn2026 🪶
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Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 19h
Meet Backpack, your 2026 Fat Bear Week champion. Backpack is 20 years old, weighs about 1,000 pounds and got his nickname because, as a cub, he loved riding on his mom's back across the Brooks River.
akpub.io
Meet Backpack, Fat Bear Week’s chunky champ
Backpack went from hitching a ride on his mom’s back to cross the Brooks River to winning the hearts of fat bear fans around the world.
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A feeding frenzy of kittiwakes is a dinner bell for jaegers. It took them a bit to arrive but before long 8 or so Pomarine Jaegers arrived to persuade the kitties to share some fish. Resurrection Bay #Alaska 🪶🦑
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Nature’s Edge @edge-nature.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
#BirdOfTheDay #Bokeh Steller’s Jay in the east foothills of Rocky Mountain National Park.
A blue colored Steller’s Jay in a pine forest. They have a black crest and head with white eyebrows. This is the Rocky Mountain form of the species.
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Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 28/09/2026
Incorrect information provided by a Google AI overview caused a Kodiak woman to hunt snipe illegally, according to a citation filed this week at the Kodiak district court. (Via Alaska Beacon)
akpub.io
Misleading Google AI instructions cause Kodiak woman to be cited for illegal snipe hunt
“I expect we’ll see more of this type of thing in the future,” said a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Public Safety,
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Cellular Tracking Technologies @celltracktech.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A Northern Waterthrush tagged in Cape May, NJ left after sunset on Sep 11. Two weeks later it was over Colombia! Jamaica -> Colombia included ~800 km of open Caribbean. 3,082 km so far! @birdscanada.bsky.social @originalstu.bsky.social #MotusWTS #BirdMigration #ornithology @nature.org
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Double-crested Cormorant, our largest cormorant coming in to join the feeding frenzy off Cape Resurrection #Alaska 🪶🦑
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Incoming Pelagic Cormorant, the most widespread shag of coastal #Alaska. This one retaining some of the white flank patch more typical of the breeding season. Alaska Maritime NWR #BirdsSeenIn2026 🪶🦑
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Anchorage Daily News @adn.com · 26/09/2026
Since 1999, Alaska Science Center biologists have cataloged over 3,000 reports across Alaska of so-called avian keratin disorder in black-capped chickadees, which they cite as “the highest concentration of (visible) deformities ever recorded in a wild bird population.” www.adn.com/alaska-news/...
adn.com
Scientists believe avian keratin disorder is cause of fishhook beaks in Alaska chickadee population
The virus is causing “the highest concentration of (visible) deformities ever recorded in a wild bird population.”
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Two Marbled Murrelets starting their day in the shadows of the coastal forest along Resurrection Bay #Alaska #BirdsSeenIn2026 🪶🦑
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I wanted to photograph this moose as he was shedding velvet but on the big day he played hard to get. Once it was gone I couldn't shake him, he was everywhere I went. Chugach State Park #Alaska
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Listen up little buck, you have an entire mountain and yet you want to walk right where I'm standing. OK, wherever you want to go. Chugach State Park #Alaska 🦊
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Alaska Beacon @alaskabeacon.com · 24/09/2026
Alaska Beacon reporter recognized with national science journalism award — read more about @yjrosen.bsky.social's story @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/09/23/a...
alaskabeacon.com
Alaska Beacon reporter recognized with national science journalism award | Alaska Beacon
Alaska Beacon reporter Yereth Rosen’s award-winning science story weaves together regional indigenous knowledge, scientific study findings and political influences to answer a freighted question about...
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Sometimes you get a pillow, sometimes you are the pillow. Steller sea lions getting comfortable on a rock. Alaska Maritime NWR #Alaska 🦊🦑
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Some call them cute, others sinister; Tufted Puffins are always a popular target with visiting birders. Alaska Maritime NWR #Alaska #BirdsSeenIn2026 🪶🦑
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Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 21/09/2026
The brown bears in Katmai National Park and Preserve have been bulking up this summer on what officials say are unusually large sockeye salmon runs. Starting Tuesday, you can vote online for the one you want to be crowned the chubby champion👑
akpub.io
It’s Fat Bear Week. Meet this year’s heavyset hopefuls
On Tuesday, you can vote online for the one you want to be crowned the chubby champion.
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Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 21/09/2026
The general public hasn't been able to travel far into Denali National Park since a persistent, creeping landslide made the road impassable in 2021. But this month, the opening of the new Pretty Rocks Bridge means hikers and cyclists can now easily cross the landslide area.
akpub.io
After 5 years, a bridge to reconnect the Denali Park road is finally open
A creeping landslide, driven by permafrost thaw, has limited visitor's access to the park since 2021.
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
We've got ourselves a feeding frenzy. A ball of fish within diving range of Black-legged Kittiwakes. Murres, cormorants, and puffins after the deeper fish. Cape Resurrection #Alaska 🪶🦑
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Robert Francis @birdhistory.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Riding his horse from Denver to Cheyenne in 1876, the ornithologist Elliot Coues saw more than a hundred birds killed by flying into a telegraph wire in less than an hour. He's one of the earliest writers to reckon with the toll of the built environment on wildlife.
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Horned Puffins were still numerous arpund the Chiswell Islands, Alaska Maritime NWR during my recent visit. Both in the ocean and on the cliffs. Look at those horns! 🪶🦑😈
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NPR @npr.org · 19/09/2026
Last year, remnants of a typhoon damaged homes, infrastructure and an archaeological dig site. Now, archaeologists are trying to get as many objects out as possible before the next storm. n.pr/4yH1t1P
n.pr
An Alaska storm scattered artifacts. Archaeologists are racing to save what's left
Last year, remnants of a typhoon damaged homes, infrastructure and an archaeological dig site. Now, archaeologists are trying to get as many objects out as possible before the next storm.
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Eat my dust, or whatever this Bald Eagle opts to eject. Some serious talons on this kid. Alaska Maritime NWR #Alaska 🪶
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Anchorage Daily News @adn.com · 19/09/2026
Exactly how to restore access to swaths of Denali National Park via the Pretty Rocks Bridge posed a complex engineering question: How do you rebuild a road on top of land that has begun to act more like a glacier?
adn.com
How a team of engineers restored access to the heart of Denali National Park
Earlier this month, the National Park Service celebrated the completion of a $230 million steel truss bridge spanning the active landslide.
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Christopher Witt @msbbirds.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Bear cub does everything Fred Astaire did, backwards, and in claws
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Alaska Beacon @alaskabeacon.com · 18/09/2026
Coast Guard icebreaker Healy cancels fall voyage to Arctic Ocean after mechanical problem, writes @alaska.bsky.social for @alaskabeacon.com alaskabeacon.com/2026/09/18/c...
alaskabeacon.com
Coast Guard icebreaker Healy cancels fall voyage to Arctic Ocean after mechanical problem | Alaska Beacon
This is the second severe issue for the Healy in two years, following an electrical fire in 2024 that also canceled a trip north.
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Harbor seals looking down as we pass by. I imagine they grabbed those choice sleeping spots at high tide. Chiswell Islands, Alaska Maritime NWR #Alaska 🦑🦊
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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Scientists find nine new sponge species in glimpse of Alaska’s deep-sea diversity www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Scientists find nine new sponge species in glimpse of Alaska’s deep-sea diversity
But their habitat is threatened by bottom trawling in the region and Trump’s plan to expand seafloor mining
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Marbled Murrelets never seem to be in sync with their molt. During my recent visit to Kenai Fjords NP they were in all sorts of plumages. This one is ready for winter. #Alaska 🪶🦑
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
#BirdsWithBerries is today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme; any bird captured with berries A Berry For Desert, and the main course for that matter. Bohemian Waxwings are frequently the most common winter bird in Anchorage #Alaska, at least until the mountain ash runs out. 🪶
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
For today's #BirdOfTheDay ALT theme of #Finches A Pine Grosbeak confident that there is food buried under the snow. There are already some grosbeaks in the area so perhaps they will brighten up the landscape this winter. Anchorage #Alaska 🪶
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 14/09/2026
The armadillos are in Ohio. Traditionally found in warm climates, like the American Southwest, the creatures have been migrating farther and farther north, researchers say.
nyti.ms
An Armadillo Arrives in … Ohio?
Traditionally found in warm climates, like the American Southwest, armadillos have been migrating farther and farther north, researchers say.
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 14/09/2026
Godwits make the longest non-stop migration in the bird world. That might be the least of the shorebirds’ marvels. Can they survive a changing planet? www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
newyorker.com
The Incredible Journey of a Migratory Shorebird
Godwits make the longest non-stop migration in the bird world. That might be the least of the shorebirds’ marvels. Can they survive a changing planet?
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme from Rob is #Mamas&Papas, male & female of the same species in the same photo. A pair of Northern Shovelers out to diner in the meltwater on the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge #Alaska 🪶
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
There are several striking looking gulls but don't rush to decide on your favorite if you haven't seen a juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake. Quite a few of the 2026 edition exploring the seas along Kenai Fjord NP #Alaska #BirdsSeenIn2026 🪶🦑
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Earlier this month I spent a few day puttering around Kenai Fjords NP #Alaska. Puffins everywhere, some finishing nesting duties, others just hanging out. These Horned Puffins were contemplating whey the people were on the water and they were on a cliff. 🪶🦑
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Mouthful; any bird with anything in its beak This White-winged Crossbill has a mouthful (and a footful) as it tackles a fallen spruce cone at Girdwood #Alaska 🪶
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Time and tide wait for no shorebird. Two American Golden Plovers about to get wet feet as their little island goes underwater. Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge #Alaska #BirdsSeenIn2026 🪶🦑
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Adam Markham @adammarkham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Can an entire Arctic ecosystem evolve to adapt to the climate crisis?
In the first project of its kind, scientists are trying to answer if the future of Alaska’s streams and tundra may depend not on survival of the fittest but on how species adapt together
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Alaska Public Media @alaskapublic.org · 09/09/2026
Around 6 million years ago, the Pacific plate rotated about 10 degrees clockwise. That shift changed the pressure along the plate boundary, and according to a recent study, it helped pop up the Aleutian Islands.
akpub.io
A shift in the Pacific Plate lifted the Aleutians 7 million years ago, study finds
Many of the Aleutian Islands rose at the same time, 5 to 7 million years ago. It was part of a geological event that showed up across the Pacific Rim, according to a study published in June.
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I thought alder wasn't very palatable but no one told the moose around here that as I regularly see them chowing down on it. Time for the bulls to bulk up as they will be too busy during rut. Anchorage #Alaska 🦊
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Hey Bullwinkle, you stay away from that bike. You'll have a hard time using the brakes with "hands" like those. Anchorage #Alaska 🦊🫎
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Herons&Egrets Tricolored Heron chick. Looking good at Wakodahatchee Wetlands #Florida
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Today's #BirdOfTheDay Alt theme is #SittingOnWater, any bird/duck/goose/swan sitting on water. Not many pigeons up here so I'll go with the alternate theme. Black Scoter: Back in those frenetic days when ducks & biologists were out enjoying the endless hours of summer sun. Yukon Delta NWR #Alaska 🪶
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Anchorage Daily News @adn.com · 04/09/2026
Denali National Park visitors will once again be able to travel the entire length of the park’s only road, five years after a landslide closed it near the halfway point.
adn.com
Bridge set to restore full Denali Park Road access after landslide damage, years of work
Denali National Park officials said visitors will once again be able to travel the park’s 92-mile road after the opening of a 475-foot bridge over the Pretty Rocks landslide area.
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Don Moore @capture907.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
A most successful excursion down Turnagain Arm includes seeing white sheep, white swans and white belugas while the wind isn't blowing 30+mph. I was 2/3 on my viewing yesterday. The swans were posing wonderfully for their golden hour portrait session. 10/10
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Nic Rawlence @nicrawlencenz.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Check out the preprint of our new ancient DNA paper on the evolutionary history of the large, extinct Spectacled Cormorant and whether it was part of the North Pacific kelp-associated fauna www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #InFlight, any bird in flight. Whiskered Auklet: Off Adak Island. #Alaska Maritime NWR. Most often seen in flight going the wrong way! 🪶🦑
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is: #Contrast; light birds against dark backgrounds or vice versa Living in a place with lots of snow finding light backgrounds is a piece of cake. Here's a Great Gray Owl on patrol during a winter past. Hope some show up this year. Anchorage #Alaska 🪶
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Declan Troy @troydeclan.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ItsAllWhite, birds main colour is White. The whitest of the ptarmigan. even the tail is white on the White-tailed Ptarmigan. Chugach State Park #Alaska 🪶
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