Arctic Smoke Signals

Living With Tundra Swans

2011-09-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

About 5 PM I loaded my dog Ruby into the 6-wheeler and drove down to the big aircraft hanger to close one of the big sliding doors, which I had left open to allow the interior to dry up some. The northeast wind had been picking up all day and now that it was doing 18-20 knots, I didn't want the door to shake loose and get broken if the wind continued to build during the night.

As I pulled up in front of the hanger, I realized that the Tundra Swan family had been feeding in the ditch that runs along the outside of the runway. They were starting to climb out onto the runway, and Ruby started barking. After quieting her, I quickly shut the hanger door, and then slowly turned the rig around so as not to frighten the birds and headed the half mile back to the house. The male was airborne when I started back but the female was still standing on the edge of the runway with the three cygnets. I figured she would either move the cygnets back into the river, which was only 50 meters from the edge of the runway, or lead them off to the pond system north of the buildings and runway.
Imagine my surprise when Ruby and I pulled up in front of the house and two big swans passed low overhead. Both adults had followed us to the house and when we stopped at the house they circled several times in formation. They were just flying above the roof of the house and a couple times they rode the air currents around the end of the house, almost playfully. It reminded me of when the ravens would ride the current off the end of the house,diving and playing with each other. The swans were riding the currents and twice the female acted like she was going to grab the male's tail, like they do when chasing other swans out of their territory, often trying to pull them out of the air. I have seen a few individuals loose tail feathers if they weren't quick enough to dodge or pull away from the attacker. Once these swans seemed sure that we were not going any further, they flew off going up river away from where the cygnets had been left.

I made a quick run back to the hanger to see where the cygnets had gone. They were making good time across the tundra away from the river and runway to the ponds about 1/2 mile away. I turned around and hurried back to the house and just as I was pulling up to the garage door one of the adult swans went by, headed back to the cygnets.
I have never had our local swans follow me before when I have encountered them while they were feeding along the runway or river. This pair has had its territory around our homestead for 4 years now so they are quite used to the activities around our place and their nest site is just over a half mile up river of the house.

I have seen non-breeding swans in June follow a grizzly bear as it wandered past where they were feeding and as the bear swam the river channel the whole group of 30 swans followed, staying about 40 meters behind the bear. When the bear reached the other side and ambled down the sand spit the swans stopped in shallow water but continued to call until the bear was about 1/2 mile away,then the whole flock swam back to their feeding spot. I have also watched Sabine’s Gulls, Arctic Terns, and geese escort golden eagles out of the nesting area. They follow the eagle staying off to the side and slightly higher and all are calling and scolding the raptor till it gets far enough away from the nesting area that they feel safe enough to return to nesting duties. But this is the first time I have had swans escort me away from their young.

Nest from the Tundra Swans that nested near our home this year.

Cygnets just out of the nest.

Cygnets are growing up, but still have a ways to go before fledging and heading south for the winter.

Swan family sleeping edge of our lake not far from the house, view out kitchen window.

Arctic Renewal

2011-07-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

We have drifted from spring into summer and a rapid renewal has been taking place. The tundra is now covered with many different flowers and the ground is getting a nice green tinge to it. With the warm days, the butterflies have been busy flitting from flower to flower getting nectar.

Most of the birds have hatched so there are many young about, either in our yard or around the edge of the lake by the house. Several broods of both Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs are now around the feeder out the kitchen window. With the 24 hour daylight, they go through lots of seed, especially when we have a cold foggy day and the parents have a hard time finding bugs to feed the hungry little ones.

On the left a young Snow Bunting ( Plectrophenax nivalis) with its short tail and a few tuffs of down on the head.

On the right is a group of white avens (Dryas integrifolia ).

With access to the nest boxes we put up on the various buildings, the Snow Buntings are the first to hatch, followed closely by the larger geese. Since the Snow Geese only need 22 days to hatch, they are the first to start hatching, followed closely by Brant and White-fronted Geese. The last part of June sees a flurry of hatching activity as the shorebirds, ptarmigan, longspurs, and some of the early duck species hatch. The hatch continues into the first part of July with eiders, scaup, Long-tailed Duck, swans, loons, and late shorebirds finishing up.

Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) brood left, and a Black Brant brood (Branta bernicla) moving through the yard.

Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) hatching out.

Even as the hatch is taking place, there are signs that this is a place of a short growing season. The geese that didn’t nest or failed early on have moved out of the area, headed off to one or more of the summer moulting areas. This frees up the limited food in the brood rearing areas for the young that need lots of good forage to be ready to migrate south in less than two months.

Willow Ptarmigan ( Lagopus lagopus) family feeding in the grass around the house.

The shorebirds are also starting to flock up and non-breeding and extra adults will be starting their migration south in the nest few days. Usually one parent stays with the chicks till they are flegged and then they are pretty much on their own. The Semipalmated Sandpiper is our most common shorebird that nests on our island and we usually have at least 10 nests near by our house. By late July the yard is full of Juvenile Semi’s of various sizes, and all the adults have already left on their southbound journey. Summer activities must progress quickly in the Arctic. Time is of the essence.

I will end this entry today with a photo of a young Caribou taken next to our house last week.

Early Spring Catch-up

2011-05-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to get back to posting, but seem to be to easily distracted with other projects. The long nights of winter have given way to spring and the time of long daylight hours.

For most of the winter the only birds seen were Common Ravens as are able to find enough to eat even in the coldest time of year. The population in our area has increased from only one pair in the early 1980’s to over 45 individuals these days. most of the increase has been from all the added buildings and pipelines in the area that now give the ravens a place to nest. The flat tundra was never home to many ravens.

We enjoyed having the muskox herd continue to winter not far from us and we could watch them from the house with the spotting scope. I also made a couple snow machine trips to film the winter herd.

Winter Muskox in the glow of a low sun January

April brought our first new birds, our local nesting population of Snow Buntings started arriving. To us spring has arrived when you can step out the house and hear the lovely song of a Snow Bunting. The other April bird I saw was a male Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) on a short snow machine trip up river from the house.

Male Snow Bunting

Rock Ptarmigan Male

April also saw the end of our Polar Lights viewing as the night were becoming to light and only extremely bright ones could be seen by the middle of the month. And of course the sun started to have some strong solar activity which we weren’t able to enjoy.

Pulsating Polar Lights over our home.

Early May brought a couple highlights for me. First I found my first local Raven’s nest on one of oilfield bridges. The nest showed that the raven was using all the products around to line its nest from traditional to modern, caribou hair, moss, and fiberglass insulation. She had four greenish blue, speckled eggs.

Common Raven Nest & Eggs.

The other event was getting to see a couple of very small muskox calves playing on a bright sunny day. Still plenty of snow and we were still having night temperatures dropping down to –20F. Little muskox are tough being born at this time when we are still having such cold temperatures and winter type blizzards.

Muskox Herd Early May- Small Calves Dashing About.

Super Moon in Mirage

2011-03-25T11:08:00.001-08:00

After a mostly overcast February, March has presented us with lots of clear skies and the sun is up for over 12 hours (pasted the 12 hour mark on the 18th) now and generates a nice amount of heat during the day. This has also lead to many days with superior mirages, both at night and during the day light hours.

Mirages and distortions are produced when the rays of a low sun or moon pass through atmospheric regions where there are strong temperature gradients. Temperature per se has no direct effect but a vertical temperature gradient is also a density gradient.

The strong inversion layers created some spectacular images of this months full moon, which also happened to be what is called a “Super Moon”, or a super “Perigee Moon”. Full moons very in size depending on where in the moons elliptical orbit around the earth it is. This months full moon coincided with the its orbit being within one hour of perigee, or the closest it comes to earth. Being this close to the actual perigee event only happens about every 18 years. When it is at perigee it is about 50,000 km closer to earth than when it is at apogee (farthest away) and is about 14% larger, and 30% brighter than the more normal full moons.

The full moon occurred on March 19 this year and this posting is to share several photos of the moon a couple days around full, both in the day time and at night.

Photo on left from March 17 at 7 PM AST.

Photo on right shows moon setting on the 18th being affected by inversion layer, also a touch of green on the upper edge.

Moon rise over the Kuparuk Oilfield at 7 PM on the 18th.

Moon setting morning of the 19th through thin layer of clouds. The bottom of the moon is starting to be affected by a inversion layer , thus the distorted effect.

This photo is one of my most dramatic in regards to the amount of distortion to a moon I have seen in all my years in the Arctic.

This strong mirage effect is explained by atmospheric expert Les Cowley. "This is a very strong mirage produced by rays bent while crossing intense vertical temperature gradients between a layer of cold air beneath warmer air. The lunar disk details are vertically stretched, suggesting that the mirage is part of a fabled Fata Morgana.

It is an extreme and complicated variant of a superior mirage and called a "Fata Morgana" after the fabled Morgana, enchantress half-sister of King Arthur. The mirages are perhaps views of her island palace. The Morgana needs a temperature inversion, warmer air above cooler, with temperature gradients in parts increasing strongly with height. Then, several rays from a relatively low lying object or even the ground are all curved towards the eye giving the impression that the object is smeared upwards. In reality the Morgana is more complicated with parts inverted and stepped. The temperature inversions making them are not simple and may also have waves that cause different mirage sections to vary in height. Although the Morgana might be seen anywhere it mostly occurs during very cold weather or in Arctic regions where heavy frigid air overlays the ground.

This video has a whole series of moon mirage pictures taken at the same time as the marshmallow shaped moon picture posted above.

Colville Lousewort's

2010-09-29T13:24:00.000-08:00

We have four species of lousewort (Pedicularis) growing around our home here in the Colville Delta. With the different species we get a blooming period from early June through late August, and even a few stragglers into September if it is a warm summer. The habitat varies from dry polygon ridges to wet sedge meadows; all lousewort are edible though some have a tap root too small to be of much interest.

The genus name, Pedicularis, means little louse. It was once thought that animals feeding on this plant would become infected with these pests. Wort comes from the old English word meaning flower, giving us lousewort.

The Wooly Lousewort (P. Kanei subsp. Kanei) is the first to appear in the spring, often starting to grow in early June when much of the ground is still covered with snow. It isn’t uncommon to find the first ones of the season blooming in a small patch of tundra surrounded by snow, a bit of pink in a world of white. To protect itself from the freezing temperatures and cold winds it has developed a covering of dense wool, and before it starts to bloom, it looks so different it could be mistaken for a different plant. This plant also has the largest tap root of the four and it is good to eat cooked or raw, a good source of starch, and the taste is similar to that of a sweet potato. It grows 15-20cm/6-8 inches tall from a thick yellow taproot with rose colored corolla.

Three views of the Woolly in different stages from early inflorescence white and woolly and as a mature flower.

The next two louseworts to bloom are the Capitate (P. capitata) and the Purple lousewort (P. sudetica). The Capitate Lousewort is yellow and prefers dryer ground and can grow in large patches covering several meters in diameter. The stem is single, growing from a thin rhizome, and the unbranched stem can have up to four flower heads, although one or two are more common. The corolla is yellowish or at times the upper lip can become rose-colored with age. Average height is around 15cm/6 inches.

The photo on the left shows the rose coloring that the older flowers can acquire, while on the right is one that is all yellow.

The Purple Lousewort (P. sudetica subsp. albolabiata) likes moist to wet tundra and grows either as a single flowering stem, or in clumps of ten or more flowering stalks from stout rootstock. These two plants tend to have a long growing season and overlap the start of the flowering of the fourth species that grows here. The petals are multicolored, having a pink corolla with a purple apex that has a white lip. This species is also referred to as the Sudeten Lousewort.

A nice Purple Lousewort cluster and a close up of the flowering head.

The Whorled Lousewort (P. verticillata) has the most delicate blossoms of the four and you can have a single flowering stalk or many growing in a tight group from a branching taproot. They like moist meadows and river banks and grow up to 7 inches or 18cm. Petals are purple with a pink base.

A nice group of Whorled Louseworts on the left with a close up of the flower on the right.

All of our louseworts have eatable tap roots, but other than the Woolly, most are too small to make it worthwhile to collect. Speaking of collecting, some species of voles collect lousewort tap roots and store them in small caches for the winter. The vole caches I have found are usually about a cup in quantity. Since these are such a good food source, the grizzly bear love to search out these vole treasures and feast on them. I watched one bear work several willow thickets in the river bed, and after a couple hours had consumed a large quantity of stored roots. I’m sure the voles weren’t too happy about this, but at least they didn’t get eaten on this day.

One last photo showing a yellow Capitate Lousewort blooming next to a Lapland Rosebay (Rhododendron lapponicum).

Fresh Snow

2010-09-22T14:46:00.000-08:00

The seasons are changing again, a light snow is falling and covering the rust and red colors of the fall tundra. The soft flakes are of a mixed size, but it isn’t coming down hard enough to completely cover the ground yet. As I look out the kitchen window in the early dusk of the coming morning , I am treated to the sight of the cow and calf muskox sleeping in our yard and partly covered in the falling snow. They are not in a hurry to get up and start feeding, as both have gotten up, walked in a circle and then laid back down. At times they were stretched out full length sleeping , while the more normal position has them resting with their head up, as to keep a watch on things in between naps.

It is hard to grasp that this gentle snow fall with its big flakes is not a common sight for us during the winter. Most of the time the snowflakes are well rounded and small by the time they reach the ground in our windy climate. I’m sure that during some stretches of winter we see the same snow several times, as the wind whips it back and forth and the drifts of winter deepen.

The lake has ice around the edges this morning and the red pendent grass (Arctophila fulva) is either weighted down with the fresh snow or frozen in the fresh ice, which doesn’t extend much past the grassy area.

The Willow Ptarmigan are glad to see a bit of snow as they are starting to stick out in the rusty colored tundra since they are almost all white now. It makes them very nervous and take flight at the first sign of a falcon or snowy owl. They like to swoop in and hide in and around the buildings where it is harder for a bird of prey to make a diving run to catch one.

Large flock of Willow Ptarmigan taking flight.

One afternoon several years ago I watched as a snowy owl and a flock of 30 willow ptarmigan played keep away. The owl had the birds cornered at the base of an old wire bird cage that was 10’ square and 8’ high that I wasn’t using anymore. The owl was perched up on top and when it moved from one side to the other the ptarmigan would quickly run to the other side staying right up against the pen. This maneuver didn’t give the owl enough room to swoop down and grab one of the ptarmigan. This went on for about 45 minutes before the snowy owl decided it would have better luck some place else.

With the days of fall getting shorter, we now can enjoy the Aurora Borealis again as well as watch the constellations swirl overhead. It looks like it will be a good winter for sky watching the as the sun has been putting out lots of solar activity that translates into good viewing conditions.

Aurora Borealis reflecting in the lake.

Sweet Smell of Summer

2010-07-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Several species of flowers are now in bloom and the tundra vegetation is greening up nicely. One of my favorite flowers is the Rock Jasmine – Androsace chamaejasme, which has a very fragrant smell. It grows in large patches in sandy areas here in the Colville River Delta and the breezes carry the lovely fragrance about the area.

Rock Jasmine

So far the spring and early summer has been on the cool side, and the warm spell of the past two days really brought out the mosquitoes. This was the worst I have seen them around on our island. Even with a stiff breeze they were everywhere and one was glad to have a good headnet or bug spray in order to enjoy being outside.

Mosquitoes attracted to a fresh set of caribou antlers that are still in the velvet.

Some of the other early flowers that we have out now are Purple Saxifrage - Saxifraga oppositifolis subsp. oppositifolia, Wooly Lousewort -Pedicularis kanei subsp. kanei , Parry’s Wallflower - Parrya nudicaulis, Arctic Sweet Coltsfoot - Petasites frigidus, White Avens - Dryas integrifolia subsp. integrifolia, Marsh Marigold - Caltha palustris subsp. arctica, Snow Buttercup - Ranunculus nivalis, Mastodon Flower – Senecio congestus, and Northern Primrose - Primula borealis.

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UPDATE: The Muskox family has continued to stay in the local area, feeding either on our island or the one just to the west of us. Even when they are at the far end of the island, we still have a good view of the cow and calf in the spotting scope. At times they have fed down to the north end and close to the house. One foggy morning they even fed around the lake and right past the house. It has been fun watching the calf, who has grown quite a bit since we first saw them in early May. The cow is shedding her soft wool-like underhair, also called qiviut, so she is now looking quite shaggy compared to her earlier pictures.

Cow muskox shedding her soft undercoat and looking quite shaggy. Also you can see lots of mosquitoes buzzing around her. With her long hair she seemed to be only bothered around her ears and face.

Cow and calf muskox feeding on sedges and short Arctic willow.

Nesting Season Underway

2010-06-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

Breakup turned out to be on the mild side this year and we enjoyed one of the few non-flooding ones we have had in the last 15 years. Once we had our initial flooding, we still had 12 days to go before reaching the final breakup and all of the ice disappeared from the river channels. The weather remained overcast and cool right up to the day before ice went out. Then with a week of clear skies, warm nights, and temperatures up to +56F, our snow pack receded rapidly and by the end of the week the only snow left was from the deep drifts around all the buildings.

As the tundra rapidly emerged from under the snow, the geese started building nests and laying eggs. The late spring seems to have depleted some of the Greater White-fronted Geese’s body reserves for egg laying, and the clutches have been much smaller than normal. Last year the average clutch was 6, and I even found clutch counts as high as 10. This spring most White-front nests are running between 2-3 eggs, which is quite a drop in production.

Above is a photo of a White-fronted Goose nest, and to the right is a gander trying to draw attention away from setting female.

The Snow Goose is the other large goose that nests in our local area, and while they arrived about two weeks behind the White-fronts, their clutch size seems to be down by about 30%.

Above shot shows a pair of Snows and the male is a blue morph. Photo to the right shows a Snow Goose nest with the white down used to cover the eggs when female is off the nest.

The Brant arrived much later than the White-fronts and their egg production is normal, with an average of 4 eggs per nest. Out of several hundred Brant nests, the highest count so far has been 5, and a very few 2 egg counts have been found. At this time it looks like it is going to be a very good year for the Brant colony.

A Brant nest showing the dark speckled down and how much more down the Brant have in their nests, compared to other geese. Nest on mound with old Caribou skull.

Other waterfowl that will be nesting near by are Greater Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Northern Pintail, the lovely King Eider and perhaps this year for the first time since 2003 we might have a Spectacled Eider nesting near our lake.

Two male King Eiders tussling over females.

With nest boxes available, the Snow Buntings were the first to start nesting and some of the eggs should be hatching shortly. Both the Savannah Sparrow and Lapland Longspur are also nesting, but I have only found Longspur nests so far this spring.

The Semipalmated Sandpipers were the first shorebirds to start nesting and it looks like it will be another good year for them, as I have already found several nests in a small area around our Lodge.

A well hidden Semipalmated Sandpiper Nest.

Some of the other shorebirds near-by the lodge that are “on territory” and will be nesting shortly, if not already started, are Pectoral, Dunlin, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope, and Black-bellied Plover. I have seen Long-billed Dowitchers, and Stilts close by also, so perhaps we will get a nest from one of them. All the Ruddy Turnstones seem to have moved off to other islands to nest, with just the odd one or two that are still coming into the feeder for a quick bite.

Today I watched a female Hoary Redpoll pulling long dog hair from one of the willow bushes by the house, so she is working to line her nest, thus should be laying in the next day or two. She is probably the only Hoary to line her nest with silky Pyrenees dog hair!

Remember, we now have 24-hour daylight…the land of the mid-night sun. This is a time of year filled with bird songs and there is never a time when birds cannot be heard, photographed, or just observed. Shortly the yard and surrounding area will be full of young Snow Buntings begging to be fed.

Willow Catkin, the first flowering plant by the house this year.

A new Season Starting

2010-05-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

Winter is finally loosening its grip, and with the warm weather in the Brooks Range, the Colville River next to our home has started the first stages of breakup. The start of breakup for us is the flooding of the shallow parts of the river where the ice has frozen down to the river bottom during the winter. This “overflow” occurs as the water pressure from up-river continues to increase and the channel ice over the deeper parts of the river lifts up.

The ice needs to lift up between two and half and three feet before it will crack and let the water flow out over the frozen-down areas.

Start of breakup-first water

Clear brackish water boiling out of a blowhole.

Some of the shore leads created at this time can be over a half mile wide. Since the Colville has very little flow in the winter, the delta fills with brackish water from the Arctic Ocean during the winter months and the first water to flow up on the ice is clear greenish-blue color. It usually take from 1-2 days to flush the brackish water out of the delta after which the water becomes a dirty brown. Then it usually takes another week for the ice to weaken enough to break up and move out into the ocean.

Dark waters are shore leads, white channel ice over the deep water.

During the last wind storm, just before the river flooded, we had a special treat when a female Muskox and her calf showed up and spent four days in our local area. During the first two days they were here, it was storming so hard it was difficult to see them in the blowing snow. When they were lying down they were quickly covered with snow and blended in even more. When the storm broke, the cow and calf continued making their way to the west and were on an island west of us when the river flooded.

Upper photo shows female Muskox with snow packed in her pelt. Bottom photo was taken two days later, still whiteout but the wind has died down and they are enjoying a warmer day.

With our cold spring and heavy snow cover, the waterfowl were happy to see the river flood, and many White-fronted Geese and Brant were seen out bathing in flood water. Even with a few days of warm weather and melting during the day, the ground is nearly 95% snow covered, with only the higher polygon ridges and grass tussocks melted out.

The number of birds around our feeders at one time has started to decline, as birds pair up and move out onto their nesting territories. Our Lapland Longspur numbers peaked at around 150 during some of the worst parts of last week’s snow storm, and now we might see 15-20 at one time, with many birds shifting in and out of the feeders.

The Brant are our most numerous species now, with over 600 within sight of the house, either feeding along the river- banks or staking out nest sites in the nesting colonies. With this many Brant here already we should have an early hatch this year.

A pair of Brant

Windy May

2010-05-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

May came in on a strong wind and it has continued on the windy side with 12 of the first 19 days having winds of 20 knots or more. Besides being windy, most days have been overcast with blowing snow, creating many whiteout days.

Today we are into "day four" of the latest wind storm, with visibility less than a mile in blowing snow and mist. The temperature over the past 24 hours has been pretty steady with a low of +26F and a high of +28F. With all the drifting snow and temperatures below freezing the tundra is still 100% snow covered and almost no grass above snow level.

Despite the storms, birds have been working their way north. The southern part of Alaska has been having very warm temperatures and it looks like this has prompted some birds to continue north sooner than they should have. The worst species to be hit hard (that we know about at this time) are some of the eiders. We started finding King and Common Eiders weak and dying as early as the12th of May, and most have been females. Perhaps these are birds that were migrating on east to northern Canada, but ran out of body reserves and perished in our area. We wouldn’t expect King Eiders that are going to nest in the Colville Delta to arrive before the last couple days of this month or first few days of June.

Roosting Willow Ptarmigan-Male just starting to get summer feathers on its neck and head.

Here on the homestead our first migratory birds (Snow Buntings) returned on the 17th of April as I reported in “They’re Back” in April’s blog. Earlier this month some of our Willow Ptarmigan showed up around the house, even roosting outside our bedroom window for a couple nights.

Short-eared Owl that passed through the yard in the early morning hours.

Today even with this wind we have had six new species arrive: a Savannah Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, Hoary Redpoll, Short-eared Owl and a Sanderling. Only the owl and Sanderling kept going, the others were happy to find food and shelter out of the storm, joining our Snow Buntings and Ruddy Turnstones at the feeders. The Savannah Sparrow and some of the female Longspurs seem quite weak and after eating from the feeders, took quick naps before going back to refuel on more seed.

Resting Savannah Sparrow

Sparrow preening after eating, getting ice off its feathers.

For most of these species, this is an early arrival date, some by over a week. Also, we would expect to have only male longspurs, in the beginning, with the females trailing 4-5 days behind them. Today we have 6 females and only one male at the feeder.

Male Longspur

Female Longspur – good view of long hind claws

As hungry as these birds have been, it makes me wonder about all the ones that didn't find our place with shelter and food and how many will perish from this late spring storm. Combine this with the many birds coming north too soon, and it is a sad picture of many lost birds.

They're Back!

2010-04-18T09:32:00.002-08:00

Here in the Arctic we like to think of the return of the Snow Buntings as the first sign of the awakening of spring. While it will still be weeks before any flowers are in bloom, the little bird’s melody drifting on the wind lifts ones spirits with this sure sign of the coming season.

Male Snow Bunting- Mid April

One Snow Bunting was seen on the 4th of April, which set a new record for seeing one in the spring here. It made one circle around the lodge then was never seen again. So it seems it was an early bird that was traveling to some other destination. Our first Snow Bunting that came into the feeder arrived on the 17th, which is the long term average arrival date. The following morning a second male was seen at the feeder, and the two males were busy chasing each other around the yard.

Take Off – Male Bunting

The most recent male has taken to chasing the other one from the feeder every chance he gets. They still haven’t completely changed into their complete breeding plumage. Both still have brown caps, brown or black ring across the chest area, and lots of brown in their back feathers. It will be a while before they have their clear white heads and glossy black backs.
Besides their chirping calls that they make most of the time, I have also heard them making their territorial call. It sounds like this to me “ATVeeee, ATVeeee”, and is usually made from a high perch next to the area they have selected for nesting. We have 20 nest boxes around the property for them to use and the males have plenty of time to make a selection as the females won’t start arriving for almost another two weeks. I watched one male yesterday making his ATVeeee call from several locations, like he was trying out different areas to see where his voice carried the best.

Stepping outside and hearing the sweet melody of the Snow Bunting makes one almost forget that the ground is still 100% snow covered and some of the drifts are nine feet thick.

Checking Out Nest box
The Snow Buntings have been the first birds around the house this winter besides the ever present Raven. One of the individuals has a wing tag from a study done several years ago by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Wing Tagged Raven.

Warm Sunny Day

2010-04-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

What a difference a day makes as we went from -25F to a balmy +26F in about twenty-four hours. The weather had been colder than normal for this time of year, so it was an extra special day to be so warm with bright sunshine. With the added reflection off the snow, it was so bright out that it made me squint even with sunglasses on. It also has been a snowy winter and we have a deeper snow cover than we would on average. Even with all the wind storms to blow snow away, most of the tundra lies buried and this has likely contributed to the fact that we have very little bird life around the house yet.
I had hoped to see a few willow ptarmigan around the local area by now, but with the deeper snow cover they seem to be late moving this far north. They are most likely still further up-river where the willows grow tall enough to reach above the snow and provide willow buds and left-over leaves on which the ptarmigan can feed. Down here by the house our willows are only inches tall and one variety, the snow willow, grows flat along the ground. For this reason, it doesn’t take much snow cover to make feeding hard for the ptarmigan.
I decided to take advantage of the nice day and take a snow machine trip, going up river a few miles to see if I could find some ptarmigan to photograph. In 38km of travel, the only bird I saw was a raven about 2km from home. After about an hour of wandering about 14km around the delta and seeing only a snowy landscape, I reached the south end of a large island that we can Ptarmigan Island. It is good habitat for ptarmigan most seasons but today there wasn’t even a track or any sign that any birds had been feeding in the area in recent times.
No birds here but I did find one lone cow caribou in one of the vegetated sand dune areas. She was lying down chewing her cud when I first spotted her, and she finally got up as I neared her location.

She let me get within 100 meters, then started moving off, with me following along for a short spell, taking pictures as I went.

Resting Cow Caribou

When I stopped following her, she went on for another 400 meters or so and went back to feeding.

Caribou Watching Me Take Its Picture.

As I turned away from the caribou, I spotted a red fox watching me on down the island a ways. I drove towards it to see if I could get close enough for pictures.

It didn’t seem too frightened and let me get with 120 meters, and when I stopped the snow machine, it turned back and worked closer to check me out.

Red Fox on a Bright Sunny Day.

There were signs that a seismic company had been doing work earlier in the winter in this area, and some of the crew probably had been leaving food out for it. Thus she worked downwind to see if there was any food smells about.

The Pair of Red Foxes, Female on Left, Male on Right.

After about 10 minutes she decided to continue on down the ridge, going in the general direction of the feeding caribou. I continued on my way in the opposite direction and as I drove over the top of large dune there was another fox out in a flat area. I headed over in its direction and stopped about 75 meters away. It was following along one of the old track vehicle trails, sniffing here and there, perhaps getting a few old food smells.

Sunglasses Needed! Both Foxes and the Caribou Kept Squinting in the Bright Light.

As it turns out, it was the male and he came within 20 meters of me, checking to see if I might have something of interest. After taking several pictures we heard the female barking and he headed off in her direction. I followed along hoping to get pictures of them together. I did get a few long shots of them together but they kept moving rapidly along the ridge and finally separated, so I let them go their way and I continued on my travels to see what else I might find.

They were the last game seen on my travels this day, although I did see a lot of pretty country and it was great to just be outdoors enjoying such a bright day.

I stopped on top of a Pingo* to survey the surrounding area, looking for game. All I saw there was a set of fresh white fox tracks, but never saw the fox.

*A pingo is a mound of earth-covered ice found in the Arctic and subarctic that can reach up to 70 metres (230 ft) in height and can only form in a permafrost environment. They are essentially formed by ground ice which develops during the winter months as temperatures fall and cause the ground to push up.

A Close-up of the Caribou’s Face Showing Her Reacting to the Bright Sunshine.

Snowmachine Trip

2010-03-06T10:36:00.000-09:00

February was on the warm side for us, and that in turn led to many overcast/whiteout or stormy days. On one of the better weather days,while on the cold side, I took advantage of the clear skies and sunshine for a trip.

It was a great feeling to be out in the sunshine after the dark days of deep winter. I traveled around 30 Km, enjoying the day, looking for caribou and foxes, which are the main large animals we have here this time of year. I saw several small groups of caribou, from a single animal to a group of 7 cows, for a total of 30 head. The sun was still low when I took a few pictures of one of the groups, and the snow drifts reflected an orange-red glow to the scene.

Group of Caribou cows feeding with pale sunlight reflecting on the snow drifts.

Caribou cow close-up.

Besides the caribou, I saw two white foxes and one very dark red fox. The white foxes were too far away for pictures but I watched them through the binoculars as they went about their day hunting for lemming nests under the snow. As an adaption to winters in permafrost country, lemmings and voles make grass nests above ground during the winter months. This in turn provides a winter food source for the foxes by having the rodents where they can catch them more readily. Also, white foxes that are not attached to a den or raising pups, move around in the summer looking for abundant food sources like water fowl nesting colonies. When they find a area of abundant food, like waterfowl nests, they cache most of the eggs for later. Most of the time it isn’t the fox that made the cache that finds the food, as that fox could be hundreds of miles away by winter time. Over the millennium this has developed into a survival technique that helps the foxes make it through the lean winter and early spring months when food is hard to locate.

When I saw the red fox, it was moving somewhat in my direction, so I drove over to a mound that was more in line with the fox's line of travel, and waited to see if it would come close enough for pictures. With the cold temperatures (-25F/-32C), I kept my camera inside my fur parka that I was wearing. That way I don’t have to worry about it being out too long and having the battery frozen up when I'm ready to take a picture. When the fox was about 200 meters from me, it realized I wasn’t just a dark spot on the mound and changed direction, moving away. I started up the snowmachine and started following it, angling along its direction of travel. It let me get close enough for a few pictures before it picked up speed and loped off.

A dark red fox checking me out.

I then headed away from the fox, and after it watched me and was satisfied that I was indeed leaving, it turned and continued in the direction it had been going. I’m sure it had a den off in that direction and will check it out later in the spring. While I was looking for more caribou to film, I found what the red fox had been eating on, a dead yearling caribou. It has been a hard winter for the caribou in this area as we have had two periods of melting and/or freezing rain. This makes it harder for the caribou to dig through even a small amount of snow, and combined with all the blizzards and some cold temperatures, many of the yearlings have perished.

From there I worked my way home as the sun was starting to set and picture taking conditions were about over.

Sunshine Returns

2010-02-02T09:33:00.000-09:00

January seems to have gotten away from me. I lost interest in updating entries as my father's, Bud Helmericks, health worsened and he finally pasted away on the 27th of the month. He was one of Arctic Alaska’s early explorers, author, and a Bush Pilot with over 27,000 hours of flight time, many of which were over uncharted territory. His best known book is the “Last of the Bush Pilots”, a history of Alaska aviation.

This picture was taken in May 1956 as he was getting ready to fly out over the Arctic Ocean, going as far as the North Pole area in his Cessna 170, the “Arctic Tern”

Over the years, Dad’s birthday on January 18 has always been special; it coincided with the return of the sun after its winter retreat. This year the the 18th was clear and cold with the temperature right at –40F/40C, and the sun was visible for just over an hour. For the first few days the sun never gets more than a half of a degree above the horizon, just rolling along as it extends its travel east to west. Here the sun is setting in the south and the cold temperatures are causing it to be effected by mirages.

On January 19th I was able to get a picture of both a moon rise and sunset in the same photo. The moon still had three days to go to reach its first quarter, so is hard to see in the photo.

The new moon is in the left edge while the sun is setting in the right hand side. A chilly day with the temperature at Minus 42F.

Even with all the bright cold days, the Aurora activity has remained low so there hasn't been very many opportunities for filming. On two of the best nights, the wind chill was around –65F so I didn’t spend too much time outside with the camera. I will end this with a few shots from those cold days.

Aurora Borealis streaks and bands over head, with just a touch of red in the upper areas.

A green band of Aurora that has a wing feather effect on one edge.

The cold weather created nice inversion layers, perfect conditions for great Superior Mirages.

On some days the effect lasted for hours and it was like watching a kaleidoscope with all the changing shapes and colors.

Christmas Halo and a Blue Moon

2010-01-01T18:01:00.000-09:00

The last week of December gave us great weather for sky viewing. We had several clear and cold nights that led to the formation of frost-ice crystals in the sky. This made conditions perfect for seeing several optical formations in association with the moon, as the tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere created halos by refracting and reflecting light.

Solar activity has remained low and so far this winter there have been very few good aurora borealis viewing days in our area. However, just before Christmas there was a burst of solar energy from the sun and we were treated to a nice display early Christmas Day. Besides the aurora we were treated to a halo and moon dogs as the moon was setting low in the western sky. I was able to get a picture of both the moon halo and aurora together. As mentioned above, the tiny ice crystals in the atmosphere create halos by refracting and reflecting light.

Aurora Borealis mixed in with a halo and moon dogs.

As the moon became full, conditions on the last two days of December were ideal for several types of optical phenomena involving the moon. One involved what is referred to as a Blue Moon, which is a second full moon in a single month. On the evening of the 30th, I also filmed a complex halo display. There was a 22 degree halo around the moon with a parhelic circle running parallel to the halo, and where they intersected, moon dogs or parselena appeared. The 22 degree halo is formed when moonlight passes through pencil-shaped ice crystals floating in freezing clouds. When parhelia and moon dogs are present you know that there is a mixture of plate-shaped ice crystals that are reflecting light to create these, and the pencil-shaped ones that form the halo. For more on ice crystals see: http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halosim.htm

Complex halo with moon dogs and parhelic circle. Bright star upper center is Mars.

Moon with Halo over our home.

Not pictured in the first photo was a fleeting but bright circumzenithal arc above the halo. It wasn’t attached to the halo and was right overhead. They are formed by the same crystal formation as the parhelia’s plate-shaped ones. Circumzenithal arcs are some of the brightest of the ice crystal phenomena due to the refraction through the ice crystals. They can rival a rainbow in color, but unlike a rainbow they are seen on the same side as the sun or moon. It resembles an upside down rainbow but the red is on the outside.

Circumzenithal Arc is the most beautiful of all the halos.

In the early hours of December 31, I took a picture of our homestead in the bright moon light and a small patch of cloud iridescence can be seen in the thin cloud next to the moon.

Moon light showing some iridescence in the clouds.

The last optical phenomena seen during this time was a diffraction coronae around the full blue moon on New Year’s eve. The moon was shinning through a thin layer of cloud and a series of concentric colored rings formed around it. You have the colorless center aureole, then a bluish and reddish ring.

Coronae around the moon sitting over Drilling Rig.

Moon with coronae framed by caribou antlers.

All in all it was a great way to end 2009. Here is best wishes to all for the coming New Year and keep looking up.

2009 Blue Moon over Colville Alaska.

Geminid Meteor Shower No – Aurora Borealis Yes

2009-12-19T15:39:00.000-09:00

I guess our location was to far West and North to see much of the Geminid meteor shower even though we did have good conditions. *See the update I took off Spaceweather.com web site for more info on the meteor shower. I also added the picture taken in Norway of a bright meteor flash from Astronomy’s photo of the day 19 December. * The skies had cleared with the incoming cold weather and I even braved the –25F temperatures for several hours hoping to see and film a bright meteor burning as it entered earths atmosphere.

Five hours of viewing for me produced a total of 20 meteors, most 20 minutes a part. While I didn’t see many meteors, there were several nice Aurora Borealis displays for me to enjoy and it made being out in the cold for the night worthwhile. I even managed to film one very weak meteor in one of my Aurora pictures.

Faint meteor streak above the right ice sculpture.

Frost covered boat with the Aurora shimmering overhead.

A big wide band of green Aurora over houses.

*GEMINID METEOR UPDATE: On Dec. 13th, Earth passed through a stream of debris from extinct comet 3200 Phaethon. The encounter produced a surge of more than 160 Geminid meteors per hour. The timing of the peak favored observers in Europe and the Middle East, many of whom said it was the finest display of Geminids they had ever seen.

Geminids are pieces of debris from a strange object called 3200 Phaethon. Long thought to be an asteroid, Phaethon is now classified as an extinct comet. It is, basically, the rocky skeleton of a comet that lost its ice after too many close encounters with the sun. Earth runs into a stream of debris from 3200 Phaethon every year in mid-December, causing meteors to fly from the constellation Gemini

Astronomy Picture of the Day-December 19, 2009

Aurora Shimmer, Meteor Flash
Credit & Copyright: Bjørnar G. Hansen,

Explanation: Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, haunted skies over the island of Kvaløya, near Tromsø Norway on December 13. This 30 second long exposure records their shimmering glow gently lighting the wintery coastal scene. A study in contrasts, it also captures the sudden flash of a fireball meteor from December's excellent Geminid meteor shower. Streaking past familiar stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, the trail points back toward the constellation Gemini, off the top of the view. Both aurora and meteors occur in Earth's upper atmosphere at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so, but aurora are caused by energetic charged particles from the magnetosphere, while meteors are trails of cosmic dust.

Winter Time Mirages

2009-12-08T16:06:00.000-09:00

Mirages

A new month has started and conditions have been excellent for producing mirages. Several storm fronts have moved through the area rather quickly and over riding temperature layers have led to some spectacular mirages.

Morning Skyline to the East, Superior and Fata Morgana mirages.

First of all, what's a mirage? They are real phenomena of atmospheric optics, caused by strong ray-bending in layers with steep thermal gradients. Because mirages are real physical phenomena, they can be photographed. In a mirage, there is at least one inverted image of some object.

Often a mirage contains multiple images, alternately erect and inverted. Mirages are classified according to the number and relative positions of these images. The classical mirages are:

# of Images Name Description

2 Inferior mirage Inverted image below erect one

2 Superior mirage Inverted image above erect one

3 3-image mirage Inverted image between erect one

3+ Fata Morgana complex alteration of distorted erect and inverted images

The surrounding lights lifted up in a complex Fata Morgana mirage in the cold morning air. The mirages are caused by a sharp temperature inversion.

We continue to have great conditions for mirages. I have posted another photo today, taken this morning of village lights 23 miles away. The lights are lifted up in five layers and you can see some of the bending of the refraction layers in the top two layers.

Above is another shot of mirages to the NE of us with objects in the Kuparuk Oilfield lifted up.

A good example of a Superior Mirage, CD North drill rig.

*A superior mirage occurs when an image of an object appears above the actual object, due to the refraction of light waves from the object down toward the eyes of the observer. Downward refraction occurs because air closer to the ground is colder, and therefore more dense, then air higher up. Superior mirages can take the form of looming, towering, and inversion, depending on the particular structure of the air column.

** The fata morgana is a complex mirage in which distant objects are distorted as well as elongated vertically. For example, a relatively flat river bank may appear to have tall cliffs and columns. The phenomenon occurs under much the same meteorological conditions as the superior mirage with inversion, and contains features of both towering and inversion.

ECLIPSE MIRAGE:

What do you get when you combine a solar eclipse with a temperature inversion? Answer--a very strange Alaskan sunset. I took this picture from the Colville River Delta of Alaska's North Slope on March 18th 2007:

The crescent shape of the sun is caused by a partial eclipse--the Moon passed off-center in front of the sun on March 18th and 19th. This was widely seen from India, China, and the northern reaches of Alaska. The rest is a mirage....

Below is taken from spaceWeather.com when they ran the eclipse photo:

"Alaska is the place for strong mirages," explains atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. "Often, layers of very cold air sit beneath warmer layers. Here the abnormal refraction has produced a distorted and strongly flattened partially eclipsed sun. The miraging temperature inversion layers can be seen crossing the sun and at each side."

"Conditions like these often produce green flashes," he adds, but so far no one has reported a flash to go with this eclipse.

Green flashes will be another topic covered in a future post.

Last Sunset of 2009

2009-11-22T20:33:00.000-09:00

Today (October 22) marked a mile stone for us, as it was the last day of the sun above the horizon in 2009. It will be another 58 days weather permitting, before we see the sun on January 19, 2010 at 12:30 PM. Officially it will remain up for a total of 1 hour and 8 minutes, but the cold air of winter can make it do strange things. I have seen the sun come up and set three times on the day before it was due back, due to mirage and inversion layers effecting the view. When it does come back it just rolls along the horizon for several days before it gets much altitude. This can make viewing difficult as it doesn’t take much of a cloud layer along the horizon to obscure the sun. Below are a couple shots taken two days ago of the sun low in the sky. I was busy with a conference call today and missed the last view of the sun.

We still get several hours of twilight, even on the shortest day of the year in December. Sometimes at night it is even brighter than during the day with a bright moon, and /or Northern Lights reflecting brightly off the snow. The months ahead make for good star viewing and Aurora watching, if one doesn’t have to bad of a wind chill to put up with. I look forward to the months ahead hoping that clear nights coincide with lots of Aurora activity.

Here are a few Aurora Borealis Pictures taken over the past week or so. Most night they were just a faint green or grayish green.

This display was just stating to pick up some reds.

Cloud streaks produced a neat display even though the Aurora weren’t very bright.

For about 20 minutes one night we had a really nice bright display. Looking off to the west, instrument shelter in the foreground.

New Bird Sighted At Homestead

2009-11-04T08:58:00.000-09:00

With late fall drifting into early winter I thought I would cover some of the rarer birds seen this year. It is a sad time when the last snow buntings leave for the winter and the feeder sits empty. It always takes a few days to get over the expectation of seeing them squabbling and chasing each other around the willows and feeder. About all we are going to see the rest of the winter is ravens, ptarmigan, and perhaps a wintering snow owl.

Our fall storms during migration time occasionally drops a rare bird in our lap. Most of the time it is a bird that breeds not too far away and has just strayed a bit. Then we get really lucky and a bird from distant shores arrives. Last year for the second season in a row we had a finch show up at the feeder with the Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis). In 2007 it was a female Cassin’s Finch (Carpodacus cassinii) and then 2008 we had a lovely male Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureus ) at the feeder for several days from late September to early October. September also brought a juvenile Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus ), both were new birds for the Colville.

Purple Finch Common Cuckoo - Juvenile

This year we managed two fall migrants, one a Wilson’s Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla), a neat bird to see as we get very few warblers this far north.

Wilson’s have been recorded several times here both in the spring and fall.

The second bird was seen feeding around the house in mid-October, looking cold and hungry. It was busy feeding on grass seed heads sticking out of the snow, and even though the light was poor, I was able to get a good picture of it. At first I thought it was a juvenile Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii), the only other Lincolns I had seen was a adult in the spring several years ago. After review from other birders that had more experience with the subject, it turned out to be a juvenile Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina).

Chipping Sparrow - Juvenile

For some reason we also had a few Hoary Redpolls (Carduelis hornemanni) show up in October after our local breeders had been gone for several weeks. In mid month, two showed up and the one juvenile was still being fed by the other bird. It was doing its wing flutter and begging till it was fed.

With the days becoming shorter quickly, it won’t be long until the sun is gone and it will be the season for watching the heavens, counting stars and watching the Aurora dance over head.

Fishing – Part 2

2009-11-01T16:24:00.000-09:00

Winter fishing is over and I thought I would go into more detail about the fish we caught this season. It turned into a two part season due to unseasonably warm spell right after I started fishing. The warm weather wouldn’t allow the fish to freeze, and we had some coastal flooding from a strong storm system several hundred miles west pushing up through the Bering straights into the Beaufort Sea.

Last Day Picking At The Net

The day I pulled my net I had to wade through 14” (35.5 cm) of sea water in the shallow river areas to get out to my net. After six days of thawing temperatures and even a few rain showers, a strong wind storm moved in and gave us 4 days of snow and blowing snow. For two of those days, we had blizzard conditions with visibilities down to an 1/8 of a mile (.2 km) at times.

As soon as the storm had pasted, I reset my net and was able to finish getting the amount of fish needed for the winter in just five days.

A Nice Fat Arctic Cisco

It would have been nice to have caught a few more Arctic Cisco than we did, as they are the preferred fish for the table, a nice fat fish with firm white flesh. Unfortunately their population numbers are in a down cycle this year and not many are in our area.

This photo shows all species of fish taken during the fishing season, listed top to bottom.

Fourhorn Sculpin

Hump-backed Whitefish

Least Cisco

Arctic Cisco

Broad Whitefish

Boreal Smelt

Species Descriptions:

Whitefishes family Coregonidae are related to salmonids (trout,char and salmon)

Broad Whitefish Coregonus nasus
Only a small number of immature fish are caught in the winter fishery and weigh between .75 - 2.5 pounds, (0.3-1.1kg) but a large mature individual can reach 18 pounds (8.2kg). However, 4-8 pounds is more norm. The broad whitefish can be distinguished from the humpback, even when small, by its short, blunt snout.

Hump-back Whitefish Coregonus pidschian
Our catch runs from 1-3 pounds (0.5-1.4kg) and includes immature and mature fish. This year hump-back whitefish made up about 30% of the catch.

In both of the above species the mouth is inferior, an adaptation for bottom feeding. Their diet consists mainly of small clams, snails, aquatic insects, larvae, and freshwater shrimp. In both species, the head is small and the body deep or wide from stomach to backbone.

Least Cisco Coregonus sardinella
Least Cisco are a slender herring-like fish with a superior mouth, which means a weak lower jaw projecting beyond the upper. They are anadromous, spending the summer open water season in the coastal waters (brackish lagoons)of the Arctic Ocean, feeding primarily on amphipods.
Our catch averages .75lb and around 12" (31 cm), but a large individual can reach 16.5" ( 42cm) and 2.5 pounds. (0.3-1.1kg) Least Cisco made up 69% of our catch.

Arctic Cisco Coregonus autumalis
These are also anadromous, spending part of the year in brackish waters of the Arctic Ocean feeding on invertebrates and to a lesser extent on other small fish. They are distinguishable from the least cisco by smaller eyes and scales, more silver color, white pectoral and pelvic fins, and terminal mouths (at the tip of the body).
The majority of our catch is made up of immature fish age 5-8, with a few older fish to age 11. Once Arctic Cisco in our area reach maturity, they migrate back to the Mackenzie River drainage to spawn and after that they stay in that general area. Our catch runs from 3/4 pound to 3 pounds (.03-1.4kg) and average around 13" ( 33cm) with a large specimen reaching 18" (46cm). This year our catch was about 1% of the total, but in a good year Arctic’s will run 50-75% of the catch.

The following two species are caught in low numbers and incidental to the fishing operation.

Boreal Smelt "Osmerus eperlanus"
Size up to 16" (40 cm) are anadromous in our area coming into fresh water in the spring to spawn.
They have a very sweet tasting meat and are called sugar fish by some of the local inhabitants.

Fourhorn (Deepwater) Sculpin Myoxocephalus quadricornis
These are incidental catch when they are around the net feeding on spent eggs from ripe fish heading up river or larger individuals feeding on smaller fish caught in the net. They are mainly a food source for other fish and birds during the open water season.

Snow Buntings Gone For The Winter!

2009-10-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

Even with the warmer than normal October weather, the last of our local snow buntings departed on time. The last snow buntings have been departing around 10-13th of October for several years now, and the last five were seen on the afternoon of the 9th this year.

Snow Bunting in bright fall plumage.

My last banded Snow Bunting just before leaving for the winter.

That left the two Dark-eyed Junco’s (Slate-colored sub-species) coming into the feeder. They showed up in early October hungry and spent lots of time at the feeder bulking up to continue their migration south. The juncos departed two days after the snow buntings, having built up their reserves to feel ready to continue on.

Dark-eyed Junco (sub-species Slate-colored Junco)

It was fun watching the juvenile snow buntings learn to land in the first snow that fell in late September. At first they weren’t sure about landing in the white stuff. They would hover and slowly letting their feet sink into the snow, acting like they thought they were going to get stuck, like happens when they misjudged earlier in the summer when they landed in water. After a few days they were just plopping right down and letting their body stop them from sinking more, like a big snowshoe. Once landed they could move about on the snow without sinking in, as they moved about in the yard feeding on the grass seed heads that were sticking above the snow.

Snow Bunting napping during October snow squall.

Male Snow Bunting in bright spring plumage, showing contrast from when they arrive and then depart in the fall.

Fish and Foxes

2009-10-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

It has been a warm freeze up season and the river ice took several days to become thick enough to safely walk on and set a fish net. We used to fish commercially in the fall, sending fish to some of the local North Slope villages as well as several dog mushers and a fish processer in the Fairbanks area. Our family ran the commercial operation for 56 years, but now it has been scaled down to one or two nets for a few fish for the family and pets.

Picking the net in the early morning light.

Our winter catch is made up of Arctic Cisco, Least Cisco, and Hump-back Whitefish. Most run about a pound while some of the larger ones will go two and half pounds. All are white meat and very tasty.

Cisco's and Whitefish at net hole.

It didn’t take the Arctic Foxes long to smell fresh fish on the wind and within 20 minutes of picking my net yesterday the first fox showed up.

Arctic Fox checking out the net!

Before I finished I had two at the net site and they keep me entertained with their antics. They were a little shy at first and didn’t want to get to close, but they also didn’t want the other fox near the fish.

Arctic Fox heading for the fish pile with reflection in the ice.

They would chase the other fox away and then dash back to the fish pile looking to grab a fish for themselves. They managed to get several fish each before I finished for the day and hauled my catch home. They each ate one fish right away then started carting fish off to bury for later.

Got One!!

Musk Ox

2009-09-28T21:01:00.001-08:00

Late in the afternoon while working on the wood pile, I noticed four Musk Oxen on the island just across the river channel. These were the first musk oxen seen near our home all summer. They had most likely been spending the summer more to the east, along the Arctic Ocean, and were now heading for higher terrain inland where the wind keeps more of the ground swept bare during the winter months. I quickly got my camera gear loaded in the boat and headed across the channel to get a few pictures of them on this bright sunny day.

The group was comprised of 2 adults and two sub-adults from last year. As I was taking pictures, I noticed one of the musk ox kept swinging its head like it was watching something near its feet. Finally I saw that there was a short-tailed weasel running around the musk ox.

Weasel can be seen in the foreground between the two animals on the right side of the photo.

He would dash in close then bolt back towards the river bank, where there were tunnels into which he would disappear. I worked over to that side of the island to get the sun behind me for pictures, and then the weasel started checking me out. As usual they never stay still very long, which makes it hard to get a good shot.

After I got all the pictures I wanted, I headed home and the Musk oxen continued to feed and rest until evening, when they continued on their way upriver. At dusk I could see them about 2 miles away, bedded down for the night on another island closer to the mainland.

Lunar Fog Bow

2009-09-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

When I went to bed last night I didn’t think there would be much of a chance for sky watching during the night as we were shrouded in thick wet fog.

But as luck would have it when I checked weather at 0130 hr, a large hole had opened in the fog and one could see high broken clouds and a bright moon overhead. Also a few weak aurora were moving about, so I decided to go out on the odd chance I might catch them in an active period. After about ten minutes of walking about the yard looking for a good spot to try for a picture if the aurora flared up, I noticed a pale white patch off to the west. It took me a bit to realize that I was looking at a rare Lunar Fog Bow. I took a few pictures of the fog bow, and in one there is even a hint of aurora in part of the frame.

Slight reddish cast to top of the lunar fog bow can be seen.

While taking pictures of the fog bow the opening overhead closed up and as the moon disappeared so did the bow. So while I didn’t get any aurora pictures, it was worth while just to see the stars and see the lunar fog bow. Compared to a rainbow this fog bow was quite broad and it did have a slight reddish cast to the top of the arc.

In this photo the fog bow is starting to fade at the top, but you can see a hit of green aurora in the top left.

The reason that the fog bow is so pale is the fog droplets are so small, usually less than 0.1mm.*

*more information is taken from “Out of the Blue” by John Naylor. Drops as small as this are found in fogs and clouds, and they are also known as white bows.

The absence of color in a fog bow is due to an overlap of the red and blue bands, which occurs when the drops are very small. The overlap is not always complete, and sometimes a fog bow sports a reddish fringe. Although the diameter of a fog bow is always less than that of a rainbow, its arc can be up to three times as broad. Lunar fog bows have been seen, though rarely.

Gyrfalcon Excitement

2009-09-08T16:51:00.001-08:00

I took a coffee break from fire wood chores and lucked out to see a Gyrfalcon hunting the willow ptarmigan that were in the area.

I was watching a snow bunting at the feeder when I saw a gyrfalcon launch from of the tall piling next to our storage building. With strong wing beats the bird started across the island, staying about

10 feet off the ground until he was within 200 meters of its prey. It then dropped close to the ground, nearly blending in as I watched from my position. The falcon traveled over a half mile to get to its target and I couldn't see what the bird was after until it made a strike at the end. Then a large flock of willow ptarmigan exploded into the air, close to 130 birds. Perhaps in the confusion of all the birds erupting out of the grass, the falcon didn't make a hit. Most of the ptarmigan headed upriver in one group, but 3 to 4 flushed to the right and away from the main group. The falcon zeroed in on one of these birds, which had headed out across our lake. The falcon over took it about halfway across the lake and made a solid hit. The ptarmigan tumbled into the water. The falcon made 5 or 6 attempts to retrieve its prey, but perhaps being an immature bird, it was a bit tentative about plucking it out of the water. A couple times I could see white feathers drift off when it tried to pick up the ptarmigan, just not getting a solid grip.
After giving up on getting the bird out of the water, the falcon headed back across the island to where other ptarmigan had scattered. The next ptarmigan flushed, started climbing upward, and was able to stay above the pursuing falcon, but after about a third of a mile and gaining altitude to 150', the falcon gave up the chase, and returned to the general area from where that ptarmigan had flushed. I have seen a lot of ptarmigan chased by snowy owls and other falcons, and this was the first time I had experienced a ptarmigan executing such a climbing escape maneuver. Normally they fly fast and low until they find a place in which to hide.
While the gyrfalcon was chasing the second bird, I made my way out past the storage building from which the falcon had started this hunting cycle. I had just got out there when two more ptarmigan flushed and they both turned and headed for the buildings. The falcon zeroed in on one of the fleeing birds, but just seemed to be a bit slow in reacting to the twists and turns of the ptarmigan. As they flew towards me, I was able to film a couple of the near misses.

The start of the run to safety, and a near miss.

Ptarmigan able to make a sharper turn and stay just ahead of the falcon.

After the first try the immature falcon continued to drop back every so slightly.

Away to safety as the falcon looses speed.

Both ptarmigan made it to the safety of the building and hid in the grass. The falcon landed on a drying rack that was stored next to the metal building and sat for about 5 minutes calling and twisting his head looking for the hiding ptarmigan.

The young bird was making a call that reminded me of other young birds when begging for food. Perhaps it was thinking how easy Mom made catching things, and if she was here there would be something to eat. The falcon took off and flew over me, then made two passes around the buildings before landing on the tall piling.

Willow ptarmigan hiding in tall grass by building as gyrfalcon searches for it.

After a short break it was airborne again and headed off towards the north end of the island a mile away. I never saw the young falcon catch another ptarmigan but several small groups passed through the yard in the afternoon and evening and they were very alert and acted like they had been chased.

What excitement for a bright sunny day in the Arctic!

Bright Lights

2009-08-31T21:01:00.003-08:00

The nights are getting dark enough again that we are able to spend time out at night watching the stars and if lucky even see a display of Aurora Borealis over head. The weather had been raining with a few snow showers mixed in earlier in the day as a strong east wind swept across the prairie. In the late evening we got a slight break in the weather and the low clouds rolled back and the stars came out. After midnight a faint glow of Aurora started to show and by 0130 hr there was active displays that lasted till 0300hr. Some of the stars came out a bit fuzzy even on a tripod the wind gusts were shaking the camera some (30 knots).

Besides the normal bands and curtain formations, there were several aurora bursts straight over head and I was able to capture a couple of them. One other aspect of viewing the northern lights early in the year (August-September) is the sun isn’t that low below the horizon so you still have some of the brilliant blue sky to go with the pale aurora colors.

The picture with the cabin in it has a touch of purple to go with the lime green of the main display.

In the center left you can see the constellation Taurus and the bright star Aldebaran. Just to the left of Taurus is one my favorites, the Pleiades cluster.

The second photo shows a nice Aurora Burst.

Photo three shows another Aurora Burst that has more purple around the edges.

This afternoon I was entertained by the female Short-tailed Weasel that has been living around the house for a couple weeks now. She was catching Tundra Voles in the tall grass and one of the voles was so big she had to drag it in backwards. When she tried going forward under the willow pile where she was hiding them, she would trip on it.

Vole is wet from all the rain and very wet grass.

She is not sure what I’m up to and trying to make up her mind to continue hunting or go hide for awhile.

Weekend Banding

2009-07-20T19:43:00.000-08:00

For one reason or another my blog has suffered over the past weeks, as I haven’t posted any new updates for some time. Hopefully I can do better in the weeks ahead.
This past weekend was the start of the summer banding for some of the breeding birds in the local area. Due to high winds out of the NE that were gusting near 30 knots, mist nets were not an option, so I used only a couple of walk-in ground traps. I used a small 18” square funnel trap and a small Potter trap baited with millet, which the birds were used to eating at the feed stations. Using the traps, I caught three species of birds, listed in order of abundance caught: Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, and Common Redpoll.
The totals for the longspur banding was 51 new birds and 6 recaptures from previous year's banding. Of the new birds, 22 were adults and 29 were juveniles. Most of the adults were showing various amounts of body and wing molt, with some adults having no tails and only the outer two wing primaries at full length. With most of the adults in some stage of molt, this made three females I banded stand out, in that they had no molt signs and still had fully developed brood patches. So it would appear they were working on a second brood, either because of a failed first clutch or a second brood after completing the first. Perhaps that is why we see more male longspurs feeding begging juveniles up around the feeders earlier on. Of the recaptured longspurs, the oldest was banded as a juvenile in 2005, making it just over 4 years old. All the others were banded in 2007.

Juvenile longspur fluffed out on a cold windy day.

Male longspur with his tail and some of the wing primaries missing.

Juvenile longspur checking out his bands.

The banding totals for the snow buntings were about half of the longspur numbers, reflecting fewer around and that they are less trusting and don’t go into the traps as readily as longspurs. This makes it hard to catch some of the prior year's banded birds, as the adults become trap shy quickly. Of the 30 new bandings, only 6 were adults, and three of the four females had brood batches, indicating they had double brooded this year. The adult snow buntings were not as far into molt as the longspurs and still had their breeding colors. Two of the oldest juveniles were loosing their gray first plumage and going into the prebasic to replace the body feathers and acquire their brownish winter plumage.

Juvenile snow bunting still in first plumage gray.

Juvenile bunting showing start of prebasic molt of the brown winter plumage starting to show.

a summer worn male snow bunting, just starting molt.

The only other birds banded were three juvenile common redpolls. These are some of the young from at least two successful nests around the lodge.

Photo shows older sibling giving a younger one a treat while waiting for one of the adults to return.

Now I just need calmer weather so I can try my luck with some of the shorebirds that are around the lodge and edge of our lake.

Cool Weather Continues-Barn Swallows

2009-06-27T08:48:00.001-08:00

The strong northeast to east winds continue with low clouds and low temperatures with frost some nights. The three broods of Snow Buntings that are out of the nest boxes are having a hard time of it. The adults are not having much luck finding insects to feed their young. They have been falling back on what is in the feeders I have out. The real young buntings don’t seem to do as well on just a seed diet as when they have plenty of insects to start out on, and a couple youngsters haven’t survived the cold conditions.

Two of the female Snow Buntings have started hauling fresh grass up into their nest boxes getting ready to lay eggs for a second brood. Hopefully we will have warmer weather when this batch of eggs hatch and the parents will have a easier time feeding the little ones.

The two Lapland Longspur nests close to the house still haven’t fledged, but they are getting close. There are at least 20 pair of longspurs coming and going from the feeders all day and must account for several hundred trips over that time period. I’m sure they are working the feeder overtime too with the shortage of insects about.

It was a surprise to see the two Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) resting out of the wind the other evening. We usually don’t get swallows around during a strong east wind, as most arrive on south to south-west winds. With a south wind the temperature would be much warmer and there would be insects buzzing about for the swallows to eat, not so with this strong, cold east wind.

Summer Solstice

2009-06-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

Officially spring has ended and summer has started, but the feel the past few days has been more fall-like than either. We have been in a pattern of low stratus and fog, with visibilities down to 1/8 mile at times. We ended the spring solstice (June 20st) with freezing temperatures (low of +29F) at night and snow showers heavy enough to leave a trace of fresh snow on the ground. The day warmed up enough that that the snow showers during the day melted rapidly.

Today has been a little warmer but the east wind has a raw feel to it with all the moisture in the air and the temperature hovering around the freezing mark. Even with the colder weather the flowers have continued to bloom and the first couple broods of Snow Buntings have fledged. Some of the longspur nests have hatched but it will be a few more days before those young are out and begging for food.

Young Snow Bunting waiting for a hand out.

This youngster is taking a nap while waiting for one of the adults to return with a meal. Notice the short tails on the recently fledged buntings.

The Red-throated Loons and the one pair of Yellow-billed Loons are setting and we should see them starting to hatch in mid July. Two Snowy Owls have moved in and are making their living by feeding on Brant in the large colonies in the local area.

Two pictures of Woolly Lousewort, the first is in the woolly stage and the second shows it just starting to bloom. It will continue to grow up as it flowers until it is about 6 inches tall.

Short Video King Eiders

2009-06-12T19:35:00.002-08:00

A short video of several King Eiders displaying.

First Flowers

2009-06-11T20:33:00.002-08:00

With the long days of spring, the tundra is starting to green up and a few of the early flowers are starting to bloom. The Frigid Coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus) was the first to show up in bloom around the house, and now there are several large patches around the runway in bloom. The blossom stems are several inches tall before the leaves start growing.

Only 3 inches tall and already the coltsfoot is showing off its lovely pink flowers.

Besides the coltsfoot, I saw Mastodon Flower (Senecio congestus), Stiff-stemmed Saxifrage (Saxifraga hieracifolia), and Rock Jasmine (Androsace chamaejasme) budding and should be in bloom shortly.

Stiff-stemmed saxifrage just starting to grow as the stems will be 10-14 inches tall when mature.

A pair of Long-tailed Ducks enjoying the sunny afternoon. Some of the hens are starting to set and we now have a couple of males resting by the house during part of the day, waiting for the female to show up.

The Semipalmated Plover is still defending his territory on a patch of gravel road, but I still haven’t seen a mate. Its still early so we might yet get a nesting pair this season.

Loons Displaying

2009-06-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

The warm weather continues and even the big drifts around the house are shrinking fast. The lake level is still high but it is draining and many of the small ponds have their polygon ridges out of the water now.

Today started out with light rain for a few hours then cleared and we reached a high of +56F, the warmest day we have had so far. Also, it was the first day with fair weather cumulus clouds, a sure sign of a warm day. Being close to the frozen Arctic Ocean, as the wind turned to the north, we were slowly enveloped by coastal fog. The photo shows our home as you look back towards the South.

The loons are starting to get quite active and some were seen doing their courting display, running on top of the water side by side, much like photos one sees of grebes. At least three pair of Red-throated Loons were in the river by the house or calling from the nearby ponds. For the first time the male Yellow-billed Loon was heard giving his territorial yodel, as well as their more mournful cry. Right is the Yellow-billed Loon just landing in the open water around the edge of our lake.

From my evening walks, it looks like it is going to be an excellent year for Semipalmated Sandpipers, as there is a very high density of them on the island this year. Pectorals seem to be the next most common, then Red-necked Phalaropes, with a few Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitchers, and Red Phalaropes about. I did see one pair of Black-bellied Plovers this afternoon, so maybe we will have them nesting locally.

Left is one of the many pairs of Brant nesting around the local area.

Snow Going Fast

2009-06-03T09:25:00.002-08:00

What a difference a few days of warmth makes. Three days of 24 hour sunshine has taken us from 70% snow cover to less than 10%. Now just a few big drifts around the buildings and ice on the big lake and some smaller ponds are all that is left with the look of winter.

Some of the grass is getting a touch of green at the base of the blades, while many of the willow buds are starting to bloom. This will provide the first pollen for our big Arctic Bees. The only flower starting to grow that I have noticed is one of our species of Sweet Coltsfoot, green shoots just breaking out above the ground.

More shorebirds have arrived and now the trilling of the Semipalmated Sandpiper on territory can be heard over most of the island. Besides the Semipals, one can hear the Booing call of Pectoral’s and Long-billed Dowitchers displaying. So far, plovers have been in short supply, as I have seen only 2 Golden Plovers, and 1 each of Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers.

Our pair of Yellow-billed Loons are in the big lake by the Lodge now and have been checking out nesting locations. The lake is still high from spring flooding, so I’m hoping they won’t select a spot that will have them stranded in a small pond. Several pair of Red-throated Loons are now on some of the small ponds around the larger lake. No Pacific Loons have been seen or heard yet.

Yesterday I was able to get a few pictures of a pair of King Eiders not far from home. While I was filming the eiders a Arctic Tern flew over to see what I was doing and I snapped its picture while it hovered over head.

Loons Starting to Arrive

2009-05-31T19:41:00.000-08:00

After several days of wintery type weather, today broke sunny and warm. It was calm for part of the day and the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow made it feel even warmer than it was. With the temperature getting all the way up to +39F, the snow really started melting, which is good as we were still averaging 4 inches of snow on the ground at 75% coverage. A beautiful day like today makes one think that we are going to have a spring after all. It was also the first day to see cumulus clouds building to the south, a sure sign of warmer weather.

The numbers of local breeding White-fronted Geese have leveled off, but the Brant are still streaming in. In the local area, we now have over 400 pairs, as well as some of the returning last year’s young. A lot of pairs of Brant have already selected nesting sites and I found the first nest with one egg this afternoon. This puts the season about a week ahead of the average yearly start for egg laying.

The first loon was sighted yesterday afternoon, a Yellow-billed Loon flying up the river. Today I spotted a Red-throated Loon fishing in the river in the morning, and another one was seen in the afternoon flying over the West Nesting Area calling and then landing in the river.

We now have four pair of Long-tailed Ducks, several pairs of Northern Pintails, Greater Scaup, Tundra Swans,12 pair of Sabine’s Gulls, and a pair of Arctic Terns spending time in the melt water around the edge of our big lake or in some of the nearby tundra ponds that are melting out. The air around the house is beginning to fill with bird song at all hours now.

Female Red Phalarope

Male Lapland Longspur napping during snow storm.

Sabine’s Gull on a bright sunny day.

Break-up Over

2009-05-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

This morning (May 27th) the last of the up-river channel ice drifted by and the river is open to boating above the Lodge. The channel is still plugged with ice on down stream of the house to the ocean. It was a long, drawn-out process this year, but in the end the only thing that was impacted was the runway being under water for several days. Depending on weather, it could take up to two weeks for all of the runway to dry out and be usable.

Yesterday morning we awoke to 4.5 inches of fresh and very wet snow on the ground and the area was back to 100% snow cover. This brought the Ruddy Turnstones and Lapland Longspurs back to the feeders in large numbers. Many of the longspurs were just staying by the feeders, roosting out of the wind and snow and not going back out to their territories. With over 50 turnstones feeding with the Snow Buntings and longspurs it took lots of seed and fish to get through the stormy day. By late evening, clearing skies warmed up the day and with the ensuing melting the feeder birds started moving back out on the tundra.

Even with all the stormy weather, more birds have arrived and we now have over 250 pair of brant. They, along with the other geese (white-fronted and snow), are busy checking out nesting spots in the surrounding nesting areas. New birds are American Golden Plover, Long-billed Dowitcher, Red Phalarope, Northern Pintail, Long-tailed Duck, Savanna Sparrow, and today our first pair of King Eiders.

Pair of Red Phalarope’s just returned to the Arctic.

Male Lapland Longspurs waiting out the storm near the feeders.

Break-up Underway & More Birds

2009-05-24T11:52:00.001-08:00

Break-up continues as the river rises enough to cause minor flooding on the lower sections of the island, including our runway. With the early flooding, none of the geese that are around have started nest building, so we won’t have any nests being washed away this spring.

Since the last post, more birds have arrived early with Sabine’s Gulls, Brant, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope feeding locally. Also a Sandhill Crane, and two Whimbrel were seen flying by, headed in a easterly direction.

More Lapland Longspurs have arrived and the females are becoming more numerous. The males have dispersed out around the island and have started their territorial flights, singing as they glide down to earth. I have seen them coming from as far away as 1.5 miles to feed from the feeders I have out. Several are banded from past seasons, but I haven’t started the banding for this season yet.

At last count, we had 12 nest boxes being used by Snow Buntings this year. I watched the female to the nest box by the kitchen window trying to carry several ptarmigan feathers at the same time. The wind was giving her a bad time as it kept blowing the largest one out of her bill as she went to pick up some of the smaller ones. Persistence paid off and she finally headed up to the nest box with all her selected feathers. Now that she is adding feather lining to the nest bowl she is getting close to start laying.

After two days of strong east winds and freezing fog, a switch to a southwest wind has brought warmer temperatures and the birds have been spending more time out on the tundra. I haven’t seen a large movement of Brant yet, but as the day continues (24th), more and more pairs are seen out in the nesting areas. Already there are some pairs fussing over the better nesting mounds and small islands.

A big dark Snowy Owl had the ground squirrels on alert this morning. The owl was using their mound as a look out and they weren’t too happy about it.

Jim

Break-up Weather

2009-05-21T20:56:00.001-08:00

After two beautiful warm sunny days we are back to more normal break-up weather, low stratus and fog. The cloud cover made for a cooler day and we had a high of +31F, which slowed the melting process. The warm days in the Brooks Range restarted break-up and the water in the river has been on the rise all day and by 9 PM approaching the 4’ level. Here on our low delta island a 4.5’ water level will start flooding in the lower areas of the island, and 5’ will have the runway under water.

Other than the local white-fronted geese and snow geese, there hasn’t been much movement of water fowl for the past two days. Most took advantage of the break in the weather earlier in the week to move on west. The local birds are busy checking out the near islands for nesting sites, and just local movement from there to areas that have melted out for better feeding.

May18-19; We had two sparrows show up early morning on the 18th, a American Tree Sparrow and a white-crowned Sparrow. It was nice to hear them singing for the two days they were around. On the 19th an American Robin showed up, the first in several years. The robin was only here for the day. With the warm weather and melting, the birds weren’t that dependent on the feeders. The Ruddy Turnstones also continued to move through much more rapidly than I thought they would with all the snow that is still on the ground. There was just enough melting and warmth to keep them moving and not hanging around the feeders like they do when cold, snowy weather holds them. Only male Lapland Longspurs have arrived so far and only about 10 are around drifting in and out of the feeder.

As of May 21, we now have three pairs of Tundra swans in the local area and you can hear them calling and watch as a pair sends trespassing swans on their way.

Break-up is the next major item for us to get through. We have been busy getting those things that could be damaged by water moved around and up on higher ground.

Jim

Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus)

2009-05-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

I see from the swan migration map that two of our Colville Delta satellite implant birds are back in Alaska, and the others are bunched up near the Mackenzie River Delta.. There are 10 pair of swans that are from this area that had satellite transmitters implanted in the female of the pair. This way they are able to track their migration patterns and learn important staging and timing when they leave and return to the Arctic nesting areas. We are looking forward to the pair that nests on our island and hopefully they will use the same nest site as last year. If they do we will be able to watch the activity around the nest site right from our kitchen window!

You can follow the swans either on the link to the Alaska Science Center web site, that lets follow the migration of the 50 Tundra Swans USGS implanted with satellite transmitters in Alaska in 2008. http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/avian_influenza/TUSW/index.html

The other Swan Research Program site covers just the birds from the North Slope of Alaska and can be found at www.swanmigration.org .

Besides the tracking information and maps there is a more detailed description of the banding and data collecting from the tundra swan project.

This photo shows the neck collar worn by the male, just faintly the satellite antenna on the female is just visible in front of the tail. This is the pair that nests near our home.

The lower picture is a close-up view of the male T346

Sunny and Warm

2009-05-17T22:59:00.000-08:00

It was clear and cold all night but with the clear skies, the bright sun warmed the day up nicely. With a high of 36F there was a lot of melting, dark spots appeared all over the tundra, and puddles of water were present in the gullies.

The first highlight of the day was a northern wheatear in the yard. It had the snow buntings upset as it flew around the house. I was able to get a picture of it before it traveled on. They are rare here and usually they are seen in the fall migration season.

Teena and I both took advantage of the nice weather to go out sledding to see what bird life might been seen in other parts of the delta. She headed out in the morning and drove up to the lower Miluveach River where it flows into the Colville about 5 miles from home. She saw several hundred white-fronted geese, either feeding in the melt areas around the river or migrating on west. A large flock of male ptarmigan, a rough-legged hawk, and many ground squirrels were also seen on her trip.

While Teena was off birding, I did a goose migration watch over lunch hour and logged in 262 white-fronts in 12 flocks, and one small flock of 6 snow geese (first of season) moving west. After lunch I headed up river to check out a couple islands upstream. In about three hours traveling, I added another 700+ white-fronts, 30 snow geese, and 5 tundra swans (first of season) to the waterfowl seen moving west. Also seen on the trip was one short-eared owl (first of season), willow ptarmigan, maybe 50 ground squirrels, and 1 red fox hunting lemmings.

We had one ruddy turnstone around last night and they slowly continued to trickle in all day until by 8 PM we had 12 feeding in the yard, Of those 12, two were some of my color-banded birds from years past, one each from 2003 & 2004.

With more warm weather in the offering and a brisk wind forecasted out of the south to south-west, we may get more unusual birds in the next few days.

Jim

Snow Buntings

2009-05-14T20:50:00.000-08:00

The cold weather continues with a strong winds and snow out of the west. Temperatures have fallen and now stay below freezing through out the day, with the low around +12F the past two nights. With three inches of fresh snow, all the melted-out tundra ridges from the first of the month are now bright white.

I haven’t seen a glaucous gull since the 8th, but the white-fronted geese keep making a swing around the area looking for an inviting spot. They don’t stay long and are soon headed back to the east or farther up river where there is more melt water, as all the overflow around here has frozen over hard again. We did have a flock of around 60 willow ptarmigan spend the night bedded down by the house. It was the first large flock seen this spring and most were males with various amounts of brown in their heads and necks.

Teena made a trip to Deadhorse yesterday for mail and supplies and she saw several hundred White-fronted Geese, 50 Canada Geese, 20 Glaucous Gulls, 60 Willow Ptarmigan, a few Snow Buntings along the gravel road system, and the high light of the day for her a Rough-legged Hawk migrating east. Many of the geese including the Canada’s were seen where the road crosses the Kupurak River, which was running in places from melt in the foothills.

The snowy weather hasn’t slowed our snow buntings down. They are busy defending their territories from other males and displaying for their females. The cold has stopped any nest building activity, but that will resume with the first warm sunny day.

Back To Winter?

2009-05-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

The week started like we were going to have a early breakup with the river starting to run spring flood waters. A few white-fronted geese and glaucous gulls arrived to start checking out areas for nesting sites, both were early but that seemed to be the way spring was going.

But from the looks of the snow blowing past the window today, winter wasn’t quite ready to release it’s grip here in the Arctic. The open shore leads that had waves rippling on the surface two days ago are frozen once again, and snow horses are playing over the surface creating small snow drifts on the smooth ice.

The geese and gulls have moved off, perhaps around the gravel road system to the east where they might find some melt water. The snow buntings haven’t slowed down as they are busy chasing each other defending their territories. The forecast holds more cold and snow so the geese may have rough going for a while.

Here is a picture of one of the Black Oystercatcher I saw in Adak earlier in the Month, a first for me. It took several tries to locate a pair of oystercatchers and for a while I thought I wasn’t going to to see one. Then after watching a distant pair in Finger Bay, another pair found me the next day while I was bird watching from the town breakwater. They circled around me calling, then landed to feed not far away in the seaweed and barnacle rocks at the edge of the breakwater. I spent over a hour filming and watching them feed before they flew off on across the bay.

Back Home

2009-05-05T21:23:00.001-08:00

Back home after a short trip to Adak, Alaska to visit my Son Isaac and family. While there he took me on many birding trips and I was able to add several new birds to my AK list. I will write more about birding there and post pictures later.

We now have several pair of snow buntings around the buildings and at least three females are busy working on getting their nests built for the new season. So far they have been carrying more peat like material getting the foundation made, then they will finish up with grasses, caribou hair and feathers from around the yard. Using nest boxes that we have put out for them, they get a early start at nesting and about half will bring off a second brood if the summer isn’t too cold and wet.

When I left on the 26th of April we were still 100% snow cover and when I returned May 4th we were down to 80% snow cover. Still a lot of snow cover left considering we had seven days straight with bright sunshine. The high temperatures ranged in the upper 30’s and one day even reached +40F. With the melting out of some of the tundra ridges, our local willow ptarmigan showed up and started staking out their territories. We now have two pair we can watch from the house and others can be heard across the river channel.

The week of warm weather started the snow cover in the Brooks Range Mountains melting at a fast rate and this morning (May 5) we had flood waters around our island in the Colville Delta, the earliest by eleven days since we have lived here. There is a cooling trend moving in for the rest of this week so maybe this will slow the breakup process down some and we won’t have any serious flooding when the river ice starts breaking up and moving out. On May 4th the river ice was still 54 inches thick.

First Greater white-fronted goose.

In the evening we saw our first goose of the season. It was flying down river, then it turned over towards the runway where a large area of vegetation is melted out. It was last seen flying off to the east.

Birds seen this week:

Snow buntings
Willow ptarmigan
Raven
White-fronted goose

More later,

Jim

Stormy Weather Buntings

2009-04-23T21:58:00.001-08:00

It has been a snowy day with a strong east wind combined with fresh snow to make a very white day. With the drifting snow mixed with fresh falling snow visibility has been around 1 mile or less. It was in this white swirling world that our first local snow buntings arrived for the new season. The first one arrived at 1100 hr and was happy to find the feeder and went right to eating. The second male arrived about two hours later, and the first bird wasn’t to happy about having to share the food dish. It is always fun to watch them bathing in the soft snow, digging their heads in the fluffy snow and working it around then shaking off, real snow birds.

The first bird still had a lot of brown on his head and part of a breast band since he is a second year bird (SYR) having been born last June. The second male is at least older than SYR and only had a small amount of brown on his head.

The attached photo shows the SYR male. There is a warm front

moving north over the Brooks Range tonight bring warmer temperatures and a wind change back to the west. By 2100 hr we were already starting to warm up with a temperature of +16F. This weather front may bring more bunting north.

Jim

No New Birds, Just a Lovely Red Fox

2009-04-20T21:20:00.001-08:00

Well it turns out that the snow bunting that was sighted in the evening of the 18th was just passing through. So we still don’t have any birds feeding at the feeder yet.

We did have a lovely visitor this afternoon that stayed around for about a half hour looking for fish scrapes that our dog Toby had left about. We have had both the red fox and a couple white foxes around but lately they have been around only at night, and just their tracks visible in the morning light to let one know they were here .

Today the male red fox came by as we were getting ready for lunch and we watched him out the kitchen window. The snow drifts are so deep around the house that he came right up and looked in the window! I was able to get a picture of him looking at us looking at him. He then check other area in the yard then headed back up river towards the area that has nice sand dunes where there has been a den for many years.

It was bright sunshine for most of the day and our warmest so far this month getting up to +9F. The wind has also changed direction and is starting to blow from the south so maybe that combined with warmer temperatures will bring the snow buntings. It has been a cold spring and looking back to 2004 we had seven snow buntings here on this date.

Take Care

Jim

Snow Bunting Seen

2009-04-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

After days of reading reports from father south that snow buntings were seen on the move, one finally snowed up here in the arctic. I was out for a evening walk with Toby our Chesapeake when we saw a snow bunting fly by. I thought it might hang around the buildings since there was a stiff breeze and still cold with the evening temperature at –6F. Instead it kept on going following the river off to the NE. Hopefully there are more not far behind.

April has continued to be cold and the low last night was –18F,but it has been warming up some during the day with the long sun light hours.

The picture if from last spring of one of our local breeding birds feeding on insects that were melting out of the lake ice during breakup.

Jim

Banding Red-throated Loons

2009-04-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

With the long days and warm sunshine, we now have 15 hours, one knows that winter is about over and the return of the Arctic nesting birds is not far away. We are expecting our first snow bunting any day now as reports have them moving off winter areas in western Alaska.

Thinking about the return of the birds brought back memories of a banding experience I had with two of my boys Isaac and Aaron while banding red-throated loons ten years ago. Isaac had raised two geese ( a White-fronted and a Canada) over the summer, and they had the run of the place and followed him about when he was out side. Towards the end of August we loaded up our banding gear and nets and headed out into the local nesting ponds to catch and band young loons. We had about 20 broods of red-throated loons that year in the smaller ponds that surround the largest lake on the island we live on. We used the nets to skim the young loons out of the ponds, while nearly full grown they were still not capable of flight.

Isaac's geese came right along with us and helped in all phases of the banding operation. Swimming along behind the net as it was moved across the ponds, and then settling down next to us and we processed the birds. At times picking at the netting and banding gear. I have posted a few pictures from that banding day, but hopefully I will have more current bird pictures to put up shortly.

Frost & Hoarfrost

2009-03-19T17:11:00.001-08:00

Just before this latest cold snap that has produced some nice window frost designs we had a day of freezing fog. This fog created hoarfrost on some of the willow bushes that were still sticking out of the deep drifts around the house.
The main difference between the two is window frost forms on a pane of glass when exposed to below freezing temperatures on the outside and moist air on the inside room. Water vapor from the air condenses as frost on the inside surface of the window pane. Crystal growth is strongly influenced by scratches or other film on the window and can grow into elaborate patterns. (photo 1)

Hoarfrost develops when water vapor condenses directly into ice on out side objects such as twigs or grass stems. When the frost forms minute ice crystals covering the ground it is just called frost. But if the frost grains grow larger they are called hoarfrost crystals. (photo2)

2009-03-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

We are back to cold weather after a long spell of wind and snow. Today the low was -43F and forecasted to stay cold for a while.

Still only ravens around and while there has been a lot of bird migration movement in some of the lower 48 states it will be some time before we see much movement this far north. See the post at
http://minnesotabirdnerd.blogspot.com/2009/03/big-move-tonight.html for moreinformation on radar tracking bird movements at night.

Restless Ravens

2009-03-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Spring is slowly making its way north and the ravens are starting to feel the effect of the longer days. After seeing only two ravens during the dark days of deep winter, we see them almost every day. Sometimes just a lone bird, but more often a pair and they have started their spring courting displays.

Today we had 5 ravens around the house looking for scrapes of fish left in the yard by Toby are Chesie. With the wind back around 30 mph they love to work the wind currents around the house and at times seem to float in mid air.

Next month will see the return of our snow buntings the real harbinger of spring. It always such a loving sound to step out and hear their song drifting across the yard.

Roaring March

2009-03-05T13:46:00.001-09:00

Catch up notes March 1-5
March came in with a bang, high winds, fresh snow, and blowing snow that created blizzard conditions that at times had the visibility down to less than 150'. With all the fresh snow and winds that peaked out at 62 mph more snow was added to the already large drifts around the buildings and created several nice snow sculptures in the yard.

Late in the afternoon skies started to clear and temperature started down as did the wind chill.
By 8pm you could see the moon and Venus off to the SW. Went out at 1030pm but only stars out no aurora and visibility was up to 6 miles in mist drifting snow, wsw at 14mph -20F.

Monday March 2
Today it is bright sunshine and very light to calm winds with unlimited visibility, and even though it is -28F you can feel the heat from the bright sun.

Did the monthly river ice check today and the ice is now at 47 inches.

March 2-3
After a long spell of cloudy or stormy weather the clear skies during the night allowed for star gazing and even a few aurora were out. I was out most of the night and the best shots were taken just after 2 AM, even then they only lasted about 20 minutes then faded away for the night.

March 4
Another beautiful day with lots of bright sunshine and light winds. Nice weather continued into the night and I spent several hours out side again enjoying the northern lights. From mid-night to around 4:30 AM we had some of the best aurora activity that we have had in weeks.

Mail Day

2009-02-06T22:27:00.000-09:00

The weather warmed up enough during the night that I decided to make the trip over to the road system and pick up are mail that a friend had brought out yeaterday. If one goes all the way it is 75 miles one way to get to the post office. This way I had to travel only the overland part by snow machine, about a 18 mile round trip.

It was a nice bright day with light winds and -25F when I left the house. Saw one raven at the oil field camp where I picked up the mail and five caribou along the trail. Drove past one cow in the morning that was about 50 yards off the trail, she was curled up chewing her cud and in the frosty morning didn't want to get up. On the way home she had moved off to the south a mile or so and busy feeding.

Till next time -- Jim

Bright Sunny Day

2009-01-31T16:10:00.000-09:00

The day dawned bright and clear so we got to see the sun for several hours. Since returning on the 18th of the month it is now up for 4.5 hours.
While doing wood chores a raven flew by, and then circled back to see if I was doing anything that might lead to a sorch of food. In the cold frosty air (-34F) the bird was covered with frost on the face and some of the breast feathers. This is the first bird of the year for me!

Jim

Mirages

2009-01-22T22:26:00.000-09:00

Another bright sunny day with lots of superior mirages in all directions. At times some of the mirages had 5 layers and you could see some bending as the inversion layers moved the lights around.
The sun still remains low, less than 2 degrees above the horizon. The low sun cast a great pink-orange glow on some of the small drifts that have been sculptured during the last two wind storms.

Bright Sun

2009-01-20T15:18:00.000-09:00

First Sun Of 2009

For the first time since late November 2008 we were able to see the sun. It was up for 2 hours and 20 minutes, basically just rolling along the horizon, since it at peak it was less than 1 degree above the horizon. With the cold clear air it rose and sat with lots of mirage effect and had a green rim and as it was setting I even saw green segment. I took several pictures of the rising and setting of the sun with the green segment filmed as it was setting.
Weather was -28F with light south winds and clear skies. Inversion layers were causing lots of mirages as the day progressed.

Waiting for the sun

2009-01-15T10:16:00.000-09:00

Well it is getting close, only three more days and the sun will return to our part of the Arctic!

15 January 2009 ........ Rain!

The warm front arrived mid-morning as the temperature shot up 20 degrees in 30 minutes and we had freezing rain for about an hour before the front moved on past. After passage the wind switched 180 degrees from the NE to the SW, and the temperature slowly dropped and by 3PM was back down to +10F.

Luckily we didn’t get to much rain as it is hard on some of the animals that have to dig through the snow to reach their food, as the caribou do. The Arctic is meant to stay cold and the creatures that live here have adapted to the cold dry conditions and ice covered snow can be life threatening . If the caribou have to did through a hard crusted snow it takes much more energy and more damage to their hoofs. With many more weeks of cold winter a head it can put some of the younger animals into a energy deficiency cycle that they can’t recover from.

* a note taken from our NWS this morning.
Discussion...the last 2 days' weather are an excellent example of what happens as a big Alaska cold snap ends. They do not exit subtly, but with strength and flourish. In contrast, warm spells normally fade without ado.

In this case, a number of southern Alaska interior sites have had 80 degree rises in temperature from 3 days ago to now. The Chinook now flowing over/down the Alaska Range into the interior will be reinforced by a series of fast moving (about 50 knots) waves on the strong front now running from Kodiak Island to about 35 degrees
north 152 degrees west. This is normal for such high energy systems, especially those inbound to Alaska from
30-something degrees north.

East winds and IFR weather now over the Arctic coast are forecast to abruptly change later today as the winds shift to west southwest and the IFR weather improved to MVFR in the west to VFR in the east.
The volume and strength of the incoming warm air aloft into the interior has brought plenty of freezing rain and snow to the west and northern interior, as well as to the south ends and high points of Alaska Range passes. More of this is for Friday and Friday night.

Low #3 is somewhere near 35 degrees north and 153 degrees west. After moving over Kotzebue Friday night this low is forecast to weaken and move rapidly into the northeast Beaufort Sea on Saturday. From all present appearances, this low will bring in a classic pineapple express to much of Mainland Alaska on Friday and
Friday night.
Jim