Category Archives: climate change

Autumn Sign

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Male Oregon Junco among Sitka Spruce Cones – Small flocks of Oregon Race Juncos, which had not previously been reported on the Alaska Peninsula, along with Slate-colored Juncos – only occasionally or rarely encountered on the peninsula, became regular fall through spring visitors during our years at The Lake. The mystery is, where were these birds coming from? Slate-coloreds nest in taiga forests two or three hundred miles northeast at the peninsula’s hip and beyond, but the Oregon’s closest summertime breeding grounds are unknown and would seem to be much further south. Juncos were not recorded during David Narver’s studies in the early 1960’s. It will be fascinating to monitor these population trends into the future… there is always more to discover. October 14, 2017

The Swans at Broad Pool

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The Swans at Broad Pool Chignik River, 3/16/17
Each March, residents of Chignik Lake begin checking Broad Pool for early signs of spring – arriving flocks of Tundra Swans. The best swan viewing occurs in years when the river is partially iced over and therefore closed to boat traffic. This expansive pool has abundant Water Crowfoot, an aquatic vegetation preferred by swans and dabbling ducks. The swans, which mate for life and can live to be over 20 years old, will rest here and in other quiet water in the Chignik Drainage for up to a few weeks before breaking off in pairs and heading to tundra nesting sites on the Bristol Bay (northwest) side of the Alaska Peninsula. As human activity continues to cause the planet to warm and years of ice become fewer on the Chignik, Broad Pool may no longer provide a suitable resting place for returning waterfowl. Things are changing… fast. Get out and observe, photograph, document.