Across the Continent (part 7 of 10)

Utqiagvik (Point Barrow), Alaska
11-14 June 2022

From the sandy beach facing the Chukchi Sea on the western side of Utqiagvik town, one looked out on an unbroken jumble of sea ice. What we could not see, was the open ocean, which in fact was just a couple of miles out. This open ocean is where the local hunters would go out in search of Bowhead Whales and other edible forms of sea life. The beach here was a good place in the morning to see flocks of eiders and loons passing northeastward, headed to their breeding grounds along the north coast of Alaska.

I did not expect to see any Polar Bears on my visit, but was surprised by an individual that I encountered on two different days during my stay. The bear was attracted to some Caribou parts that somebody had tossed out on the ice. A crowd would gather on the beach to admire this bear... On one of the days a Polar Bear, perhaps this one, sauntered into the gas station in town and created a stir. It had to be shooed off by the Bear Patrol.

Jaegers are the avian predators that patrol the shore and the frozen tundra. Here up north it was mainly Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers. Recall, in Nome, it was the Long-tailed that dominated, and the Parasitic and Pomarines were relatively uncommon. The only true raptor we saw in Utqiagvik was a single Peregrine Falcon, migrating northeastward...

In Nome, I saw Red-necked Phalaropes, whereas in Utqiagvik is was mainly Red Phalaropes, with a few Red-necked thrown in the mix. The Red Phalaropes seems perfectly at home in the icy water along the roadside. They paid the birders no mind and allowed close approach.

Lapland Longspurs were second only to the Snow Buntings in Utqiagvik. They were actively in display in spite of the mainly gloomy weather...

Driving out Gaswell Road, one had the strong impression of "winter (see below)." Little wet spots along the verges of the road allowed for small parties of arriving shorebirds to huddle and forage. These included Dunlin; Semipalmated, Pectoral, and Western Sandpipers; and Red Knots and Sanderlings. We were told by a meterological researcher that the spring expanse of open water out beyond the coastal beach ice produced humidity that fell as excess snow on the region, making recent springs snowier that normal. So in this case, local warming was producing more snow rather than less...

One morning I saw a child in town playing. She was wearing a parka with a lovely fringe of Wolverine fur, which is reputed to be the ideal fur for parka hoods...

I never tired of watching the male Snow Buntings do their spring display antics... They were everywhere in town and along the roads. Antic is indeed the word for them...

One of the Arctic Foxes we encountered has a radio collar. Some research student must be working on them here. Because of its northerly location, Utqiagvik is a famed site for biological research in the Arctic. We bump into young researchers out and about every day... In this season, the town is filled with visitors--birders and environmental researchers...

This is Dave Powell watching a Red-necked Stint in the gravel pit. This was a good birding spot just at the edge of town. In fact, every nook and corner of Utqiagvik was a birding spot. One had to visit each and every strange little place to see all the birds there... I would love to go back there in mid-June when the snow and ice were in retreat and the temperature a bit higher...

The Dunlins were the most handsome of the shorebirds while I was there. This is an important breeding site for them and we saw them in numbers.

Greater White-fronted Geese, in pairs, were everywhere. They are the "Golf Course Goose" equivalent in Utqiagvik...

Here is a drake King Eider. We saw this species in small numbers and they never really allowed us to get close to them. A pity! What's worse, the Spectacled Eiders made themselves distinctly scarce and were even harder to photograph...

Its a tough and long winter here in Utqiagvik!

a party of loafing Steller's Eiders

Some of the High Arctic species birders hope to see in Utqiagvik were not in evidence during my stay there. I dipped on Yellow-billed Loon, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Baird's Sandpiper. Of course, that's part of the birding experience...

Brant breed up there and we saw them in flocks...

Pectoral Sandpiper

The Dunlins, Semipalmated Sandpipers and Pectoral Sandpipers were all displaying upon arrival, which was a special treat for me... The sounds they made, the flights they took, and the aggressive acts were all great fun to experience.

adult pale morph Parasitic Jaeger

So.... the very first "bump" I faced on this long field trip of mine was experienced here in Utqiagvik. My scheduled return flight back to Anchorage on the afternoon of the 11th of June was "cancelled." The plane came, flew once over the airport, and promptly flew back to Anchorage (with its complement of passengers). This sort of things was repeated the next day. I did not get a flight back to Anchorage until the afternoon of the 14th, and the hotel bills and my re-booking charge by Alaska Airlines cost me a bundle. I won't bore you with the details, but the experience I had was quite excruciating, with miscommunications, false information, recriminations, wasted trips to the airport, and the like. Oh well.. All part of the travel experience these days...