barren mountains north of Tombstone Territorial Park on the Dempster Highway

Across the Continent (part 9 of 10) 

Tuktoyaktuk to Tombstone Park  (NW Terr. and Yukon)

18-22 June 2022

     Lincoln's Sparrow--a common songster of thickets in valley bottoms near streams

After my night in Tuktoyaktuk, I slowly drove southward, stopping to look at birds and take photographs along the Highway. Between Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik, I saw mainly waterfowl and a few tundra-loving birds (such as Long-tailed Jaeger, Whimbrel, and Pacific Loon). I took the ferry across the Mackenzie at the indigenous community of Tsiigehtchic. I got the Peel River ferry at Fort McPherson, another indigenous community. I stopped for the night at the Rock River Campsite, right on the border of the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. 

    No convenient car-wash on the Dempster... 

I spent two very pleasant nights at the Rock River Campground, and during the day of the 19th I explored the habitats along the road north to Wright Pass, which marks a continental divide as well as a Canadian territorial boundary. I wandered the mountain tundra and rocky scree in search of upland breeders, which were few (mainly Lapland Longspurs). Highlight of the day's wandering was a boar Grizzly that I encountered foraging by the road (see pix below). I watched him for several minutes. He was clearly not happy to be seeing me... the bears along this road were very skittish! 

    the Dempster follows large river courses that punch through the Yukon's mountain ranges

On the 20th of June I broke camp and headed slowly back to Tombstone Territorial Park, where I planned to spend a couple of nights, searching for the birds and mammals that I have not yet seen on this trip. At Two Moose Lake I come upon an RV that has left the road and plunged into a deep water-filled ditch. An emergency vehicle (from where?) had already arrived. The disconsolate travelers stood about in the drizzle, looking miserable. The abrupt end to fun holiday! The Dempster has no guard rails. But does have plenty of steep drop-offs. I was happy to be driving very slowly...

    Rock River Campground in a valley bottom filled with White Spruce

I stopped whenever I saw a streamside patch of willows or alders, in order to search for Gray-headed Chickadee--that will-o-the-wisp. I found no chickadees of any sort... I did manage to see a group of Caribou foraging high up on a mountainside. Birds seen this day included Varied Thrush, American Three-toed Woodpecker, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. My search of pikas and marmots was for naught... 

    just in case you ever wondered what the Arctic Circle looks like, here it is! 

I had a late breakfast and filled up the gas tank at the Eagle Plains Hotel. And I arrived in the rain at the campground at Tombstone Territorial Park in the early evening.

    tundra leading up to barren mountains of dark shale 

The Dempster is amazing because of its many vistas and ever-changing array of habitats. Names include the North Ogilvie Mountains, Blackstone Plateau, Taiga Ranges, and Richardson Mountains. The south was mountainous, and the north was  dominated by lowlands--the North Slope and the Mackenzie Delta..

           fresh Grizzly poo

My three encounters with Grizzly Bears on this trip were all roadside experiences, and in every instance the big boar Grizzly saw me and my car and then high-tailed it... Each individual was distinctive and I never tired of scrutinizing them. They are so very different from the Black Bears I saw earlier in my journey. Moreover, these interior Grizzly populations are bulky and compact and short-necked and large-headed and handsome, with a thick fur coat--a much nicer-looking bear than the more rangy and lanky coastal Brown Bears that feed on salmon... 

 

I rose very early on the morning of the 22nd of June and drove north to Jensen's Corral and then to the repeater station at the foot of Surfbird Ridge. I then spent 6 hours climbing up and around atop Surfbird Ridge in search of Surfbirds nesting on the gravel/tundra ridgetops... The hike was glorious because of the oh-so-fine weather, but the birds were few. No Surfbirds. A single American Golden-Plover. The commonplace birds of the upland tundra were American Robin, Savannah Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, Horned Lark, Wilson's Snipe, and Common Redpoll. The prize of the morning was a pair of Collared Pikas--a mammal lifer for me. I was surprised and disappointed that I could not find a Hoary Marmot. And neither did I locate an Eversmann's Parnassian butterfly--one of the upland tundra specialists. 

    Freija Fritillary in the tundra

    a stand of dwarf Black Spruces

    Collared Pika

    a late morning breakfast after a long walk in the early morning (Tombstone Park)

    Hammond's Flycatcher

     Orange-crowned Warbler

    Short-eared Owl

On my trip, Short-eared Owl was my tundra owl. I encountered no Snowy Owls for some reason, in spite of being in prime Snowy Owl country on a number of days. I also hunted for Boreal Owl in White Spruce stands without success. Perhaps Boreal Owls do not call when there is no darkness at night... they are early spring breeders...I also dipped on Northern Hawk-Owl. 

    low tundra along the Dempster in Tombstone Park

The 10th Installment will feature the Klondike Highway, Alaska Highway, Montana, and Wyoming