One of the most important tasks we do at the beginning of the field season is to scan the tidal mudflats along the Cook Inlet for arriving and migrating birds. We always take detailed checklists of all the species we see to help add information on migration pathways of races or subspecies (like the Tule type Greater White-Fronted Geese), phenology or timing of migration, and numbers of individuals. Most importantly for my research is the opportunity to track arrival dates for both the population and individuals from year to year. For instance because of similar work, we know that Hudsonian Godwits in the Cook Inlet area arrive approximately 7-9 days earlier now than they did in the 1970s. We continue to track both first arrival dates as well as peak arrival through these scans.
As soon as we arrived in Beluga, we began to monitor the birds on the mudflats. We go a couple of hours before high tide usually in order to maximize our visibility of birds along the water edge as well as safety so we’re never caught by the rising tide. This is similar to the work we do in Chile. Here instead of playing “find the one marked bird out of thousands” it’s “find the Godwit”. This year for the first several days instead of sightings of HUGOs we saw Beluga whales! They’re always fun to see since they’re such a special species that has been declining recently.
I was recently treated to another fun mammal sighting that put on quite a show for me. I walked down to watch a lowering tide one morning. I arrived while the water still covered all the available mud so there were very few birds around except some ducks roosting up on the bank. But swimming up the mouth of Threemile Creek was a nose and two eyes poking up above the water. This rodent soon pulled itself up into the bank and started to bathe itself. I got a great look and watched it for some time until the flats got exposed and shorebirds starting showing up. Finally, I startled it as I moved to get a better position to see the mudflats and heard the characteristics “smack” of its tail hitting the water as it dove to get away from me. Have you guessed? A beaver! While not particularly rare they are always fun to get good looks at.
Once the godwits arrive on the flats we work hard to get band reads and IDs. That gives us arrival dates for individuals and helps us get a handle on who is back and who is not.
The godwits have been back in good numbers for about a meek and now and we’ve been seeing many females that obviously are carrying/laying eggs. We’ve started our intensive nest searching protocols, so the first HUGO nest is bound to be found any day now!
As soon as we arrived in Beluga, we began to monitor the birds on the mudflats. We go a couple of hours before high tide usually in order to maximize our visibility of birds along the water edge as well as safety so we’re never caught by the rising tide. This is similar to the work we do in Chile. Here instead of playing “find the one marked bird out of thousands” it’s “find the Godwit”. This year for the first several days instead of sightings of HUGOs we saw Beluga whales! They’re always fun to see since they’re such a special species that has been declining recently.
I was recently treated to another fun mammal sighting that put on quite a show for me. I walked down to watch a lowering tide one morning. I arrived while the water still covered all the available mud so there were very few birds around except some ducks roosting up on the bank. But swimming up the mouth of Threemile Creek was a nose and two eyes poking up above the water. This rodent soon pulled itself up into the bank and started to bathe itself. I got a great look and watched it for some time until the flats got exposed and shorebirds starting showing up. Finally, I startled it as I moved to get a better position to see the mudflats and heard the characteristics “smack” of its tail hitting the water as it dove to get away from me. Have you guessed? A beaver! While not particularly rare they are always fun to get good looks at.
Once the godwits arrive on the flats we work hard to get band reads and IDs. That gives us arrival dates for individuals and helps us get a handle on who is back and who is not.
The godwits have been back in good numbers for about a meek and now and we’ve been seeing many females that obviously are carrying/laying eggs. We’ve started our intensive nest searching protocols, so the first HUGO nest is bound to be found any day now!