BIRDS OF THE ARCTIC

Male spruce grouse stands on a tree trunk in the autumn boreal forest in Wiseman.

Birding in Alaska’s Arctic is a great way to experience the many birds that migrate to and from the north to raise their young during the summer months. Every year millions of birds from several continents migrate to and from the Northern region of Alaska. The Elliott and Dalton highways more or less parallel major flyways as they meander north from Fairbanks to their destiny at Deadhorse on Prudhoe Bay’s shores, slicing through the middle of northern Alaska, spanning a variety of ecosystems, each home to several species of birds.

Depending on the season, cranes, geese, and other fowl take breaks and fuel up at Creamer’s Field in Fairbanks before continuing their migration. Bohemian Waxwings and Varied Thrushes call in the forested hills along the Yukon River, their home during the summer months. Flocks of Northern Wheatears and Lapland Longspurs like to flitter about on the rocky alpine hills around the Arctic Circle. Northern Harriers hunt the south slopes of the Brooks Range. Golden Eagles in the Gates of the Arctic National Park soar in circles at great heights. Snowy Owls perch on tussocks and tundra mounds while hunting for lemmings and voles in the treeless Arctic. The haunting call of loons permeates the morning fog as it burns off the lakes and ponds. Phalaropes spin circles on polygon ponds. In Deadhorse, almost at the Beaufort Sea’s shores, Eiders can be spotted in puddles surrounding Lake Coleen.

While most migratory birds are found on Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plains, particularly the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, many may be seen along the Dalton Highway. Few birds winter in Alaska, save for the very hearty that have adapted to live in the cold, dark winter.