Musk ox in Nome (Photo: David Moon)
This June, Joppa birders travelled to Alaska, where eagles, puffins, ravens, moose, whales, muskox, huge forests, and even American robins live in natural splendor. Seeing the Arctic for the first time is quite a milestone even for a life-long naturalist.
Tufted puffin (Photo: David Moon)
On the way to a see a glacier spilling into the sea in Alaska this June, Joppa birders encountered flocks of tufted puffins and other fantastic birds, pods of orcas, piles of sea lions, and many more birds. We were awed by the tundra landscape around Nome, and came home with a desire to see and understand much more of our spectacular northern frontier.
Everyone who knows nature knows that a trip to Alaska, particularly the first one, will change our view of earth. It is guaranteed, and no matter how one prepares, the impact is big. Four-thousand foot and larger mountains routinely ring towns and cities of the southeast and south central part of the state. Where the sea brings great moisture, glaciers still spill out of the mountain valleys into the ocean, though they retreat steadily. For over a week, we explored the vast landscape and biomes that cover the north.
Around Anchorage, one can ride a bike to an Arctic Tern Colony in a city park, and find alpine species breeding in a 30 minute drive from sea level. Arctic terns, red-necked grebes and mew gulls nest on this Island in Westchester Lagoon, minutes from downtown Anchorage.
Kenai Fjords National Park teems with whales and puffins, while temperate rain forests ring the deep sea channels between huge sawtoothed ridgelines.
Around Nome, on the westward reaching Seward Peninsula, tundra valleys and mountains sprawl endlessly, making room for muskox, moose, and brown bears. You run into them around almost any corner.
We had a wonderful time, made memories to last a lifetime, and hope you can join us soon on one of our trips.
