Alaska! Denali National Park and Preserve

Alaska!  Breath-taking beauty, inspiration, all types of challenges and worth every minute of effort and preparation!

View of the Alaska Range and Polychrome Pass from Polychrome Overlook.

My trip to Alaska was a solo journey with a self-created itinerary for the first week that I'll tell you more about later, and a second week devoted to a special visit with two park ranger friends from Tennessee who were working in Denali National Park and Preserve.  Their invitation to visit them while they were in Denali became the catalyst for my entire journey.  It had never occurred to me to take a trip to Alaska alone, even though this had been my dream destination.  When I received the invitation, I didn't hesitate.  I couldn't pass it up!

Arrival on the Denali Star at Denali's train depot.

Preparation for what I planned to do on this trip was a major undertaking during the three months before I left.  I had a lot to learn in a short amount of time, about methods of travel in Alaska and wilderness preparedness, and I had to get in better aerobic shape for wilderness hiking and carrying a day pack.  I spent many hours researching and finding what I needed--clothing layers, a comfortable backpack, gaiters, hiking boots and "non-allergic" socks, rain gear, accommodations, transportation reservations, and learning about Denali National Park, as well as, my two other destinations-- Katmai National Park and Kenai Fjords National Park.  After all that preparation, it was hard to believe it was really happening when I boarded my plane on August 24th and found myself on my way to Alaska!

I arrived at Denali from Anchorage by train in the pouring down rain, but the rain only made me smile.  I was ready for it.  I had rain gear for my suitcase, a rain cover for my backpack, rain pants and jacket for me, and rain covers for my two cameras, all of which, I used liberally throughout my stay!  Once off the train with luggage claimed, I navigated to the bus depot to catch the free shuttle to the Wilderness Access Center where I picked up my pre-paid bus pass and caught the bus to my wilderness destination, the Toklat River.

Tiaga or boreal forest above, a mixture of white spruce and low growing shrubs in the lower elevations.  

This is the routine of all visits to the wilderness area.  Travel is by bus beyond mile fifteen of the park road, a road that extends 92 miles to its end, giving only partial access to the six million acres of land that make up the Denali park and preserve.  The Toklat River is a three hour ride from the Wilderness Access Center.  On September 1st this ride provided a spectacular panorama of fall colors in the boreal forest (above) and mountain tundra (below), including vast overlooks of glacial river valleys and the Alaska Mountain Range.  Since the park roads are carved out of the natural gravel in the area, this can make for a muddy bus.  But the rain itself only enriched the beauty of the fall transition underway as we drove deeper into the wilderness.

One of our driver-narrated stops along the way included Polychrome Overlook where we were encouraged to explore. The many-colored rocks in the area are hardened larva formed 100 million years ago during a period of mountain-forming activity. This activity is still in progress--earthquake tremors along the Denali fault are frequent. And the land continues to be shaped by glacial melt-water rivers that deposit silt and rock fragments into the valley.

Above, low growing shrubs such as blueberry, bearberry and willow give the tundra some of its electrifying color.  Below, you can see kettle ponds reflecting light in the distance.  These ponds were formed by deposits of glacial ice.  When the glacier retreated, abandoned blocks of ice left deep depressions in the earth where these ponds formed.  

Glaciers can be seen in the distant mountains (top and last photos), enormous ice deposits formed over millions of years and seasons of winter snow fall, partial thawing and re-freezing.  Glaciers continue to shape the rivers and valleys of Denali.

Next:  The Mountain

Links and Resources:
Click these links to view all my posts on Denali National Park and Preserve and to see my posts on my fall 2012 visit to Alaska

Denali National Park and Preserve
Glaciers 
Wiki on Glaciers
Polychrome Glaciers

Butterflies, Flowers and Hummingbirds

Butterflies, flowers and hummingbirds--the fun and easy to see colors of late summer. 

Male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, above and below on phlox.  Both hummingbirds and butterflies visit phlox.

Swallowtails are our largest butterflies in North America, and one of the most obvious because of their beautiful colors.  The male is always yellow, as shown in the above images.  The female can be either yellow or black.  But their large size and obvious color doesn't mean you can't discover a new species in the swallowtail family.  

Only seven years ago, a brand new eastern swallowtail species was discovered and categorized, the Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail.  Though very similar in appearance, amazingly, this species is even large than the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and has a wider band of blue on its under-wings.  Visit the link to see the size difference and other more subtle differences between the two species:  Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail

The "warbler of butterflies", the skipper is usually a comparatively drab family of butterflies and its often difficult to separate the species.  The male Zebulon Skipper, however, is more brightly colored and it was fun to discover this male visiting my purple lantana, above and below.

This is also the time of years we enjoy an increase in hummingbird activity.  If you aren't seeing many, "put out more feeders" coached Bob Sargent at our recent hummingbird festival in Knoxville.  And it's true.  Add more flowers and more feeders and the hummingbirds will come.  Below, a mature male ruby-throat.  Did you know the ruby-throated male has black chin feathers?  Check the image.  This is not the shifting of light on iridescent feathers.  His red gorget begins right below his black chin.

By this time in August, hummingbirds from the north are already moving southward and local juveniles have fledged and are frequenting feeders.  Even those rare species that we sometimes find here in the winter are already arriving now.  The most common of these is the Rufous hummingbird, but Black-chinned hummingbirds, Allen's, Anna's and others have also been discovered migrating and wintering in the east, and sometimes they arrive as early as August. 

I enjoyed participating in a hummingbird banding session with Mark and Jane Armstrong recently and tried my hand at recording the data.  Jane was busy capturing and retrieving hummingbirds from the traps and Mark, who is a Master Bander in both song birds and hummingbirds, banded and processed the birds.  In a two hour period, 40 ruby-throated hummingbirds were processed with 32 newly banded and 8 recaptured.

Above you see a male ruby-throat in heavy molt.  The white streaks you see are pin feathers where new feathers are growing.  And below a recently fledged juvenile showing his bright yellow mouth as he chirps in protest.  He was skillfully banded, health evaluated, and released.

Upcoming:  Getting ready for Alaska--in seven days!

Links and Resources:

My blog posts on Hummingbird banding.  Visit this post to read the various species that have been documented in the east during fall and winter months.

Hummingbird Study Group

Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Skippers

Bird Banding at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge

What an amazing morning of birds the Knoxville Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS) had yesterday at the final MAPS session of the season at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge.  

The beautiful male Blue Grosbeak above was one of the many gorgeous birds banded during the morning session that lasted from 5:45 a.m., when nets were put up in darkness, until closing at 11:00 a.m.

Mark Armstrong, above, examining plumage for wear and molt.

MAPS stands for the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Program, a program conducted by The Institute for Bird Populations in Point Reyes Station, California.  The MAPS program is conducted from May to August during breeding season and has specific data collection requirements with a goal of analyzing data to understand how bird populations are changing over time.  The information collected and reported by MAPS banding stations helps scientists to determine causes and effects of environmental change.

Above, Billie Cantwell, President of KTOS.  Below, Billie Cantwell, Mark Armstrong, and Janie Kading.

Seven Islands's Wildlife Refuge, in Knoxville, TN, is a unique grassland habitat and conducts one of the few grassland MAPS stations in the country.  Mark Armstrong, a master bander with a specialist banding permit for hummingbirds, operates the MAPS station during breeding season and during other seasons of the year.  Over 3000 birds have been banded at the refuge over the past three years.

August is the time of the year when the area is filled with juveniles from the current nesting season and also birds that are post breeding and wandering in the area to feed before leaving for more southerly destinations in the fall.  Birds like the House Wren shown in the next two images often turn up in August.

And this is also the time of year for surprises, like the Blue-winged Warbler shown below, a first recorded at the refuge.  Mark Armstrong is shown below with the warbler in hand.

Below the Blue-winged Warbler female, showing a very spunky attitude as she alertly responds to the sounds around her, mostly the banding team's excitement.

Below, Janie Kading and Mark Armstrong study plumage details in reference guides as Mark determines the age and sex of the bird.

The juvenile Orchard Oriole shown below was also banded on Sunday.  Banding studies throughout the year help us learn more about the birds that visit the refuge.  For example, a male Orchard Oriole, recaptured in an April 2010 banding session, was known to have hatched in 2004 from previous banding records.  From this record and known migration patterns, Mark could speculate the following:  "Orchard orioles are listed as a canopy species wintering in the mountains of Mexico to Honduras.  By my calculations this bird has likely crossed the Gulf of Mexico 12 times so far."  Amazing to consider!

Two Worm-eating warblers were also banded during the session, along with four Ruby-throated hummingbirds, a Yellow-breasted chat, Common Yellow throats and numerous sparrows, Indigo Buntings, and others.  In all, 80 birds were process through the banding station in a morning's work.

In addition to the scientific information collected at these sessions, banding often offers an opportunity for children to experience the wonder of birds close up.  

Dawn Johnson, one of the banding team members, introduced her two son's to the banding station on Sunday.  In the images above and below you see her showing her young sons a sparrow that Mark is holding in his hand. In the images that follow she receives and releases the bird, delighting them.  

 Birds provide joy to all ages!

Worm-eating warbler.

Upcoming:
Getting Ready for Alaska!

Links and Resources:
My previous posts on bird banding.
Knoxville Tennessee Ornithological Society
Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge
The Institute for Bird Populations
MAPs Program

2012 Hummingbird Festival--Knoxville, TN

Check out this exciting book mark!

I love working with a great graphic designer! Actually, there was no work involved on my part. Just a nice fit with Melinda Fawver,  in Knoxville, TN, fellow member of the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS). Melinda designed this beautiful bookmark as a promotional tool for the 2012 Hummingbird Festival:  The Wonder of Hummingbirds.

My hummingbird watercolor, the focal point for the bookmark was a fun experiment with color and light, in an effort to capture the movement and energy of hummingbirds.  I am delighted to see it promoting these wonderful birds.

If you will be in the Knoxville area on July 29th, join us and enjoy the courtyard exhibits, a demonstration of hummingbird banding, and an always excellent presentation by Bob and Martha Sargent, hummingbird experts and co-founders of the Hummingbird Study Group.

Bob and Martha always bring exciting facts about hummingbirds, as they continue to gather banding information from around the east on wintering hummingbirds and changes in hummingbird migration behavior.  For example, Bob believes that some Rufous Hummingbirds are gradually changing genetically and a hardy strain of the species is being found increasingly in the the eastern states during winter month.

The hummingbird festival is co-sponsored by KTOS, Ijams Nature Center and Wild Birds Unlimited.  Visit these links for more information:

Knoxville Chapter, TN Ornithological Society
Ijams Nature Center:  Hummingbird Festival
Wild Birds Unlimited, Knoxville, TN
Hummingbird Study Group

In the links below find images and information from the 2009 hummingbird festival, reports on wintering hummingbirds in Tennessee, and my posts of Ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Hummingbird Banding
Hummingbirds Swarming
An Intimate Look at a Hummingbird Juvenile
Rufous Hummingbird Wintering in Knoxville
Click this link to view all my posts on hummingbirds

Bluebird Family Gathers at the Nestbox

The opportunity to closely observe behavior is one of the joys of having a bluebird family nesting close to the house.  In fact, it feels very quiet now that the nestlings have fledged.  But while they were here, I watched them at every opportunity.  In the video below you will see the whole family gathered to feed the nestlings, all of them arriving at once.

Above, a female juveniles arrives with food.

While watching the video you will have opportunity to see interesting behaviors.  The male bluebird is whistling softly and chattering to encourage the juveniles as they help him feed the young.  Notice his wing-waving as he lands which is a greeting as well as encouragement.  Notice, also, that one of the female juveniles is frequently stealing food from the other two juveniles.  As I observed this on many occasions, it was obvious that she sometimes ate what she snatched.  This persistent behavior may explain what I initially considered to be the female adult's intolerance in the days before she disappeared.  She was observed snapping her beak and lunging at a juvenile that perched too close to her or arrived at the mealworm feeder at the same time.

Later, on three occasions, the two female juveniles were observed in face-to-face aerial conflict issuing raspy sounds as they challenged each other beak to beak.  The adult male and male juvenile quickly arrived to investigate and break up the conflict on each occasion.  I couldn't help but wonder if the food-stealing behavior may have been a contributing motivation for these conflicts.

Since the nestlings have fledged, family members still visit the feeder to feed themselves and carry food to the fledglings that are scattered in the area, but their visits are less frequent.

To see a determined juvenile trying to feed the nestlings for the first time, visit:  Bluebirds Adapt to Single Parenting.  And to see last season's juveniles bathing and feeding siblings visit: Juvenile Bluebirds Enjoy the Water and Juveniles Helping Parents. To see all my bluebird posts visit:  Bluebird Family.

Visit this link to learn how to make the predator guard that protects my nestbox residents from cats and raccoons.

Eastern Bluebird Juvenile Behavior

Since the second brood nestlings fledged (June 13th and 14th), I have been lucky enough to see two of the new fledglings in the trees around the yard.  The safest place for fledglings is high limbs, away from the ground and with sheltering canopy overhead.  The family often leaves the nesting area after the nestlings fledge and it's rare to see them at all in the days that follow.  

The male fledgling above happened to catch my eye while he was exploring the lichen in a tree near the patio.  His behavior, plus the rich color of his plumage and his yellow gape, helped distinguish him from his older male sibling.

A few days before fledging occurred, I captured some fun video of the first brood juveniles interacting as they came to the nestbox to feed.  The three juveniles readily cooperated in feeding with the adult male's encouragement.  The male encouraged their assistance with wing-waving, soft whistles and chattering which were also behavioral exchanges observed in the mated pair prior to the female's disappearance (last seen June 8th).  

Though they are serious about caring for their younger siblings, juveniles will be juveniles, and their interactions can be amusing.  Watch what happens when these two female juveniles land in the guard at the same time.


Below, a female juvenile feeds the nestlings, then carefully removes a fecal sac.



Next:  Watch bluebird behaviors as the whole family gathers at the nestbox to care for the nestlings!

To see nestlings as they fledge visit:  Bluebird Nestlings Fledge.  To see a determined juvenile trying to feed the nestlings for the first time, visit:  Bluebirds Adapt to Single Parenting.  And to see last season's juveniles bathing and feeding siblings visit: Juvenile Bluebirds Enjoy the Water and Juveniles Helping Parents. To see all my bluebird posts visit:  Bluebird Family.

Visit this link to learn how to make the predator guard that protects my nestbox residents from cats and raccoons.

Bluebird Nestlings Fledge

I have a bluebird treat for you in this blog post!  Two videos of beautiful nestlings as they first leave the nest.

Above:  female first brood juvenile pauses for a drink on fledging day.

After observing this bluebird family for the past month, I was determined to at least try to see these nestlings off on their fledging day.  If you've ever tried to do this you know that even with dedicated vigilance, this takes a good measure of luck.

Besides being home at the right time and counting the days from hatching (14-18 days to fledging), there are some behaviors that you can watch for that indicate fledging is near. Bluebird family members use a one note contact call to help locate each other. Several days before fledging, the nestlings and family members begin to sound these calls with greater frequency. It becomes very apparent when these calls come from the nestlings in the nestbox. Additionally, as fledging time approaches family members wait for longer intervals between feedings, the juveniles taking their cue from the parents. In this case, the male parent and juveniles visibly perched for longer periods and guarded the nest area and near by trees with greater vigilance and aggression.

It was not uncommon to see the whole family advance to drive away a poor woodpecker who happened to land on their oak tree. This tree is the preferred guard perch and preening area for family members with direct view of the nest and feeding area. It is also the tree that stands the right distance away and in front of the nest box with branches easy to reach and safe for a fledgling's first landing.  

Female juvenile (left) and male juvenile visit the bird bath.  You can see the edge of the male's bright blue secondary feathers.

The two videos below represent day one and day two of fledging.  In the first video, a male is the first nestling to venture out of the nestbox.  The video was taken at 7:30 pm and an hour later, near dusk, I witnessed two male nestlings fledge and land in the limbs of the oak.
In the second video you will see the last nestling leave the box the next morning, a pretty female.  She is sounding the contact call as she looks at her new surroundings. If you listen carefully, you can also hear the male chipping in the background.  
Next post:  More fun juvenile behavior as family members feed nestlings a day before fledging.


To see a determined juvenile trying to feed the nestlings for the first time, visit:  Bluebirds Adapt to Single Parenting.  And to see last season's juveniles bathing and feeding siblings visit: Juvenile Bluebirds Enjoy the Water and Juveniles Helping Parents. To see all my bluebird posts visit:  Bluebird Family.

Visit this link to learn how to make the predator guard that protects my nestbox residents from cats and raccoons.

Bluebirds Adapt to Single Parenting

As I have watched this family of nine adapt to the loss of the female parent, I have marveled at how quickly they have reorganized their family behavior.

Prior to the loss of the female, the juveniles have wandered to hunt, but returned throughout the day to be near their parents.  Often they've perched in overhead limbs to watch the parents feed the nestlings, and on several occasions in the past week, the male juvenile has brought food to the nestlings.

On June 8th, the last day the female was present, the juveniles made quick visits to the mealworm feeder while the parents were away.  Often the female was not tolerant of them sharing that space with her and they avoided meeting either parent inside the feeder.  Later that same morning, they were seen overhead foraging for insects in the leaves trapped in the gutters.  They flipped leaves, followed each other around, ran to see what had been stirred up by a sibling, and generally entertained themselves while the parents fed the nestlings at a steady pace.

In the images above, taken yesterday, you see two juveniles arriving at the nestbox predator guard at the same time.  The one inside is the male juvenile.  I believe he is encouraging the female juvenile (who at this point had not learned how to enter the predator guard) to hand off her food.  But she didn't like that idea.

Since the female has been absent (last seen June 8th), these juveniles have rallied around the male.  Not only are they steadily present, they are keeping watch over the nest area, sounding alerts, chasing away intruders (titmice primarily).  And as of yesterday, everyone of them is feeding the nestlings and with greater proficiency.

In yesterday's video below, watch as one of the juvenile females, the last to begin feeding the nestlings, struggles to figure out how to reach the nestlings with the food she has brought.  While she is figuring this out, you will see the juvenile male enter to feed first, followed by the adult male.  The female juvenile is determined and persistent and tries every angle available to reach the nestlings from her position.

This is the stuff that tugs at the heart-strings.  It certainly suggests that there are complex emotions and motivations driving her effort.  The male is patient with juvenile efforts, waiting for them to feed, watching as they try to contribute and encouraging with chattering and wing-waving.  
The nestlings are popping their heads out of the nestbox to receive food now and are calling when they are hungry.  This call is only heard when they haven't been fed for a while and stops soon after feeding begins.  I am feeding generous quantities of mealworms several times a day and the family arrives immediately, sometimes before I leave the feeder, eager to begin feeding.  Family members are not dependent on the mealworms, however.  They are also hunting individually and bringing a variety of other foods.

Today the nestlings are sixteen days old, an age that falls within the 15-18 day range for expected fledging.

To see last year's juvenile's bathing visit:  Juvenile Bluebirds Enjoy the Water, and to see last year's juveniles feeding their younger siblings, visit:  Juveniles Helping Parents.  To see all my bluebird posts visit:  Bluebird Family.


Visit this link to learn how to make the predator guard that protects my nestbox residents from cats and raccoons.