Birding the Americas Trip
Report
and Planning Repository
Return to the Main Index
Return to the Canada
Index
Return to the Yukon
Index
Return to the British
Columbia Index
Return to the Northwest
Territories Index
CANADA:
THE YUKON, BRITISH COLUMBIA, & NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
09 - 24 June 2001
by Paul Jones
The following is an account of a two week trip to the Yukon,
north-eastern
British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
During the first week (June 9 to June 14) I intensively birded the
southern
Yukon, north-eastern British Columbia and south-western Northwest
Territories.
At the beginning of the second week I met family members in
Whitehorse.
From June 15 to June 24 we traveled at a slower pace north to Inuvik
and
back to Whitehorse.
SATURDAY, JUNE 9 - Whitehorse - Sunny, scattered
clouds,
low 20's.
I arrived mid afternoon in Whitehorse via Air Canada and picked up a
mid-size
rental car at the airport. From Whitehorse I crossed the Yukon
River
to check the town’s sewage lagoons (see
www3.ns.sympatico.ca/ns/maybank/Yukon-07-91.htm
for detailed directions). There were no shorebirds at the
lagoons,
but there were a fair number of ducks, including Mallard, American
Wigeon,
Northern Shoveler, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Barrow’s Goldeneye
and
Blue-winged Teal.
From the lagoons I headed south on the Alaska Highway approximately
eleven
kilometres to Wolf Creek Territorial Campground. The campground
has
basic services (pit toilets and cook shelters, but no showers) and is
clean
and well maintained. Camping permits, available at Yukon Visitor
Information
Centres and retail stores (but not on site) cost eight dollars per
night.
A walking trail runs from the campground along Wolf Creek and provides
an
easy birding loop. At the point where an extension of the trail
meets
the Yukon River there were two Northern Rough-winged Swallow (a rare
bird
in the Yukon). Golden-crowned Kinglet, Swainson Thrush, Pine
Siskin
and Purple Finch were in the immediate vicinity of my campsite.
SUNDAY, JUNE 10 - Whitehorse to Carcross
(Montana
Mountain) to Watson Lake - Sunny, scattered clouds, 5-7 overnight, low
20's
daytime - rain showers in Watson Lake.
I awoke at 5:30 a.m. Ottawa time (2:30 a.m. Yukon time) to partial
twilight,
broke camp and headed south on the Alaska Highway. For the first
week
of the trip I stayed on Ottawa time to take advantage of the northern
latitude’s
very early sunrise/dawn chorus.
At its junction with Route 2, I left the Alaska Highway and headed to
Carcross.
At Carcross I followed Cameron Eckert’s directions from “A
Bird-finding
Guide To Canada, Revised Edition” (J.C. Finlay ed., McClelland &
Stewart,
2000) to Montana Mountain. As promised in the guide, it was
possible
“with care to drive to the treeline with an ordinary car”.
Approximately
1/3 the way up I came across three singing male Townsend’s Warbler in
an
area of mature Spruce. At the point where a wash-out decisively
makes
further driving impossible, I parked and continued upwards on
foot.
There was still a fair degree of snow on the ground. A Say’s
Phoebe
sang from the water tower/temple. Another Say’s Phoebe and a
Brewer’s
“Timberline” Sparrow were in the vicinity of the abandoned
miner’s
dwellings farther up the valley. I continued upwards to the right
of
these buildings, attempting to reach higher areas of alpine
tundra.
Rushing meltwater blocked my access and, after an hour or so of
wandering
about, I left the area and returned to the car. I saw Horned
Lark,
but no White-tailed Ptarmigan (snow tracks only) or Rosy-Finch.
If
I had continued on the old road to the left of the dwellings I might
have
had more success in exploring the alpine habitat.
After leaving the mountain I briefly explored Nares Lake at
Carcross.
The area is scenic and features an impressive grass/mudflat delta that
was
holding Canada Geese, American Wigeon, Mallard, Lesser Yellowlegs,
Spotted
Sandpiper, Herring Gull, Mew Gull and Bonaparte’s Gull.
From Carcross I headed east on Highway 8 through Tagish to Jake’s
Corners,
where I picked up the Alaska Highway for the 350 K drive to Watson
Lake.
I arrived in Watson Lake in the late afternoon and set camp at the
Watson
Lake Territorial Campground (comfortable, quiet, empty). From the
campground
I doubled back east to the area around the community of Upper Liard.
In comparison to the rest of the Territory, the south-eastern Yukon is
rich
in passerine diversity. One of the most accessible locations to
sample
this relative abundance is the “Rancheria Loop Road”. The road
runs
north from the Alaska Highway near the community of Upper Liard.
It
commences a kilometre or so west of the point where the Alaska Highway
crosses
the Liard River (more specifically, just west of the point where it
crosses
Albert Creek). The base of the loop actually starts at the back of a
housing
development. In my late afternoon exploration of the road I saw
Tennessee
Warbler, American Redstart, Least Flycatcher and two Western Tanager.
The
Tanagers were males, singing from the exposed tops of mature
spruce.
Both birds were incorporating their distinctive “pity-tuck” call note
into
their songs.
MONDAY, JUNE 11 - Watson Lake to Tetsa
Provincial
Park, B.C. - Sunny, scattered clouds, 5-7 overnight, low 20's daytime -
brief,
but heavy, rain showers in B.C.
I awoke at 3 a.m. Yukon time and headed back to the “Rancheria Loop
Road”
for a more thorough survey.
At the Alaska Highway bridge over Liard River there was a beautiful
Short-eared
Owl perched on a road sign a few metres away. The loop road
itself
was alive with birds. I saw, among other things, Spruce Grouse,
Three-toed
Woodpecker, Alder, Least and Olive-sided Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo
(two
singing males tracked down to maturish mixed spruce/aspen woods),
Redstart,
Tennessee, Yellow-rumped and Magnolia Warbler, White-throated Sparrow
and
White-winged Crossbill.
Complete exploration of the area was impossible because heavy rain
during
the previous week had washed out a culvert, blocking the road.
The
portion of the road that was still open was deeply rutted and filled
with
large puddles. However, it was drivable in an ordinary car.
I returned to the campground, took down my tent and drove into the town
of
Watson Lake. At the park at Wye Lake there was a singing male
Clay-coloured
Sparrow (another rare bird in the Yukon). Along the portion of
the
Alaska Highway that runs through town there were four Brown-headed
Cowbird.
At 8 a.m. I began the 525K drive east to Fort Nelson, British
Columbia.
Just inside the B.C. border I noticed a car on the shoulder with its
occupant
staring down the steep roadside. I pulled a very quick u-turn,
just
in time to see a brown/grey shape moving away through the trees.
The
driver indicated that a Lynx had been sitting by the roadside.
Having
never seen a Lynx, I was disappointed at missing the opportunity.
Better
quality mammal sightings for the day included two Black Bear, one
Moose,
one Elk and seven Dall Sheep, all in the Muncho Lake Provincial Park
area.
Mid afternoon I pulled into Tetsa Provincial Park, set camp and crashed
out
early in the evening.
TUESDAY, JUNE 12 - Tetsa Provincial Park, B.C. -
Parker
Lake, B.C. - Fort Nelson, B.C. - Fort Liard, N.W.T., Blackstone
Territorial
Park, N.W.T. - Sunny, scattered clouds, 5-7 overnight, mid 20's daytime.
I awoke at 2:45 a.m., quickly broke camp and was on the road at a
little
after 3 a.m.
There are a variety of bird species, that while widely distributed
further
to the east in Canada, are restricted in British Columbia to the
northeastern
portion of the province. The stretch of the Alaska Highway from
Tetsa
Provincial Park to Fort Nelson is an good place to view this outlying
population.
Jack Bowling and Wayne Campbell’s commentary in “A Bird-finding Guide
to
Canada” provides excellent information on birding in this
area.
As I headed east from Tetsa Park on the Alaska Highway I stopped every
few
kilometres to listen to bird song and track down anything of
interest.
Tennessee Warbler was abundant everywhere. Three singing male
Yellow-bellied
Flycatcher were at margins of the second bog west of Steamboat Creek
along
the Alaska Highway. One Palm Warbler was singing from
the
open portion of the first bog west of Steamboat Creek. An Eastern
Phoebe
was at the bridge over Steamboat Creek. In the Kledo Creek area
there
were Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireo as well as Ovenbird, Black
and
White Warbler, Mourning Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The
Vireos
were more easily sorted by habitat than by voice - Philadelphias in
scrubby
young aspen/poplar stands, Red-eyeds in mature forest. The
Mourning
Warbler sang only a partial song (or maybe a complete “western”
song)
- “Churri, Churri, Churri” and was confirmed only after a long, wet,
buggy
tracking exercise through a young aspen/poplar tangle.
Continuing east along the Alaska Highway I was able to pick up most of
the
northeast B.C. specialities by simply pulling off the road and briefly
exploring
the myriad of trails that wind out from the highway. In the
area
of the intersection of the Alaska Highway and the Fort Liard Road there
was
a large expanse of cleared land abutting the highway to the south that
held
two Sandhill Crane and three singing LeConte’s Sparrow. A number
of
Cape May Warbler were in the mature spruce at the back of the
clearing.
They sang concealed in the tree tops and were very difficult to see.
Just outside Fort Nelson a small sign for the “Old Alaska Highway”
signaled
the road to Parker Lake, a recommended birding location. I drove
down
the road, parked the car and walked to the end of a small dock where I
quickly
picked up Solitary Sandpiper and Common Grackle. As I turned back
to
the car I looked up to see, less than 10 m away, an animal slowly
walking
away from me. At first I thought it was a large dog, but when I
saw
its stubby black-tipped tail it dawned on me that it was a Lynx!
It
turned around and stared at me for about 10 seconds before moving
slowly
off into the woods. Two days later I saw another Lynx on the Fort
Liard
Highway. Later in the trip a Canadian Wildlife Service employee
mentioned
to me that the Snowshoe Hare population had just crashed and that Lynx
were
being seen on the move everywhere.
After the Lynx sighting I picked up Blue-headed Vireo and another
Cape-May
Warbler at Parker Lake and then headed into the town of Fort Nelson to
tank
gas and stock up on supplies. Checking the Fort Nelson Airport,
two
Upland Sandpiper appeared on cue (as per the bird-finding guide) in the
short,
mowed grass in the terminal area. The last stop in town was the
sewage
lagoons (prominent by the roadside to the south along the highway)
which
held no birds at all.
From Fort Nelson I swung back westwards on the Alaska Highway to its
junction
with Highway 77, the road to Fort Liard, N.W.T. and other points
north.
The highway is gravel and very dusty, although it is well maintained,
especially
on the N.W.T. side.
Just outside Fort Liard (which is approximately 170 kilometres north of
junction
from the Alaska Highway) I pulled into the Hay Lake Municipal
Campground,
a scenic water-side site in amongst immense (by northern
standards)
poplar and spruce. In the campground were Hairy Woodpecker,
Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker, Magnolia Warbler, Western Tanager and Red-winged
Blackbird.
On the lake were Red-necked Grebe, American Coot, Mallard, American
Wigeon,
Northern Shoveler, Bufflehead and Ring-necked Duck.
For Liard is a pleasant and relatively prosperous looking
community.
There was a Northern Hawk Owl in the town site itself. After a
quick
visit I returned to the highway and continued north to the Blackstone
Territorial
Park, a fabled campground located another 120 kilometres up the road.
70 K out of Fort Liard a slight squeaking noise started from the left
rear
wheel of my vehicle. It soon turned into a piercing metal on
metal
screech. Suddenly there was a loud pop and I looked back to see a
large
object bouncing down the road. Anticipating a long and costly
towing
(if I could locate a tow truck) I backed up to inspect what had come
loose.
It proved to be a large rock, which presumably had become lodged in the
brake
mechanism. The car was fine. I continued on my way.
Eventually I came to the Blackstone Territorial Park. The office
is
in a beautiful log building that also houses a comprehensive
interpretive
display of the area. The showers and cook shelters were fantastic
log
and stainless steel structures. I picked a tenting site in
the
near empty campground with a view of Liard River and the Nahanni
mountains
rising in the distance.
The area teemed with bird life. Pairs of Western Tanager and
Rose-breasted
Grosbeak flitted about the cook shelter. An Eastern Phoebe sat on
the
nest it had constructed above the shower building door. Least
Flycatcher,
Hermit Thrush, Swainson’s Thrush and White-throated Sparrow sang from
the
surrounding brush. From above my tent a Philadelphia Vireo
serenaded
late into the “night”.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 - Blackstone Territorial Park
to
Watson Lake - Sunny, 7-10 overnight, mid 20's daytime.
I broke camp at 4 a.m. and began the drive back south to the Alaska
Highway.
Bird highlights along the stretch to Fort Liard included a Great Gray
Owl
sitting by the roadside in a mature aspen/poplar stand and a
Connecticut
Warbler.
The Connecticut Warbler was at N60.48.599 W123.14.522.
My understanding was that this bird could be found in northeast B.C.
and
southwest N.W.T. in mature aspen/poplar stands. I had searched
the
previous two days in such areas but had had no luck. In order to
sample
a broader section of this habitat, I decided to cruise the road at 60
KPH
with the windows down. As I zipped through an area of suitable
forest
I heard one singing and I slammed on the brakes.
The bird was singing at the road’s edge from the canopy of a mature
aspen/poplar
monoculture. The song was a loud, ringing, two syllabled
“Beecher!
Beecher! Beecher! Beecha!”. The forest had a thick
deciduous
understory approximately 20% of the height of the mature trees.
After
a frustrating search with binoculars I was finally able to locate the
bird
as it sat motionless near the tree top. Setting the scope on it,
I
was able to watch it as it sang. Other birds in the area included
Mourning
Warbler, Ovenbird and Black-capped Chickadee.
At Fort Liard I birded the perimeter road that circles the airport and
found
an American Crow, three LeConte’s Sparrow, one Clay-coloured Sparrow
and
a pair of Purple Finch.
With new found confidence in the search pattern for Connecticut
Warbler,
I was able to locate two more singing males on the B.C. portion of the
Liard
Highway (4.4 K north of its junction with Alaska Highway at gravel
turnoff
on west side of road). Both these birds were also singing high in
the
canopy at the edge of a mature aspen/poplar monoculture.
Late
in the afternoon I pulled into the Watson Lake Territorial
Campground.
Mammals seen during the + 700 K drive included one Lynx, six Black
Bear,
three Moose, five Caribou, seventeen Dall Sheep (including four newborn
lambs
right at the roadside in Muncho Lakes Provincial Park) a Least Chipmunk
and
a Groundhog.
THURSDAY, JUNE 14 - Watson Lake to Teslin -
Cloudy,
hard rain during night, 6-8 overnight, low 20's daytime.
I awoke late and birded the Watson Lake area. The Clay-coloured
Sparrow
was still singing from same location but I saw nothing else of great
interest.
I then drove the 275 K to Teslin Lake Territorial Campground in the
Yukon.
There were Purple Finch and Black-capped Chickadee at my tent site.
FRIDAY, JUNE 15 - Teslin Lake to Whitehorse - Rain
during
night, daytime sunny, scattered cloud, 6-8 overnight, mid 20's daytime.
I awoke 4:45 a.m. and was on the road by 5:00 a.m. My first stop
was
the loop road that runs off the Alaska Highway north of Jake’s Corner
and
overlooks Marsh Lake at the Judas Creek delta. Two female
Wilson’s
Phalarope were visible on the delta’s mudflats. The view from the
road
of this superb looking habitat is very distant. I was not able to
locate
an easy access route down to the water’s edge.
Continuing towards Whitehorse on the Alaska Highway my next stop was
also
at Marsh Lake, just south of the North M’Clintock Bay Road, and below a
hill-side
land fill site. Scanning over the water I noticed a Franklin’s
Gull
flying up the lake. It landed in a flock of Herring Gull along
the
shore. The bird appeared to be in second summer plumage, with a
full
black hood, but very restricted white in the wing tips. The bird
quickly
left the area, but approximately half an hour later I was able to
relocate
it along grassy margins of the M’Clintock River near the “Swan
Haven”
area. There are very few records for Franklin’s Gull in the Yukon.
At my last stop before Whitehorse (Lewes Marsh) I found a drake
Gadwall.
Cameron Eckert provides an excellent discussion of the birding
locations
in this area in “A Bird Finding Guide to Canada”.
SATURDAY, JUNE 16 - Whitehorse to the base of the
Dempster
Highway - Cloudy, low 20's daytime.
Mid-morning I meet my wife and her two sisters at the Whitehorse
airport.
With the arrival of family, the birding component of the trip
diminished
considerably.
I returned the mid-size car and, when the booked Chevrolet Suburban was
not
available, our chief negotiator managed to secure us a Ford F-350,
Diesel
V-8, 4X4, Supercrew with cap. It had its own backup warning
signal.
We then drove the 550K from Whitehorse to Tombstone Territorial Park at
the
base of the Dempster Highway.
SUNDAY, JUNE 17 - Tombstone Mountain to Rock
River
- Sunny, 6-8 overnight, low 20's daytime.
We awoke late and departed leisurely from the Park. Two Moose
Lake
at K 105 of the Dempster Highway was filled with ducks including
Greater
and Lesser Scaup, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Long-tailed Duck and more
unusually
2 Redhead (males), 1 Gadwall (male) and 1 Eurasian Wigeon (male).
We stopped for lunch and showers at Eagle Plains (K 368) and ended the
day
at the Rock River Territorial Campground (K 433).
We saw six Dall Sheep on the slopes to the east of the highway at North
Fork
Pass and one Black Bear near Eagle Plains.
MONDAY, JUNE 18 - Rock River to Inuvik - Sunny,
6-8
overnight, low 20's daytime.
Drove from Rock River Campground to Inuvik. Settled in at the
Chuk
Campground.
TUESDAY, JUNE 19 - Stokes Point, Ivvavik National
Park
(Yukon Coastal Plain)
After surviving an “over night” storm (the sun does not set in Inuvik
in
mid June), we awoke to a clear, cool morning and made our way to the
Arctic
Wings office at the Inuvik Airport. During the proceeding winter
I
had arranged with Arctic Wings and Parks Canada for a charter flight
from
Inuvik to Ivvavik National Park on the Yukon coastal plain.
Our destination was Stokes Point, an abandoned Defense Early Warning
radar
site located approximately 230K northwest of Inuvik on the Yukon coast
of
the Beaufort Sea. The purpose of the trip was sightseeing (for
the
non-birders) and birding (for me). Yellow Wagtail, a species that
occurs
on Yukon’s arctic coast and no where else (regularly) in Canada was one
of
the birds I hoped to see. Shingle Point, some 40K to the east of
Stokes
was considered as an alternate destination but was rejected in light of
concerns
expressed by the residents of that location over the interference
caused
by tourist flights. In retrospect, the concerns about Shingle
Point
were probably mis-communicated to me. The air strip there is far
removed
from the seasonal Inuvialuit whaling camp, and the problems with
tourists
apparently arise from planes buzzing the camp, not from flights landing
at
the air strip.
Accessing Stokes Point presented a number of logistical hurdles.
The
first was to secure a landing permit/day use permit from Parks
Canada.
Because of the importance of the coastal plain to many animal species,
caribou
and waterfowl in particular, Parks Canada carefully regulates access to
Ivvavik.
In order to secure permission for a visit I submitted a proposal to the
Parks
office in Inuvik explaining the purpose of the visit and precisely what
our
activity would be. Park staff were extremely helpful throughout
the
permit application process, graciously explaining their concerns and
procedures.
The necessary documents were granted expeditiously.
With permits in hand, the next step was to secure transportation to
Stokes.
I began discussion with Arctic Wings, a charter company based in
Inuvik,
and was quickly able to arrange for a flight.
So, at 8:30 on the morning of June 19, bundled in our warm clothes, we
climbed
aboard a single engine Cessna 207 and set out for Stokes. The
plan
was to land at the gravel airstrip at Stokes and spend three hours on
the
ground. The plane and pilot would stay with us - two hours of
free
holding time, the additional hour at $200. The cost of the flight
itself
was approximately $1,200.
The first part of the flight took us north-west over the MacKenzie
Delta.
Flying at approximately 700 feet, we saw one Moose and thousands of
ducks,
geese and swan. All the larger waterfowl (Tundra Swan, Canada
Goose,
White-fronted Goose, Brant) were identifiable from the air. After
half
an hour or so, we left the green and blue maze of the delta and
proceeded
west along the arctic coast, past the open muddy water of Shallow
Bay.
Beyond the N.W.T./Yukon border, the Beaufort Sea was frozen to the
horizon.
Small groups of Caribou were visible on the high bluffs above the
coast.
The pilot banked tightly and circled back over them, staying high
enough
to avoid causing any disturbance.
We continued past Shingle Point and, about an hour and a half out of
Inuvik,
the huge white “golf balls” of the radar towers at Stokes came into
view.
The pilot circled the area, buzzing low first to find the airstrip, and
then
to make a visible inspection of it, before attempting a landing.
Swinging
around again, he set the plane down smoothly and we all piled out onto
the
gravel airstrip. The air was cool, 8-9 degrees, but absolutely
still.
The sky was partially overcast. We set off to explore.
Our first challenge was to leave the landing strip. The strip is
built
right on the coast, less than a metre above sea level, and is
surrounded
by a maze of ponds and channels. We carefully clambered over a
natural
driftwood dam that had formed across one deep channel and constructed a
temporary
driftwood bridge over another one. Slowly we made our way
up
to the radar installation, located on a low bluff overlooking a large
lagoon
to the west of the landing strip.
There were deep snow drifts in the vicinity of the radar site.
Ice
covered the larger lakes and most of the lagoon at the Point, although
the
smaller ponds were open. The ground cover (wet grassy tundra with
virtually
no willow) was still brown after a late spring. We did not see a
single
mosquito during our stay.
Lapland Longspur was the signature bird of Stokes Point. At the
airstrip
and back up on the tundra breeding plumage males performed their
jumbled
flight song oblivious to our presence. All open water was filled
with
birdlife - Pacific Loon, Tundra Swan, White-fronted Goose, Common
Eider.
I circled around in back of the radar site in an initially desperate
search
for Yellow Wagtail, trying to clue in on its distinctive call
note.
Not finding any, I returned to bird the richer coastal wetlands.
I
never did find a Wagtail. Shingle Point, where they are seen
regularly,
seems from the air to have much denser willow scrub, and maybe that is
the
key to finding them there (although there are reports from Stokes as
well).
Our three hours passed in what seemed like fifteen minutes.
My
advice for anyone else planning a trip along the coastal plain is to
arrange
to stay over at least one night. After resolving minor
difficulties
involving soft gravel and the nose wheel of our plane, we flew
out.
On the return trip we ranged out over the pack ice, and saw hundreds of
seals
(presumably Ribbon Seal). Despite the failure on the Wagtail
front,
the trip was still an amazing birding adventure. The flight
portion
alone was a great experience.
Complete Bird Sightings - Stokes Point, Yukon
Coastal
Plain - June 19, 2001
Red Throated Loon - two - a pair on a pond behind the radar site
Pacific Loon - eight - pairs and individuals in the coastal
lagoon/ponds
near the airstrip
Common Loon - one - coastal lagoon
Tundra Swan - two - ponds near the airstrip
White-fronted Goose - twenty - coastal lagoon/ponds near the airstrip
Canada Goose - fourteen - coastal lagoon/ponds near the airstrip
Northern Pintail - four - ponds near the airstrip
American Wigeon - ten - ponds near the airstrip
Gadwall - two - a pair on a pond near the airstrip
Common Eider - twelve - all drakes - coastal lagoon/ponds near the
airstrip
Long-tailed Duck - twelve - coastal lagoon/ponds near the airstrip
Red-breasted Merganser - three - coastal lagoon
Northern Harrier - one - flypast
Peregrine Falcon - one - perched on radar installation - chasing Raven
-
possibly nesting
Sandhill Crane - one - flypast
Semipalmated Plover - four - coastal lagoon/ponds near the airstrip -
in
flight song
Semipalmated Sandpiper - three - coastal lagoon/ponds near the airstrip
-
in flight song
Common Snipe - one - winnowing near the radar installation
Red-necked Phalarope - four females - ponds near the airstrip
Parasitic Jaeger - one - flypast
Glaucous Gull - six - acting territorial at the ponds near the airstrip
Arctic Tern - two - ponds near the airstrip
Common Raven - one - flypast
Savannah Sparrow - four - tundra and coastal areas
Lapland Longspur - eight - tundra and coastal areas
Snow Bunting - one - singing male in driftwood alongside airstrip
Redpoll sp. - twenty - tundra and coastal areas
Brant - 3 - from plane in N.W.T./Yukon border area
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 - Inuvik to Rock River - Sunny,
scattered
clouds, 8 -10 overnight, mid 20's daytime.
We awoke late and leisurely drove from Inuvik to Rock River. Bird
sightings
in the N.W.T. included a pair of Gadwall at the Inuvik sewage
lagoons,
Northern Wheatear at K 20 and Short-eared Owl at K 4. We probably
saw
a dozen Long-tailed Jaeger by the roadside from the Richardson
Mountains
to Rock River.
THURSDAY, JUNE 21 - Rock River to Tombstone
Mountains
- Overcast, 7- 8 overnight, low 20's daytime.
We drove leisurely down the Dempster, stopping to catch some Grayling
on
the Olgilvie River, and arriving at Tombstone mid-afternoon.
There
was a Northern Shrike family at K 84.
FRIDAY, JUNE 22 - Tombstone to Ethel Lake -
Overcast,
rain, 6-7 overnight, low 20's daytime.
We awoke early in Tombstone to a cold, gray dawn, took down our tents
and
drove to Dawson and then back on the Klondike Highway to Ethel
Lake.
The territorial campground at Ethel Lake is actually set 27 K back from
the
highway, at the end of a narrow, twisty road. Heavy rain made
travel
rather difficult, but the campground itself was very beautiful.
Bird
sightings at Ethel Lake included:
Common Loon
White-winged Scoter
American Wigeon
Northern Shoveler
Greater Scaup
Red-breasted Merganser
Mew Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Belted Kingfisher
Alder Flycatcher
Gray Jay
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Varied Thrush
Swainson’s Thrush
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Rusty Blackbird
Pine Grosbeak
Pine Siskin
SATURDAY, JUNE 23 - Ethel Lake to Whitehorse -
Sunny,
6 overnight, mid 20's daytime.
SUNDAY, JUNE 24 - Whitehorse and home.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
The trip was timed for mid June in part to avoid the clouds of
mosquitos
that come later in the season. For the most part this strategy
was
successful, although bugs were starting to get bad at a number of
locations
(notably Rock River and Ethel Lake). The long hours of daylight
in
June made for easy driving and camping and provided lots of time to
birdwatch.
The trip’s itinerary was ambitious, especially for the first week which
involved
almost 3300 K of driving. A more reasonable schedule would be to
set
aside two weeks for the southern Yukon or two weeks for the Dempster
Highway
(although the Dempster can easily be driven in a week from
Whitehorse).
Road conditions were generally good. We drove very cautiously on
the
Dempster, keeping speeds low and pulling off and almost stopping for
all
oncoming traffic. In this way we avoided windshield chips and,
perhaps,
flat tires (the Dempster, particularly around Rock River where it is
built
of shale, can be hard on tires - there is a running debate about
whether
driving slowly reduces punctures). The Dempster, which was not a
focus
of birding on this trip, is recommended, both for the beauty of the
land
and the birding.
The trip added 39 species to my Yukon list (to 153), 25 to my B.C. list
(to
282) and 37 to my N.W.T. list (to 141).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to the Yukon birders whose writings or direct correspondence
provided
important information - Cameron Eckhart, Helmut Grunberg, Pam
Sinclair
and the late Robert Frisch. Thanks to Linda Cameron and the staff
at
the Tombstone Mountain Nature Centre for updates on the Dempster.
Thanks
to the Parks Canada staff in Inuvik, in particular Ron Larsen and Angus
for
their assistance with the Stokes trip. Special thanks to Renee
van
Dieen for the F-350 and the charter flight.
Paul Jones
306-159 Murray Street,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 5M7