Churchill Jun 13—19, 2010
Posted by Jeri Langham
Jeri Langham
Jeri M. Langham has a Ph.D. in plant ecology from Washington State University, and after 38 years as a professor of biological sciences at California State University ...Related Trips
After 25 years of leading this tour, I should be fully aware that the weather is completely unpredictable and can change from freezing to hot in less than an hour. When the northerly winds blow over the frozen Hudson Bay, my down jacket is often not enough to keep me warm as I scope from the point at Cape Merry while standing on ancient, lichen-covered rocks of the Precambrian Shield. The wind pushes the ice floes back to land, and with the incoming tide they flow through the wide mouth of the Churchill River and drift upriver, sometimes carrying jaegers, gulls, terns, and waterfowl. Over the years, my three favorite ice-floe-riding birds have been Ross's Gull, a male King Eider, and an elegant, adult Long-tailed Jaeger. However, if we get a southerly wind, shorts and a t-shirt are enough to keep me warm as I stand on the very same large, ancient rock.
Last year Hudson Bay and the Churchill River were still frozen over as we flew in and remained that way while we were there. Deep snowdrifts made many of the usual roads impassable throughout our stay, and the first hot day began to melt snow so rapidly that it created bodies of water that looked like lakes in areas that are usually dry. In fact, two days after we arrived the flooding was so bad that it overflowed a few of the roads that were open and made passage impossible. I had never faced such challenges in finding the specialty birds that make this trip such a joy to lead. Migration was more than two weeks behind normal, causing us to miss a few species that had not arrived yet, but on the positive side, allowing us to find some birds that in past years would have already been gone.
However, this year very few patches of snow were visible from the plane as we landed. The mouth of the Churchill River was open and the beluga whales had returned. Flowers were already blooming on the tundra and many passage migrants had already departed, leaving the usual breeding birds we come here to see. How different can two years be? And yet, we once again found and enjoyed most of the same birds. Knowing where most of the important bird territories are located was once again invaluable.
On every one of my tours, I write a journal covering the locations we visit and some of the highlights of each day. After I return home, and have a chance to do some editing, I mail it to the participants. In order to interest you in joining me next year, here are some highlights from this year's journal:
Mark was waiting for us with the white bus and a second vehicle to take our luggage to the Tundra Inn. Within minutes, we started seeing our first new birds along The Highway Road. At Akudlik Marsh, it was Long-tailed Ducks and Arctic Terns. We then headed to check Bonnie Chartier's bird report board and slowly worked our way toward town. I stopped briefly at Gypsy's Bakery to let them know we were in town and would be there for lunch. Then it was on to a dozen beautiful, breeding-plumaged Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings along the near bank of the Churchill River. The Granary Ponds were loaded with Stilt and Least sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Red-necked Phalaropes, and many species of ducks. At one pond, we picked up a Solitary Sandpiper and then headed to Cape Merry. On the return, our last stop was behind the hospital, and there we were greeted with a first-year Glaucous Gull.
There are several birds I always expect to see from the Landing Lake road. We added Harris's Sparrow, which is usually tough to get on this tour, and three sparrow species seen earlier. Much more interesting was getting both Common and Hoary redpolls and having great comparison views of them. Yogie got great photos of these and the Hudsonian Godwit. A few Merlins put on a distant show for us, making me wish I could see what was upsetting them. As we were driving back out, Joanne spotted a male Willow Ptarmigan and you all got to watch it walk up onto the road and within two feet of me. We also had great looks at some Whimbrels before heading to Gypsy's for lunch.
Launch Road has a turnoff that allows a quick spin around the old, abandoned landfill that used to be so good for gulls. In the flat tundra beyond it, we observed many Sandhill Cranes. A mile or so further down Launch Road, I mentioned we were in American Golden-Plover nesting habitat and Molly immediately spotted one. We enjoyed scoping two others near the Twin Golf Balls, followed by a mini-lecture on Krummholz formation. A little further down on the side road to Camp Nanuk, we saw a distant Rough-legged Hawk and then lucked out when a Parasitic Jaeger flew into the large open tundra field. We watched it perch on little mounds that may later be chosen as its nest site. It did some great flying around for us, often chasing away Whimbrels. Here we got our best views of the Ithaca, a Greek ship that went aground in a storm and could not be pulled out. As we turned around and started back for dinner, Linette spotted a close male American Golden-Plover, and we also saw the female on her nest.
On the road to Twin Lakes, we did get to see a number of breeding Hudsonian Godwits and Short-billed Dowitchers, but the target bird, Smith's Longspur, never responded. In former years, there were up to 4–5 Smith's Longspur territories along this road. Things did improve once we hit the forest and drove down Cook Street. I could not believe my eyes when I spotted a male Spruce Grouse from the bus. Despite the drizzle, we all had great looks. Bruce Di Labio had told me that two Little Gulls were trying to nest on the small island just offshore. Owen and Molly got a quick look when one flew up from the nest, but it took nearly an hour for the rest of you to see them when one of the pair tried to fly in to replace its mate on the nest and was driven away by the Arctic Terns nesting on the island. Returning to the main road, a few of us saw a wonderful male Pine Grosbeak and soon we had three perched Bohemian Waxwings, two adults and a juvenile. Later, we found single Bohemian Waxwings in two other locations.
Since it had been so productive at the Cape Merry point on the optional before-breakfast outing, I took all of you back after we ate and you really had a chance to enjoy watching and photographing the beluga adults and young. As we headed south of town, I decided to try the old officer's quarters, known as Old Dene Village. You could see what was left of all the old concrete foundations. Our biggest surprise here was briefly seeing a Black-backed Woodpecker since nobody else had reported one this year.