Some of the birds in Ivvavik National Park

Life is still very busy right now - I have a final exam (on Statistics) on Sunday, a committee meeting on Monday, need to grade all the research reports for the Plant Ecology class, invigilate the Plant Ecology final exam on Wednesday, and fly back to BC on the same night. Phew!

I can't wait to go back to BC to relax (just a bit...still a lot of work to do back home) and do some birding - I have seen a lot of Snowy Owls photos by Lower Mainland photographers that I am feeling very jealous of. Birding is not particularly interesting here, or maybe I am just way too busy.

Here are some of the bird photos that I took this past summer in Ivvavik.

Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) - they were found in alpine tundra areas - grassy or rocky with very little vegetation.


Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) - a species at its northern range.


Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) - same as the UPSA, in terms of habitat preferences.


White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) - another common bird down south breeding all the way up north.


Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) - only saw this bird once along Sheep Creek. There was another incident when I found a SPSA chick running along the rocky creekside and up the muddy banks.


Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) - first time seeing these birds. Not as curious as I thought they'd be.




Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) - these birds were quite common last year in Carden Plains and apparently they are found in the Arctic as well! One of my co-workers was studying the habitat selection of these birds, as well as doing sound recording to compare them with UPSAs down south - to see if they are different species.


UPSA nest in the swampy lowlands with tall grasses and many times we were spooked by these well camouflaged birds, both adults and chicks alike. Cute, aren't they?