Aropuk Lake

Another successful trip to a remote field site in Alaska! Jim and I were joined by 6 students (3 from Anchorage, 2 from Kwigillingok, 1 from Bolenas,CA), 1 teacher (Bethel), and 2 shorebird gurus (Nils Warnock and Bob Gill). The project was very exciting for me because it was the first big step towards a life goal: to bridge the gap between field biology and education. Students helped capture, retrieve, band birds, and record data such as molt, bill and leg length, fat storage, sex, weight, and of course, species names. We also had a small study of our own taking place, which entailed recording observations of habitat use by age class of the Western Sandpiper. On top of all of this, we searched for Hudsonian Godwits, banded in 2007 or 2008 by Jim in Chile.
We arrived via float plane, to a well established camp (thanks to Jim, Bob, Nils and Noah) on a hot summer day, with not a breeze to speak of. Aropuk Lake is the largest on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, yet it is not deeper than 36 inches. That means a lot of mud, and a lot of prime mosquito habitat. We prayed for wind that day, and our prayers were answered! It remained cold and windy for the remainder of the trip. Phew!
We ate many cookies & jelly beans, played riveting card games, and all learned a couple of songs on Patrick's mandolin. It was an enriching experience for all. Jim and I feel especially fortunate to have had the opportunity to catch a glimpse into the Yup'ik culture. Carolyn and Kira are two amazing teenagers from a small coastal village, "founded" by Kira's grandfather. They taught us many Yup'ik names for the birds, and in turn, they were amazed to learn the different species names for shorebirds.
We shared many laughs. We hope to extend these opportunities to students who share the same "backyard" birds during the flip side of the "Great Circle".
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