Birds Around Wrangell

Wrangell Island
One of the best ways to find a bird you are looking for is to visit its preferred habitat. Habitat is the word for an animal's home - the place where it finds food and cover. The Wrangell Island Bird Checklist indicates the habitats where these birds are generally found on Wrangell Island. Many birds use different habitat types throughout the year. Habitat ranges from alpine (above 1500 feet in elevation) to salt water.

Some of our most unusual and interesting birds can be found on salt water. Wrangell Island lies within the Pacific Flyway - one of the most important migratory routes in North America.

We may not see much on the beach except mud and sand, but these sites are chock full of microscopic creatures (invertebrates), the primary food source for shorebirds such as the black turnstone.

There are numerous streams, small ponds and lakes on the island that are frequented by interesting birds such as the American dipper.

Peatlands, often referred to as muskegs, are characterized by a spongy ground cover of sphagnum moss, small ponds and dwarf-sized trees. Old-growth forests contain trees of varied ages and lots of structure. Small gaps in the canopy create habitat for some birds. Large, tall spruce trees are nest sites for Townsend's warblers. Alder and willow shrubs provide nesting cover for some species, fruits and seeds for others. Clearcuts are man-made openings characterized by lots of downed wood and a heavy shrub later. Song sparrows use shrubs along the beach.

Urban/edge habitat contains shrubs, younger trees, grassy lawns and buildings and second-growth forests. Nesting success is often low due to predators such as cats. The varied thrush is a common "backyard bird" associated with this habitat type.

Stikine River
Birds concentrate along the Stikine River in April to feed on eulachon, oily little fish locally known as "hooligan." This is the site of the largest springtime concentration of bald eagles in the world - 2,000 or more birds move between the river's Middle Arm and North Arm.

Hundreds of thousands of gulls also arrive in the spring to take advantage of this valuable food source. Species present at this time include Bonaparte's, herring, glaucous, glaucous-winged, California, mew, ring-billed, and Thayer's gulls and black-legged kittiwakes.

Grasses and sedges that grow in the intertidal zone are the favorite food of migrating waterfowl. Fifteen thousand or more snow geese stop here in mid-April on their way to another Wrangel Island, in Siberia.

In addition to the birds on the Stikine River checklist, you might also discover Eurasian wigeons or subspecies such as Tule white-fronted geese or Vancouver Canada geese.

The islands at the mouth of the Stikine and the tidal flats provide critical habitat for migrating shorebirds. As many as 200,000 shorebirds stop to refuel on invertebrates in late April and early May. In addition to the birds on the list, watch for marbled godwit, red knot, sanderling, Baird's sandpiper, sharp-tailed sandpiper, solitary sandpiper, killdeer, lesser golden plover, upland sandpiper and stilt sandpiper.

Western sandpipers make up 90 percent of the shorebird flocks. Western sandpipers color-banded as far away as Peru and Mexico have been located on the Stikine River.

During the breeding season the Stikine provides access to an interior decisuous forest unusual for Southeast. Look for breeding common yellowthroats, yellow warblers and western tanagers.

Raptors you are most likely to see include bald eagle, northern harrier, sharp-shinned hawk, merlin, red-tailed hawk, American peregrine falcon (in migration), northern goshawk, and short-eared owl.

Bird Viewing Tips Use binoculars, spotting scopes or a telephoto lens so that you can avoid approaching birds too closely. Watch behavior for signs fo distress. Birds may scold you, dive-bomb, or try to lead you away from their nest. If you see this behavior, move further away. Five nests and nesting colonies a wide berth. Do not try to "save" baby animals - Mom is usually somewhere nearby. Keep your dog and cat under your control. Cats kill millions of songbirds in the U.S. each year.

Updated June 13, 2001

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