Arctic Revue Day 5 "Arctic Wings"

Birds are one of main interests, and the Arctic Refuge offered great views of some great birds.  One of my favorites was the Arctic Tern.  All terns are graceful birds.  The Arctic Tern is no exception.  Remarkably they are circumpolar, meaning they fly about 50,000 miles each year to spend "summer" in the Arctic to breed and "summer" in Antarctic to forage. 

Arctic Tern

Another special sighting was a group of nine Upland Sandpipers.  Larger than pigeons, but more slender, these sweet shorebirds were in a wet sedge meadow.  I first detected them by the descending call.  Then sure enough, I saw some wing displays (they are known to raise their wings and bring them together over their backs and hold them in that position briefly).  UPSAs "winter" in South America, and they used to be common in Illinois but have been dramatically reduced due to habitat destruction.  Previously in 2010 I had seen 3 UPSAs at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet, IL.  The Illinois population is continuing to fall, which made group of 9 in the Arctic Refuge so special to me. 

Upland Sandpiper

The Rock Ptarmigan is in the grouse family.  They were easily seen on the gravel riverbanks.  A male would usually be seen with 2-3 females.  He will snort and grunt in an intimidating way.  He's about the size of a medium chicken, so the threat is more "bark" than "bite."  Rock Ptarmigans are permanent residents of the Arctic Refuge.  This one is in his summer finest.  For winter, all ptarmigans take on all white plumage for camouflage with the snow.

Rock Ptarmigan

One winter I made 8 trips to Chicago's North Avenue Beach before I finally saw one Harlequin Duck.  They are often near rocky bays in the winter.  But in the Arctic Refuge last summer, we almost always found them with a group of Red-breasted Mergansers along the rushing river.  Harlequins are small diving ducks, and the males have bold markings and beautiful coloring.

Harlequin Ducks

I highly recommend Stephen Brown's Arctic Wings, a beautiful picture book featuring birds of the Arctic Refuge.  President Jimmy Carter wrote the foreword and David Allen Sibley the introduction.  Other people, such as Debbie Miller, have written excellent essays, but the pictures alone make the book worth owning!  As a bonus, it comes with a recording of birds in the Arctic.