Cordova, Alaska: Ducks Unlimited Dusky Canada Goose Intern - Summer 2022

            I had a good mix and variety of things to do my last week here. More Dusky island maintenance was a good part of it, but I also got out to see some more of the salmon run, spent half a day at Sheridan Glacier photographing some recently dislodged ice chunks and seeing the transition to fall, and taking one last trip out to the Motus tower we set up this spring. With a lot of rain recently (close to 50 inches in August), I was in the office and had the chance to test, and pass, my Dusky knowledge on the Washington Department of Fish and Game Southwest Canada Goose Test. It is a test that all hunters must pass that hunt in Southwest Washington to help with the identification of Duskies and other subspecies while hunting. I was also able to indulge in some historical photographs of the Copper River Delta and experience years of accelerated ecological succession in seconds.            After another awesome week, I boarded my flight back to Wisconsin today. Thank you all for fol

            With temperatures starting to reach freezing points on the North Slope, the great North American bird migration is already underway. Signs on the delta are prevalent: flocks of green-winged teal and northern shovelers line the banks of Alaganik Slough, yellowlegs call their call and try and outrace the airboat, trumpeter swan cygnets are fledged and turning their grey/juvenile color, and Duskies are starting to gain and regain flight over the rain-filled Copper River. Sunshine has been few and far between here in Cordova lately, but maintenance trips still provide some excitement. Recently, we had a bull moose run along side the airboat for a good while, providing for some good shots. Even with my camera in my drybag, I had enough time to get it out and get a few shots. Over the last few weeks, avian life has started to emerge again after a hiatus of birds secretly rearing their young. Many more are still to come out, but it's obvious the migration is building.  We even

            With a storm pushing in later in the week last week, we left camp a day early to beat the weather and sift through some more nest island camera data. We maintained 73 islands before the storm, and will finish the rest in the coming weeks. Beginning with the furthest islands from camp, we fixed anchors, re-drilled island collars, landscaped completely bare islands, and even re-anchored islands that washed to shore. Most of the islands only needed landscaping, so the majority of the work was transplanting Sweetgale, and a few other species, from shore to the islands. Sometimes the Sweetgale digging got tough, so willows and even spruce trees became cover on some islands. On most islands, we would dig three or four clumps of Sweetgale, pile it into out boats, and bring it to the island.  Transporting Sweetgale to an island.  Group of molting geese with their fledging youngsters along the banks of Alaganik Slough.  We bumped this Moose along a beaver slough before we saw him ag