Trip
Information
Date: July
2 to 12, 2005
July 1 to 11, 2006
Duration: 11
days
Leaders: Richard
Knapton
Limit: 12
people
Cost: $3975
USD, $4895 CDN (includes GST), Singles add $450 USD, $550 CDN
From: Edmonton,
Alberta
Featured birds:
• Yellow-billed Loon
•
King Eider
•
Sabine's Gull
•
Red Phalarope
•
Long-tailed Jaeger
•
Snowy Owl
•
Gyrfalcon
•
Rock Ptarmigan
•
Great Gray Owl
•
Muskox
•
Arctic Fox
Trip Summary:
• Warm and possibly cold weather
• Great breeding bird and flora photography
• Wonderful mammals including Muskox right outside of town
• Flights from Edmonton to Yellowknife and to Victoria Island
• Unique Inuit cultural experience
• Easy to moderate walking, short drives, comfortable vehicles
• 4 to 8 participants with one leader; 9 to 12 with two leaders
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This
very special tour takes in three different areas; the exquisite high
Arctic tundra
above the Arctic Circle and far north of the treeline, the boreal forest
and lakes around Yellowknife, NWT, and the aspen parkland and potholes
of Central Alberta. We encounter a diverse array of birds, from King
Eiders to Pacific Loons, Snowy to Great Gray Owls, Long-tailed Jaegers
to Sabine's Gulls, Musk Oxen to Arctic Foxes, and much  more. The area
is also steeped in history and culture, from explorers searching for
the Northwest Passage to the Inuit of the western Arctic. The high quality,
cultural experience and exciting wildlife viewing make for a long-remembered
tour!
See detailed itinerary
below
Click here to download a list of birds from our 2004 High Arctic and
NWT tour.
Click
here to download list of birds from our 2003 Arctic tour.
To download a registration
form click here.
Photos: Great
Gray Owl by Dennis Fast, Long-tailed Jaegar by Richard Knapton
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Itinerary
Day
1 - Arrival and Orientation
The tour begins in the evening in Edmonton, Alberta. After dinner we will
meet for a brief introduction and orientation and, time permitting, may
visit a local park or nature center. Night in Edmonton.
Day 2 - Elk Island National Park
We leave Edmonton early for a one-hour drive to Elk Island National
Park. About 230 species of birds have been identified in the park and
many of
them nest there. Year round residents include Hairy, Downy and Pileated
Woodpeckers, Ruffed Grouse, and Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees. Migrant
and nesting passerines include Gray Catbird, Red-eyed and Blue-headed
Vireos, LeConte’s, Nelson's Sharp-tailed and Clay-colored Sparrows, Ovenbird,
and Mourning Warbler. We will look for Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Rose-breasted
Grosbeak, species we are not likely to find elsewhere. The marshes and
ponds support a diverse array of waterfowl, including Red-necked Grebe,
Ruddy Duck and Trumpeter Swan. The park is also home to some 44 different
kinds of mammals, including wapiti (elk), moose, white-tailed deer, coyote,
muskrat and porcupine. The most noticeable of the park’s mammals—and
we are likely to see them—are the two different sub-species of bison.
Time permitting, we head to Beaverhill Lake, a Ramsar World Heritage site,
and Miquelon Lakes to look for waterfowl and shorebirds, including American
White Pelican, American Avocet, Wilson’s Phalarope and Franklin’s
Gull, and landbirds such as Mountain Bluebirds and Vesper Sparrows. Night
in Lac La Biche.
Days 3 - Lac la Biche and Lakeland.
We spend the next morning searching for species which we have not found
so far in the Boreal Forest. In the splendid Sir Winston Churchill Provincial
Park, we search for Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay,
warblers such as Bay-breasted, Black-and-White, Blackburnian, Cape May
and American
Redstart, and perhaps Bald Eagle and Sharp-tailed Grouse. The local naturalists
may know of localities for northern owls such as Great Gray, Saw-whet,
and Northern Hawk-owl, and we will look for them if they are known to
be present. We should also add to our tally of mammals with beaver and
red
fox. Night in Edmonton.
Days 4 & 5 - Yellowknife.
We plan for a late start this morning, before we drive to the airport,
searching for Swainson’s Hawks on the way. We then board our plane
to Yellowknife, North West Territories. Whilst in the Yellowknife area,
we explore the low tundra and boreal habitats in the Great Slave Lake area,
looking for specialties such as Red-necked Grebe, Mew and Bonaparte’s
Gulls, Rusty Blackbird and Sandhill Crane, and possibly White-winged Crossbill,
Northern Shrike and Bohemian Waxwing. We should encounter several boreal
forest species such as Blackpoll and Orange-crowned Warblers, Gray Jay
and Lincoln’s Sparrow when we visit the Niven Lake Nature Reserve.
Nights in Yellowknife.
Day 6 - Flight to Cambridge Bay
We will spend the morning birding around the Yellowknife area before taking
an afternoon flight to Cambridge Bay. We spend the rest of the day getting
our bearings about town, and noticing that the common town birds are Snow
Buntings and Lapland Longspurs - quite a change from House Sparrows and
Starlings! Night in Cambridge Bay.
Days 7 - 10 - Cambridge Bay
Whilst at Cambridge Bay, we make daily excursions to the various accessible
locations around town. One day we travel by vehicle on one of the few
roads in the area to the base of Mount Pelly. Here we should get acquainted
with
common bird species such as American Golden Plover, Semipalmated, Baird’s
and Stilt Sandpipers, Long-tailed Jaeger, Arctic Tern, Horned Lark, Lapland
Longspur and Snow Bunting. American Pipits breed on the summit of the
mountain. The loon that breeds in the larger lakes in this area is Yellow-billed
Loon, and we will look for nesting pairs of this impressive bird. We
should
also find several groups of Muskox, and see Arctic Foxes, on the slopes
of Mount Pelly.
On another day, we travel along the West Arm to Dease and Simpson Strait,
which overlook the Northwest Passage. Throughout the trip we periodically
hike out onto the tundra looking for signs of the famous arctic rodents,
lemmings. If their numbers are high, we should see many of the predators
whose numbers depend on the lemming populations, such as all three species
of jaegers, Snowy Owl, and Rough-legged Hawk. As well, we will enjoy the
abundant waterfowl, loons, and shorebirds with their broods. Greater White-fronted
Geese, King and Common Eiders, and Long-tailed Ducks should have flotillas
of young, Pacific Loons will be on just about every medium-sized pond,
and lots of shorebirds including White-rumped Sandpipers will be scattered
over the tundra. Our eyes will be constantly searching the chilly waters
for Ringed Seals.
We also visit an ancient traditional Inuit hunting site, marked by stone
tent rings and seal caches on the tundra. Close by is an area that holds
nesting birds such as Red Phalarope, Sabine’s Gull, Ruddy Turnstone,
Rock Ptarmigan and Tundra Swans. We will have more time to carefully
study the beautiful flora and butterflies of the tundra as well. Some
species,
such as Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Willow Ptarmigan, will require persistence,
luck and time. We will revisit areas to try to find these target species;
in the past, we have made two trips to Mount Pelly. The mammals are no
exception to this, and we hope to come across those species we have not
yet found, perhaps including Arctic Hare. Nights in Cambridge Bay.
We will have the opportunity to get in some souvenir shopping in town.
On Day 10, we board our plane for Yellowknife and on to Edmonton. Last
night in Edmonton.
Day 11 - Departure
The tour concludes in Edmonton after breakfast.
What to Expect
Because Victoria Island has a relatively small road network, meals will
be slotted in around bird activity and weather patterns. We will never
be more than an hour's drive from the Hotel. There will be no need
for early morning risings as we will witness 24 hours of daylight!
Bird activity
often peaks at mid-day! Polar Bears are unlikely to be encountered;
however we should see Musk-Ox, Artic Fox, Ringed Seal, Arctic Hare
and lemmings.
We can expect a high diversity of land and water birds during our visit
to central Alberta and the Yellowknife area.
Our daily itinerary will be responsive to weather conditions. Driving
will be limited to either small or moderate stretches. Lunch will be
variable
in time and location depending on the day and the level of birding. The
weather can vary from a sweltering 25C to around freezing in the day,
with frequent night-time frosts. It may snow, and participants should
layer
their clothing as conditions can change quickly while we are in the field.
Participants should include bug repellent and perhaps a head net in their
luggage, as there will be some mosquitoes, especially in Yellowknife!
Sturdy footwear that will keep your feet dry is recommended, as we
will be doing
some tundra hiking. Each evening a log-call follows the evening meal.
We review the day’s events, birds, mammals and other observations
and look forward to the next day's activity.
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