Wildlife Viewing Seasonal Calendar January occur along the outer coast of Mink, river otter, southeast and marten, and vole in Icy Strait. tracks are easy to find in the snow. Wolf, redpolls, chestnut-backed this season, but are rarely In early April, wolverine, and weasel tracks chickadees, Steller’s jays, and seen. trumpeter swans, Canada may also be found. Along downy woodpeckers can be geese, and a variety of rocky shores and coastal bays, easily attracted to birdfeeders April dabbling ducks move look for common, red- in this region. Bald eagles can northward from southern Mountain goats move to throated, and yellow-billed be seen anywhere along the areas. Northern pintails, blue- lower elevations to feed on loons, harlequin ducks, coast, throughout the year. winged teal, and American the first green plants of horned, red-necked, and wigeons arrive in early April. spring. Look for them on western grebes, scoters, March Blue grouse can be heard south-facing slopes. Brown goldeneyes, and long-tailed hooting in spring courtship. Steller sea lions feed on and black bears emerge from ducks. Rock sandpipers and In late April, watch for herring in inshore waters and winter dens. Bears are often dunlins occur on rocky coasts migrant sea ducks and can be seen around coastal visible in avalanche areas on throughout winter in shorebirds. Barrow’s towns, including Juneau. steep mountain slopes. Watch Southeast. Watch for Pacific goldeneyes, surf scoters, black Occasionally, killer whales for signs of deer and bears loons, common murres, and turnstones, and surfbirds that follow sea lions into eating emerging skunk marbled murrelets in offshore move through in large shallow water may be cabbage flowers and leaves. waters. Murres, murrelets, and numbers. Watch for observed from shore. uncommon migrants, pigeon guillemots also occur Ruby-crowned kinglets arrive including red-necked grebes, in inshore waters and may be Chestnut-backed chickadees, and begin singing. Hermit and sandhill cranes, red-tailed and seen near Petersburg. winter wrens, Steller’s jays, varied thrushes and American rough-legged hawks, and red-breasted nuthatches, robins appear in large other birds of prey. February golden-crowned kinglets, and numbers. Lapland longspurs, other winter resident birds snow buntings, and golden- Some killer and humpback Late April is a good time to begin courtship singing in crowned sparrows begin whales remain in the sounds visit the Stikine River Flats March. In late March, listen moving through Southeast. and straits of Southeast near Petersburg. Bald eagles, for the courtship drumming gulls, and mergansers are during the winter. Watch for Eulachon (a small oil-rich fish of sooty grouse in forested attracted to river mouths them, and Dall’s and harbor also known as hooligan) move areas. Herring move into where eulachon run. Bald porpoise, along the Alaska into rivers to spawn. shallow areas to spawn on eagles pairs may be observed Marine Highway and coastal Spawning herring reach kelp beds. Sea ducks begin in old-growth forest along the vantage points. maximum concentrations in their northward migrations. coast and river valleys. sheltered waters. Dolly During winter, flocks of Loons, grebes, mergansers, Varden char begin their chestnut-backed chickadees, and a variety of sea ducks may May seaward migration from brown creepers, red-breasted be abundant around herring wintering areas in freshwater nuthatches, and golden- spawning areas. Bears are feeding on newly lakes. Harbor seals congregate crowned kinglets can often be emerging vegetation. Black Owls establish nesting at river mouths during the found in old-growth forests. bears frequent grassy tidal territories by hooting and eulachon run. They can often Watch for large flocks of red flats to feed on sedges and calling during March. Listen be seen hauled out on and white-winged crossbills intertidal plants. Brown bears for great horned owls calling sandbars and icebergs. Sea and pine siskins feeding or may be seen in alpine tundra late in the night. Northern otter pups may be born any flying among the tops of or on tidal flats during May. saw-whet, western screech, time of year, but most are spruce trees. Common and great gray owls also call in born in spring. Sea otters 2015 Sitka black-tailed deer fawns warbler, northern Sitka black-tailed deer move Young begin fledging. Young are born during late May waterthrush, and varied, from forests to alpine areas woodpeckers often call from through June. During this Swainson’s, and hermit for the summer. the nest hole, and parents period, deer may be seen thrushes. feeding young are easy to along forest fringes adjacent Sooty grouse with young may watch. Some waterfowl molt to a beach or muskeg. Steelhead trout move into be seen in alpine areas. Most their wing feathers in late freshwater streams. songbirds are nesting and summer. Flocks of molting Beaver and muskrat can be Salamanders and boreal toads tend to quiet down, but geese occur on some alpine observed in early morning may be found in muskeg unpaired birds will continue lakes. Most ducks are solitary and late evening along ponds throughout the singing their courtship songs. and stay well hidden during streams and ponds. Moose summer. Young from the earlier their wing molt. begin calving. Cow moose nesting birds will begin Inland ponds and lakes are with young may be fledging; watch for fledged August encountered in muskegs and excellent places for birding. young. Pairs of marbled tall-shrub thickets along rivers Look for Bonaparte’s gull, murrelets can be seen on Throughout the summer, and in the Gustavus area. horned grebe, northern coastal waters throughout the mountain goat nannies and Snowshoe hare litters are pintail, American wigeon, region. Most waterbirds are their young travel in nursery born during April and May. northern shoveler, yellowlegs, nesting on inland lakes and groups. In contrast, billies Watch for females with young and spotted sandpiper. This is rivers, so fewer are present usually travel alone or in small in late evening and early the best time of year to look along the coast. Watch for groups of two to three morning in tall-shrub thickets for some southeast Alaska rufous hummingbirds around animals. Deer can be seen in of mainland southeast. specialties, including warbling flowerbeds and feeders during alpine and subalpine areas at and red-eyed vireos, June and July. They are dawn and dusk. Tufted puffins, common Tennessee warbler, attracted to anything that is murres, pigeon guillemots, MacGillivray’s warbler, bright red. Canada geese begin glaucous-winged gulls, and American redstart, western reappearing in salt marsh other seabirds begin gathering tanager, brown-headed Young Dolly Varden char and areas and remain common at nesting colonies on small cowbird, and band-tailed silver salmon can be seen through fall. Shorebirds begin islands along the outer coast. pigeon. Most of these can be along the margins of most passing through on their way Seabird colonies are found in riparian forests along streams. Sockeye (red) salmon south. Watch for pectoral, established at North Marble the major river systems on the enter spawning streams in late least, semipalmated, and Island at Glacier Bay, at mainland. Northwestern June. western sandpipers, greater Forester Island near Dixon crows, common in coastal and lesser yellowlegs, red- Entrance, and St. Lazaria communities, are vocal and July necked phalaropes, Island near Sitka. Murres and highly territorial during whimbrels, short-billed puffins can be observed at sea nesting. Sockeye (red) salmon migrate dowitchers, and golden and along the outer coast and in into spawning streams in peak black-bellied plovers. Water open passages. Marbled June numbers. Brown and black pipits and rosy finches form murrelets, pigeon guillemots, bears fish for spawning large flocks and can be and some other alcids can be Harbor seals give birth to salmon along rivers and observed in alpine areas. seen in nearshore waters pups on icebergs around streams. throughout this region. tidewater glaciers in Tracy Chum and pink salmon begin Arm and Glacier Bay. Sea otters can be seen in kelp salmon runs. They can be Migrant songbirds arrive and Humpback and killer whales beds along the outer coast of seen at spawning areas near begin their courtship songs. are frequently observed in Southeast Alaska islands and coastal towns. Red salmon are Look and listen for ruby- large sounds and straits of in Icy Strait. Singing activity spawning in Steep Creek near crowned kinglets, northern Southeast throughout the of passerines declines Mendenhall Glacier. Viewing yellowthroat, yellow-rumped summer. dramatically in early July. Southeast Alaska 2015 areas are provided along the thickets. Sitka black-tailed deer tend to follow snow lines Other resources: road. deer rut from mid-October up and down mountainsides through November. Bucks from the coastal forest fringe. Wildlife Viewing Program: September with full racks may be seen. When snow accumulates, they www.wildlifeviewing.alaska.gov move into old-growth forest State of Alaska Travel Info: Steller sea lions haul out on Migrating snow geese, en areas. Watch for them while www.travelalaska.com Benjamin Island near Juneau route to California, rest and traveling the Alaska Marine and other sites throughout the feed on the Stikine River Flats Highway. Alaska Public Lands region. They can be observed along with tundra swans and Information Centers: during fall and winter. Canada geese. Tundra swans Moose have become more www.alaskacenters.gov often stop over on coastal common in Southeast. Look Raptor migration is underway wetlands around Gustavus for them in river basins where in early September. Watch for Alaska State Parks: and Juneau. Long-tailed willow is abundant. Mountain www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks sharp-shinned hawks, merlins, ducks, goldeneyes, surf, black, goats move out of alpine and golden eagles flying along and white-winged scoters, tundra into old-growth forest Alaska Marine Highway: ridge tops in alpine areas.