May 29- Departure to Kigigak
We received the OK from the pilot for Nate and I to depart for Kigigak at 1PM. Those in the bunkhouse were asking if I was excited, my response was "yes, but I wont be fully pumped until I'm in the air". In Alaska anything can happen that would delay a flight: weather, maintenance etc. After all we were supposed to leave the day before but the flight did not happen, so I was not holding my breath for the next days departure. However, the plane ended up coming to Bethel and Nate and I were ready at the river front to load up. We loaded quickly and left Bethel by taking off from the Kuskokwim River. Our next stop-Kigigak Island, AK. After an hour plane ride over a landscape riddled with ponds, sloughs and pockets of water, we finally saw Kigigak (pic. 1). I could see our pile of gear beneath waiting for us, we circle the landing spot 3 times to hear the pilot say "this landing at low tide isn't really jazzing up my afternoon boys". The pilot ended up taking us to a cabin just North of Kigigak to stay the night, awaiting the proper tide. We stayed at this site for 2 days waiting to arrive at Kigigak (pic. 2). At this cabin we quickly noticed a bare pantry (luckily there was another crew already there who could feed us), our food was at Kigigak (pic. 3). We also noticed some Ravens had made a nest on the fuel tank, which made for an entertaining and loud evening (pic. 4). Finally on the 31st we had the tide figured out and were able to land on Kigigak. Our next step was to hike into our camp site and get camp set-up.
Picture 1- Landscape flying to Kigigak Island, AK.
Picture 2- Cabin we stayed in for 2 days awaiting Kigigak.
Picture 3- Pantry was bare, although we did find some hot chocolate from last year that was still good.
Picture 4- Raven nest on fuel tank.
May 31- Arriving to Camp
Nate and I were the first to land at Kigigak, we unloaded the plane and grabbed as much gear as we could. I put a gear pack on my back, pack on my front and 2 gear cases in my hands. The gear pile appeared a lot closer than it was. Not far into the trek I ended up leaving the gear cases in each hand behind. The two gear packs was more than enough for me to haul in. We hiked just over 1.25 miles on soft tundra, mud, muck and water. Not to mention dodging the occasional nest along the route. I was physically exhausted once we arrived at our gear pile. Sweat was pouring down my face, I remember thinking-"it's 40 degrees out and I'm sweating!?". The rest of our crew was arriving shortly so we grabbed the gear sleds and walked back to the landing spot for another gear run. Once we arrived at the landing spot we were met by the rest of our crew. We loaded the sleds up with more gear: water jugs, propane tanks, food boxes and other equipment. Each sled easily weighed 100lbs, and I thought the packs were bad! I was soon in for a real surprise, the sleds were an absolute drag! The weight of the sled dug into the soft ground making each step a fight. I soon hated these gear runs and can now relate to how a pack mule feels. After one more gear run we finally began erecting our camp site (pic. 5). Everything that day was difficult, we were exhausted from the gear runs and cold. The sweat soaked clothes wicked the heat from our bodies making things extremely uncomfortable. After a few hours of work and a few swear words camp was finally up and operational. Except for our toilet (behind the white weatherport). We could not find the toilet tent so the "throne" was placed behind the weather-port for privacy (pic. 6). However, it was quite refreshing to see mountains and waterfowl while using the bathroom. Now that camp was set-up we could finally begin our research.
Picture 5- Our camp after a few hours of work.
Picture 6- The "throne", it actually was quite comfortable.
Research Underway
Our research on Kigigak was focused primarily on the spectacled eider (threatened species). The spectacled eider was placed on the threatened species list in the early 90's. Researchers knew little about this species and wanted to know more. Researchers were curious as to where this bird winters and numerous theories were made. In 1995 biologists discovered that spectacled eiders winter in the Bering Sea in big groups. This was accomplished by placing satellite transmitters within the ducks. Now researchers want to know even more about this beautiful sea duck in order to preserve its habitat and increase its population, that is where our research comes into play.
We are retrieving data regarding average life expectancy and nesting success. This data is accomplished by nest searching, actively walking predetermined plots seeking out spectacled eiders (pic. 7). Once an eider is found we quickly determine if that eider was banded or not once the bird flushes from their nest. A nest card was used to record the number of eggs at each nest, the age of the eggs and the band # of the bird (if you could read it). Eggs were aged by two methods, candling and floating. The candling method was preferred over floating due to higher accuracy.
If the eider was not banded we would then set a bowtrap at her nest and await her return (pic. 8). Upon the eiders return to the nest the bowtrap would be released and (hopefully) the bird would be caught. The bird would then be safely extracted from the net, banded and measured (pic. 9 and 10). The bands allow for accurate re-sighting, allowing researchers to calculate life expectancy and survival. After the completion of nest searching and trapping/banding, the nests were revisited to determine the fate of each nest. This data allows researchers to understand the success of the eider nesting season.
Picture 7- Spectacled eiders
Picture 8- Nate setting a bowtrap on an eider nest.
Picture 9- Me extracting an eider safely from the net.
Picture 10- My first eider being banded and ready for release.
Camp Life
Camp life was fairly primitive, we had some amenities such as stove, propane heater, good food and a cots. Yet, camp its-self was still not your average days life. We washed our clothes in a Rubbermaid tote filled with heated pond water. Heated pond water was also what we used to clean our dishes everyday. Our showers were highly limited and consisted of heating pond water, as you can see pond water was used a lot! We prayed for rain the first few weeks so our gutter system would funnel water into a trash can. We would then utilize this water for drinking and cooking after filtering. We were very thankful for the one rain storm we received or we would have had to haul 55lb water jugs to camp from the landing spot (not fun). Overall camp life was fun and easy going, we enjoyed good dinners and played cards most nights. Hearts, blackball, rummy, canasta and 500 were the card games of choice most nights. However, hearts became too competitive after awhile and most of us couldn't stand the anxiety any longer. Below are an assortment of camp life pictures.
Doing dishes in hot pond water.
The inside of my tent lined with dirty clothes.
One of the few nice, warm days were spent lounging in the sun. It felt good to use the gear sled as a foot stool, instead of pulling it full of gear.
A view inside the weather-port
Our summer solstice night
Summer solstice-the longest day of the year. The official sunset was at 12:37AM.
Other Research Performed
Other data collected was elevation and water quality. Water quality data was extracted from numerous ponds and sloughs through a HOBO data logger (pic. 12). We retrieved these loggers and downloaded the information so the loggers could be reset in new locations. The data loggers recorded water temperature, water pressure (tides) and conductivity. The elevation data was retrieved using a rotary laser (pic. 11) and direct read elevation rod. This elevation data will be tied in with water quality data to establish a better understanding of the habitat within the research area.
Picture 11- Rotary Laser
Picture 12- HOBO data logger waiting to be retrieved
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