September 3, 2006

It is a gorgeous day here today. The sun is bright and there is a gentle breeze blowing. Another teacher and I took a long walk on the tundra. I am awed by the vastness. Some say there is nothing here. One must look closely to see all that is here. The birds are in abundance. There is a great variety of vegetation. Granted it is very small. Today we saw large flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese (to be added to my life list of birds seen) preparing for their long journey south. They migrate to the southeast Canadian prairies and the central flyway to eastern Mexico. We saw a Northern Harrier hunting along the river banks. It managed to catch some small rodent, but dropped it. I am guessing that the creature hit the ground pretty hard wondering what had happened. The Harrier did not give up, and was still hunting when we left. Another bird to add to my life list was the Short Eared Owl. There were many more birds that we could not identify especially water fowl.