Homer, AK, On the Job

April 21st and it’s snowing ..... 4" on the ground mid day. It’s our first day off after a week of orientation when the sun shone and temperatures reached the low 50's. April in Alaska!
Today’s snow, however, is beautiful and we’ve enjoyed a long exploratory walk around town with breakfast in a local café, birding in the slough beside the visitors center where we were delighted to see the sandhill crane pair who have been there off and on this week and may be the same two who fledged two colts there last year, then off to the dump for eagle viewing.....
What a day!

We are delighted at our good fortune to be here. The Islands and Ocean’s Visitor’s Center is a beautiful, state of the art facility shared with the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve (one of 25 in the National Estuarine Research Reserve system), both of which are staffed with outstanding biologists. We have learned an amazing amount from them this past week and will have the benefit of these fabulous resource people for the next three months! No way to share it all, but one of the highlights was an hour on invasive species and the biologists’ incredible preparation to eradicate egg and bird-eating rats from several of the islands which previously provided safe rookeries for all sorts of shore and sea birds until rats were inadvertently introduced by sailing ships years ago.
In addition to “in house” orientation, we toured the spit and docks where we saw halibut being off loaded (Homer is the Halibut capitol of the world). We were privileged to have Captain Billy Pepper give us a tour of the Maritime National Wildlife Refuge’s (NWR) research ship, the Tiglax (TEKH-lah - Aleut for eagle) which has a proud history of 20 years sailing for science. He is preparing (huge logistical and nautical challenges) to take all the field biologists’s to their arduous summer work sites at isolated islands along the Aleutian chain. He, like everyone we have met, is a most capable man who is very serious about his work but in possession of a great sense of humor. I am both proud and humbled to be among those who will represent these dedicated people and interpret their work to the thousands of visitors who will flock here this summer. What an amazing opportunity.

In the bunkhouse we have been joined by several NWR transients and another full time volunteer, Elizabeth, who is a good humored, energetic 70 yo UU, widow of a biologist, retired teacher and artist, who tent camped around Alaska with a friend last summer and decided she wanted to try volunteering this year. We will have two more field biologists joining us this week until they sail on the Tiglax and second wave of volunteers will come in June.

Oh, I’ve finally seen a moose, in fact three, all cows! They have come down into town to graze where the snow melts earlier, and to give birth. We see one daily from our second story perch but give her wide berth as the females are “edgy” just prior to and after giving birth. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe this is real!

Finally, I am so impressed by the NWR system and mission that I encourage you to give yourself a treat by exploring some refuges this summer! Since many of you live in MD, PA and NM, I’ll list those. MD - Patuxent Research refuge, Laurel; Blackwater and Martin in Cambridge; and Eastern Neck in Rock Hall, MD. NM - Bosque del Apache and Sevilleta, Socorro; Bitter Lake, Roswell; San Andres, Las Cruces; Las Vegas and Maxwell in towns of the same name and Grulla near Muleshoe, TX. PA - Erie in Guys Mills and John Heinz at Tinicum, Philadelphia.