Tag Archives: Friends

Highlights of an Alaskan Bird-a-thon

The Alaska Songbird Institute has a goal for people during their second annual “Bird-a-thon” : find as many birds as you can within 24 hours in Alaska. We, team MRI (Madi, Ross, and Ian), decided to take the task seriously! We started our 24 hour window at 8:00 PM by birding a range of Fairbanks hot-spots. From there we headed south along the Richardson highway with the goal of making it Paxson to bird the Denali Highway – a 134 mile stretch of wetland potholes and alpine tundra chock-ful of birds.

May 15th was the first day the Denali Highway was officially open, and much of the Denali Highway’s tundra was still covered in snow due to 3000′ elevation gain. Because of the low-productivity of snow-covered areas, we targeted melt areas and ponds. There were many, many species of birds. Some of them, such as red-throated loons were still passing through to breed on lakes further north over the Brooks Range, using the Denali Highway region as a “stopover” until the ponds further north were ice free. But, the site was not a stopover for most. Many of the birds were there to make a nest and raise young in the 24 hour light. The tundra is the summer home of many species which are found in vastly different habitats during the winter. For instance, the long-tailed jaeger is an ocean bird. During the summer they nest in the tundra and eat berries and small rodents. Quite a change from the fish they traditionally consume! Wilson’s warbler migrate to South America, and arctic terns migrate to Antarctica (the longest animal migration). In fact, the Alaskan tundra is so unique and special that birds from six of the seven continents can be found on it. For those that see the tundra frozen in the winter, it is easy to forget the tundra is a highly valuable and necessary ecosystem!

Aside from the birds, the scenery of the Denali Highway is never ending! The melting ponds and flowing rivers created a patchwork of light and dark across the land. To the north, the horizon was ragged like torn cloth with the mountains of the Alaska Range. In the twilight at 2:00 AM (because it no longer gets fully dark here), the Alaskan Range stabbed through the colors of the sunset and on bluebird days like the one we had its snow covered peaks starkly contrasted the thawing tundra and blue sky.

Along with the birds, there was plenty of mammals to see. By the end of the trip we watched well over 20 moose and probably 30 caribou. Arctic ground squirrels fed along the roadsides, and frolicked across the snow. The young animals of spring are out and about, and we enjoyed watching a red fox kit chew on some grass outside of its den after we returned to Fairbanks.

Alaska Range Caribou
A herd of caribou navigate around a pond with the expanse of the tundra behind them.
Moose
A mother moose and her yearly calf browse on new growth of willow.
Velvet Bulls
Two bull caribou lounge about in velvet antlers.
Fox Kit
This fox kit was a joy to watch. You can tell by the smooth walls of this den that they have spent quite a bit time going in and out.

So, bringing it back to where it all started, why go birding for 24 hours straight? It seems that it might be a bit crazy (for instance getting about 3-4 hours of sleep). To understand that, you simply have to understand what I believe birding is. Birding is a chance to observe the natural environment either individually or with friends. An opportunity to go birding with a two great friends (we rock, MRI!) in a place as remote and diverse as Interior Alaska is a moment to relax and learn something new (essentially a guarantee); it should not be passed up. Even if observing wildlife is not for you, my definition of “birding” can be modified to fit almost any hobby. Don’t pass up opportunities to learn and be with good friends. After 24 hours, we identified 68 species of birds; a pretty remarkable list and I cannot wait until next year’s Bird-a-thon!

Bird list
Here’s the list of observed species during team MRI bird-a-thon. 68 species in 24 hours! Ironically we did not turn up a black-capped chickadee – very ironic considering they are a classic species of Alaska.

How to Fillet Your Burbot (Properly)

We’ve finally come out of our ‘seasonably cold’ weather in Fairbanks. Looking back at the last months data, temperatures hovered around -20 most of time which is not good burbot fishing weather! The holes freeze up quickly both on the top and by filling in from the sides. However, temperatures this week hold the promise of our first 30 degree day all winter, and it was time get back onto the ice!

Here's the weather graph of our temperatures since January 1st. Lots of 40 below in there, and not much above zero! These data were pulled down from NOAA from the Fairbanks airport weather station.
Here’s the weather graph of our temperatures since January 1st. Lots of 40 below in there, and not much above zero! These data were pulled down from NOAA from the Fairbanks airport weather station.

When we reached our destination, it was evident the cold snap had thickened the exoskeleton of the Tanana River. The first hole we drilled buried my normal auger bar, but that didn’t worry me! A few pins removed and added, and my 18″ extension was attached. With the entire auger now towering at six feet I was pretty confident I would get through to water. The newly lengthened auger took a some teamwork to make it efficient. For instance, starting a new hole and applying enough downward pressure required one guy on each handle and working at eye level until it had cut deep enough. However, we found water just a few more inches where the old auger hole had ended. We set our lines using the method from last season and walked away with anticipation for the next day.

The next day I returned with a slightly new crew. One of the things I have enjoyed most about burbot fishing is having a reason to go outside for a walk, gathering my own food through the winter, and introducing new people to the experience. Brian, Alison, and their 1-year old pup Rue were great additions on the Tanana.  Rue in particular loved to dig the snow off the closed holes, steal bait, and watch as we scooped slush. A cute pup! To help out their experience, we pulled out a great looking, 30 inch burbot!

The crew looks on as Rue gets in closer for a look. It's a lot of fun having a young dog on the ice!
The crew looks on as Rue gets in closer for a look. It’s a lot of fun having a young dog on the ice!
Rue liked to help "dig" the holes for us, and was very curious about scooping slush.
Rue liked to help “dig” the holes for us, and was very curious about scooping slush.
Group success! The only bad part : I missed the focus on this shot. In my defense I wasn't wearing my glasses. Oops!
Group success! The only bad part : I missed the focus on this shot. In my defense I wasn’t wearing my glasses. Oops!

One of the things I have learned from people as I have talked about burbot fishing to them, is there is a lot of misconceptions on how to clean a burbot. When I was home in Minnesota this Christmas I was fishing for walleye on Ottertail lake, when we pulled a nice eelpout (burbot), through the hole. The guys I was with admitted they had never actually kept and cleaned one. I have had conversations with others who suggest to only remove the meat from along the back, but in fact there is a lot more meat on the fish than that! Contrary to these ideas, cleaning a burbot is not a whole lot different than cleaning any other fish. Here’s a couple of tips:

1) Fillet around the ribs rather than through them and remove the whole fillet from the side of the fish

2) There are some large rib bones that stick perpendicular to the side of the fish, once you are around those you’ll be able to keep all the belly meat

3) When removing the skin from the fillet, hold the knife parallel to the table and then angled slightly down. Rather than push the knife through the fillet, pull the fillet (starting wit the tail end) towards you leaving the knife in place. It will result in NO meat lost EVERY time!! If you try to push the knife through the fillet you will likely cut through the skin and that’s frustrating!

For your information, and entertainment, I’ve put together a 50 second video highlighting these tips, a poor accent, and a slightly dry sense of humor. Good luck getting those burbot!

 

Raising a Yurt in Fairbanks

This last weekend I had the privilege to add a new skill to my construction resume when I and group of dynamic and great individuals put up a round, vinyl sided house called a yurt. If you are now thinking to yourself “a vinyl sided building in a landscape where temperatures can reach 50 below??… that’s crazy!” your thoughts are actually right on track, it’s a little bonkers. However, with the proper heat and insulation yurts can be a warm and comfortable way to get through life in the Interior.

The construction day was marked by beautiful skies, great company, strong coffee, pizza, and some local brew. I’ll head into some details of yurts (if you’re into that kind of thing, and I’m just learning for the first time), but first, here’s the timelapse of the day. I think the timelapse is pretty fun!

The yurt is originally a Mongolian structure associated with nomadic horse herders of Mongolia .and appeared for the first time in records near 500 BC although yurts have likely been around since 1000BC – that’s quite awhile! (although, to put it in perspective, Bristlecone pines may be 5000 years old, meaning they germinated ~3000BC). The structure is easy to take down and move which benefited the lifestyle of the Mongolian horse herder.

As you construct a yurt you, the builder, quickly gain appreciation for the efficiency of the dwelling. It is amazing that 6-8 untrained people could put up the bulk of the structure in just 8 hours! This yurt (http://www.nomadshelter.com/) was constructed on a raised platform with the about 10 inches of foam in the floor providing rigidity and insulation (~R50). The windows and doors were framed, and lathe which supports the walls was stretched between each of the frames. Stretched on top of the lathe a 3/8 cable hooked onto 2×4 rafters which joined into the central ring at the peak of the building. The tension of the boards on the cable holds the whole thing up; we found that 2 guys could sit on the peak with no stress the the building. It’s amazing that with NO nails you can support the weight of 300 pounds of man!

Once the rafters are on, the roof insulation and cover are put up and extra insulation is stuffed into the roof cavity. The walls are hung and insulated and finally the outer cover is put on. Adding in a few windows, a door, a roof cap with a stove pipe, and a stove will ensure your yurt is ready for the Fairbanks winter!

The images below were taken by Chris Behnke, the yurt owner. They show up close some of the key pieces of the yurt.

In the center of the platform a scaffolding was built and the center ring was suspended.
In the center of the platform a scaffolding was built and the center ring was suspended.

 

Here you can see the lathe which support the walls of the yurt. If the yurt was ever taken down simply collapse the lathe for portability!
Here you can see the lathe which support the walls of the yurt. If the yurt was ever taken down simply collapse the lathe for portability!
The yurt had windows and doors framed first. The tops of the framing lined up with the lathe walls and a cable was strung in a circle around the top. That cable supported the roof rafter boards and vinyl.
The yurt had windows and doors framed first. The tops of the framing lined up with the lathe walls and a cable was strung in a circle around the top. That cable supported the roof rafter boards and vinyl.
The center ring is supported by a rafter boards joined to the circular cable running around the outside. It's amazing to support a roof without a sing nail!
The center ring is supported by a rafter boards joined to the circular cable running around the outside. It’s amazing to support a roof without a single nail, and it could support the weight of two guys!

So, the next time you’re at local ski resort and they put you up in one of these round, wonderful buildings you are now equipped with all sorts of conversation starters 😉