Author: J.K. Ullrich
Summer invites millions of visitors and locals to explore Alaska’s incredible landscapes. Almost 90% of the state is publicly owned land, including 9 of the 10 largest national parks in the country. These protected spaces host an equally vast array of bird life. More than 500 species of birds have been recorded in the state. To better study their diverse habitats, ornithologists divide Alaska into five Bird Conservation Regions. Come along on a tour of the regions’ unique ecology and avifauna; these threatened places may not survive the century.
Alaska Science Center. (2021). Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) in Alaska [map]. Alaska Landbird Conservation Plan, version 2. https://www.usgs.gov/media/files/alaska-landbird-conservation-plan-version-2
1. Aleutian and Bering Sea Islands
Indigenous Alaskan folklore tells how the Aleutian Islands were created by a Raven. The archipelago includes 150 islands spanning 1,800 km between North America and Asia. Although it’s a small area, it provides an important migratory stops for many birds. Other islands in the Bering sea also provide key bird habitat. St. Mathew and Hall Islands support almost the entire known breeding population of McKay’s Bunting, Alaska’s only endemic landbird.
The islands’ chilly surf kisses the feet of Alaskan royalty: the Emperor Goose. Western explorers chose this magisterial moniker because the birds’ white heads resembled fur trim on royal robes. Its Yupik name, nacaullek, loosely means “the one having a parka hood”. When most migratory birds head south in autumn, “Alaska's goose” flies north to molt, venturing as far as Russia. Families travel together to winter habitats, where parents show their young how to forage. Emperor Goode numbers plummeted between the 1960s and the 1980s for unknown reasons—hunting and oil pollution may have played a role—but 30 years of conservation efforts helped the population recover.
Emperor Geese flying over Alaska
Photo credit: USFWSAlaska, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
2. Western Alaska
Geologically complex Western Alaska extends from the volcanic peaks of the Alaska Peninsula to the riverine lowlands around Kotzebue Sound. More than half of this region is federal land, including the Yukon Delta, the second largest wildlife refuge in the national system,. Half a million shorebirds use the refuge annually, migrating from around the world to raise young. Bar-Tailed Godwits fly non-stop between Alaska and New Zealand, a journey of about 8,000 miles!
The Delta becomes a dance floor when the Sandhill Cranes arrive. Prospective pairs will bow, strut, and flap their six-foot wings in elaborate courtship rituals. They are believed to mate for life. Chicks, called colts for their long legs, remain with their parents until the following spring. Sandhill Cranes’ distinctive red caps aren’t feathers, but a patch of bare skin that recedes as they age. A bigger bald spot indicates good health and experience.
Sandhill Cranes on Kigigak Island, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge
Photo credit: Kristine Sowl, USFWS
3. Arctic Plains and Mountains
Although the Arctic conjures images of frozen landscapes, most of this region receives less than 30cm of rain per year, making it a desert biome. The rugged Brooks Range creates a boundary from the Canadian border in the east to the Chukchi Sea in the west. Foothills slope into coastal plain that meets the Beaufort Sea. Here boggy tundra provides a summer haven for nesting waterfowl. Loons and phalaropes fill the ponds, while a variety of warbler species breed in the shrub thickets. But when the midnight sun sets, only a few hardy species remain for the long, dark winters.
The Arctic’s most iconic year-round resident, the Snowy Owl, is not as white as its name suggests. Males are barred with dark brown when young and get paler with age. Females keep some dark markings throughout their lives. Thick, warm feathers make them the heaviest North American owl, weighing about four pounds. Unlike most owls, Snowy Owls are diurnal and prefer open spaces where they can hunt sitting on the ground. Their favorite prey is a small rodent called a lemming. An adult Snowy Owl can eat more than 1,600 lemmings in a single year!
Snowy Owl on the Arctic tundra
Photo credit: USFWS
4. Northwestern Interior Forest
Larger than the state of Texas, the Northwestern Interior Forest covers almost half of Alaska’s land area, including Denali, the highest peak in North America at 18,000 feet. During the Pleistocene era, an ice-free corridor ran east through this area, allowing species to transfer between Asia and North America. Echoes of this biodiversity are still visible today in the varied plant and animal life. Ecosystems range from highlands to river valleys to boreal forests.
Just as the region has many habitats, one of its charismatic inhabitants has many names. The Canada Jay is also known as the Gray Jay, Camp Robber (for its bold habit of raiding campsites for food), and Whiskyjack, an anglicization of its Algonquin name Wisakedjak. Like the Raven, the Canada Jay features as a trickster character in the folklore of several indigenous cultures. Perhaps the Jay’s niftiest trick is to store food for lean months by gluing it to trees with sticky saliva.
Canada Jay at Wonder Lake in Denali National Park
5. Northern Pacific Rainforest
Rainforests aren’t always tropical! Warm currents between the Gulf of Alaska and the North Pacific Ocean provides constant moisture for a temperate rainforest along the coast. Between the mossy woods lie ice fields, marshy terrain called muskeg, and marine environments. More than 2,000 islands support seabirds such as gulls, puffins, murres, cormorants, and sea ducks. They nest on high rock outcrops, nourishing their young with abundant Alaskan seafood.
But they need to beware of thieves. Despite being revered in both Indigenous and modern American cultures as a symbol of courage, the Bald Eagle isn’t above stealing a meal from other animals. Bald Eagles prefer to eat fish, and their powerful talons can lift up to five pounds. If a fish proves too heavy to lift, the eagle may swim with it, using powerful wings to “row” the meal ashore. Alaska boasts the largest Bald Eagle population in the country, estimated at 30,000 birds.
Puffins in Seward, Alaska
Photo credit: Diego Delso, delso.photo, License CC BY-SA" legibly next to the image.
Protecting Imperiled Landscapes
All five bioregions, and the birds that inhabit them, face threats from human activity. Climate change is warming the Arctic at least three times faster than the rest of the planet. If global emissions continue to increase through this century, climate scientists forecast that average temperatures in Alaska will rise up to 12°F in the north, 10°F in the interior, and 8°F in the rest of the state. In addition to altering Alaskan landscapes effects, heightened temperatures draw warmer-range wildlife northward to compete with native species for resources.
Extraction of oil, gas, and minerals destroys habitat and creates pollution. Runoff from mining sites contaminates watersheds. Alaska’s gulf coast ecosystems still show effects from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, demonstrating the long-term consequences of human behavior. Even individuals can have an impact. For example, lead fishing tackle commonly used for recreational angling can poison fish-eating birds like loons and eagles.
But individual impacts can also be positive. The five actions below can help protect birds and biomes across the Last Frontier:
Petition elected officials to support wildlife and habitat conservation;
Keep cats indoors or leashed to prevent attacks on birds;
Put up window decals to prevent bird strikes;
Turn off outdoor lights, especially during migration season; and
Support local nature non-profits like Bird Treatment and Learning Center