Species at Stikine Flats Wildlife Viewing Area

Visitors can see a diversity of Alaskan wildlife on the Stikine Flats. View this page to learn more about the mammals, and birds that inhabit this area.

Mammals

Mammals can best be viewed in the early morning or late evening on the Stikine Flats. These twilight hours provide the greatest chance of catching a glimpse of these wetland animals. Remember, all wildlife is WILD! Never approach wild animals and use "bear sense" when travelling in Southeast Alaska.sitka black-tailed deer

Sitka Black-Tailed Deer

This small deer is native to the wet coastal rain forests of Southeast Alaska and north-coastal British Columbia. Its range has been expanded by transplants, and established populations now also exist near Yakutat, in Prince William Sound, and on Kodiak and Afognak islands.

General description: The Sitka black-tailed deer is smaller, stockier, and has a shorter face than other members of the black- tailed group. Fawns are born in early June and weigh 6 to 8 pounds (2.7-3.6 kg) at birth. The average October live weight of adults is about 80 pounds (36 kg) for does and 120 pounds (54.5 kg) for bucks, although dressed-weight bucks of over 200 pounds (90.1 kg) have been reported. The summer coat of reddish-brown is replaced by dark brownish gray in winter. Antlers are dark brown with typical black-tailed branching.

black bear-W.Shuster

Black bears(Ursus americanus) are the most abundant and widely distributed of the three species of North American bears. They have been recorded in all states except Hawaii. In Alaska, black bears occur over most of the forested areas of the state. They are not found on the Seward Peninsula, on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, or north of the Brooks Range.

They also are absent from some of the large islands of the Gulf of Alaska, notably Kodiak, Montague, Hinchinbrook and others, and from the Alaska Peninsula beyond the area of Lake Iliamna. In Southeast Alaska, black bears occupy most islands with the exceptions of Admiralty, Baranof, Chichagof, and Kruzof. These are inhabited by brown bears. Both species occur on the southeastern mainland. Black bears are most often associated with forests, but depending on the season of the year, they may be found from sea level to alpine areas.

General description: Black bears are the smallest of the North American bears. Adult bears stand about 29 inches (.73 m) at the shoulders and measure about 60 inches (1.5 m) from nose to tail. The tail is about two inches long. Males are larger than females. An average adult male in spring weighs about 180-200 pounds (81.8 to 90.9 kg). They are considerably lighter when they emerge from winter dormancy and may be 20 percent heavier in the fall when they are fat.

The color of this bear over its entire range varies from jet black to white. A very rare white or creamy phase occurs on Kermode Island and vicinity in British Columbia. Three colors are common in Alaska. Black is the most often encountered color, but brown or cinnamon bears are often seen in southcentral Alaska and the southeastern mainland. The rare blue (glacier) phase may be seen in the Yakutat area and has been reported in other parts of Southeast Alaska. Only the black color phase is seen on the islands of Southeast. Black bears may have a patch of white hair on the fronts of their chests.

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Birds

The bird life on the Stikine Flats is spectacular. Listed as one of the nation's best birdwatching sites, the Flats are alive with a myriad of waterfowl and shorebirds. Spring migration ( April to mid-May) is the best time to view a diversity of bird life on the Flats.

The Stikine River is the largest river crossing the Coast Mountains and linking Southeast Alaska with the interior of Canada. The Stikine Delta is located approximately 10 miles north of the town of Wrangell, Alaska. The delta encompasses 11,000 hectares of freshwater and tidal wetlands and is approximately 16 miles wide making it one of the largest coastal marshes in the Pacific northwest. The U.S. Forest Service manages the upland areas of the delta (approximately 3000 ha) as well as the Stikine-LeConte Wilderness Area upriver. The State has ownership over the remaining tidelands (approximately 8000 ha of the delta).

The mix of coastal, interior and extensive delta ecosystems supports a rich diversity of avifauna; 123 bird species were documented along the delta and river during spring migration (Isleib and Walsh 1987). In early April, eulachon ("hooligan" - in the smelt family) move into the lower river to spawn attracting eagles, gulls, seals, sea lions, porpoise and a host of other predators. At this time, the Stikine supports the second highest concentration of Bald Eagles in the world with over a thousand birds arriving to feed on the little fish. Large flocks of sandhill cranes, more than 10,000 snow geese, and hundreds of thousands of shorebirds depend on the grass and mudflat habitats of the delta.

Researchers from Petersburg and Wrangell participated in the Western Sandpiper telemetry study and discovered several radiotagged birds on the Stikine Delta in 1995 and 1996. In addition, a color-banded bird from Mexico was observed foraging at Blind Slough on Mitkof Island located north of the Stikine. Western sandpipers are the most abundant species but at least 21 other shorebird species stop to re-fuel at the Stikine including: Black-bellied plover, American golden plover, greater yellowlegs, red knot, solitary sandpiper, spotted sandpiper, whimbrel, hudsonian godwit, least sandpiper, Baird's sandpiper, dunlin, long-billed dowitcher and common snipe. Shorebird migration on the Stikine generally peaks the first week of May.

Shorebird is a general term for small to medium-sized birds which utilize fresh, brackish or saltwater habitats. They're usually found feeding on small mollusks or other invertebrates on rock, sand or mud beaches. The largest concentrations of shorebirds are usually seen on the mud flats west and north of Mallard Slough, where flocks of over 100,000 birds can sometimes be seen. This area can only be accessed at high tide, yet birds are actively feeding at low tide, so you may want to consider staying at the Mallard Slough cabin if you plan on visiting this area. The best time for shorebird watching is late April to early May.

The Western Sandpiper is by far the most common shorebird using the Stikine Flats. The largest concentrations occur in the spring, as huge flocks stop over to refuel on their way to nesting grounds on the coastal tundra of western Alaska from their wintering grounds from southern California to Peru. One of the small sandpipers, western sandpipers are characterized by black bills and legs and a rusty wash on their heads and shoulders.

Migrating Waterfowlsandhill cranes overhead

The grass flats and tidal sloughs are important refueling stops in spring and fall for geese, ducks and sandhill cranes migrating from their winter grounds as far away as Central and South America to their summer nesting grounds in the Arctic tundra. The showiest are probably the snow geese, which can number in the thousands, although the site and sound of trumpeting sandhill cranes is pretty exciting, too. The highest concentrations of snow geese occur in April, with as many as 8,000 present in mid-month.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) "hooligan watching" is late March to early May.

Adult bald eagle

 

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