Season wrap-up

I'm currently back in Kaktovik, my season of Alaskan field work wrapped up, and waiting for the fog to lift so I can get back to Fairbanks. The daily flight from Kaktovik to Fairbanks has been canceled for the last two days in a row due to poor visibility. I'm really hoping tomorrow will be clearer; as it is I will have only 1.5 days back in Virginia to repack before flying to India! If I get delayed another day, things are going to get ugly...

My last few weeks at the Jago delta camp were great - we had good weather and got lots done. The short arctic summer is drawing to a close, and the sun set for the first time a few days ago. Now we get prolonged and spectacular sunsets each evening around 11pm (look at my last post for a photo).



We've had some adventures with our boat, I've learned a lot about shorebirds and mudflat invertebrates, and on my last day in the field I finally got my greatest wish and saw a polar bear! We were out in the boat surveying the barrier islands just offshore looking for a good place to catch birds when what we thought was a chunk of white driftwood suddenly turned into a bear. We were in the boat at the time, so it wasn't as scary as it would have been had we been wandering around the island on foot! It was a young male, maybe 4-6 years old, and was curious about us, standing up on his hind legs for a better look. We kept a respectful distance to avoid bothering it, but I was able to get some good pictures with my new camera. What an amazing beastie! Now I'm content and can leave the Arctic happy. It would have been a huge disappointment to go without seeing one.






Later that same day, we celebrated the polar bear, someone's birthday, and my departure by jumping in the Arctic ocean. A little chilly, but totally fun!