June 6th

-O'Connell Bridge.


-Island homes, view from bridge.

June 5th

Sitka and Volta visited the river together today. All the centers wildlife interpreters were there with cameras. These eagles must feel like real stars always getting their pictures taken wherever they go. Here are some images from river visit #3.


-Volta has such a good time playing in the water.




-Sitka is very distinguishable from her male friend Volta. She reminds me of a lion.


-Volta reminds me of a chicken. I love him.

June 3rd

I was a tourist today on Wolf’s walking tour! This three hour adventure started at Crescent Harbor where we then walked to the Raptor Center, through muskeg, the National Forest and end at the Russian Cathedral. Wolf, a very German accented Sitkan who works for Sitka Tours, hooked me up on one of his tours. I learned allot on my walking tour about plant species, the towns history and the native people of the island. It’s pretty cool to learn the names and purposes of some plant life in the area. I also learned about a few plants not to mess with. There's a bush that I see all the time when I’m out exploring and I had no Idea till today that it can give you second degree burns if your expose to intense sunlight after coming in contact with its pollen.


-At the Alaska Raptor Center.


-Wolfgang!


-Through the muskeg.


-Wolf really gets into his stories.


-Inside the Russian Cathedral.

After the walking tour and a brief nap, I was ready for a good hike. Lindsay had told me earlier that all the snow was now melted near the falls on Indian River trail. It was an absolutely perfect day with temperatures in the mid 70’s. My keys jingled on my belt and I sang the entire way to the falls, just incase a brown bear was out for a stroll as well. Three hours latter I arrived at the falls. The water level was definitely higher than my last visit as a result of the melting snow. I plan on exploring the backside of the falls during my next visit.

June 2nd

-Eagle and the moon.


-4th year bald eagle.


-Next stop the inside passage.


-Mt. Edgecombe at sunset.

May 31st

I was a volunteer today helping prepare diets. I never though that I would be able to handle cutting up the raptors rodent meals but turns out I can. Preparing the mice wasn’t so bad because they are so small and easy to handle. The rats on the other hand absolutely stink when you cut them open and remove there intestines. After they are removed we quarter the rat and cut the head in half for easier access for the birds. Quail isn’t so bad to work with as they don’t stink like the rats. Fish are alright however they are very slippery to hold onto for cutting. When all the meat was cut Zoie, one of the centers keepers and I placed each appropriate food morsel into individual container for the different species of raptors. We weighed the meat to give the correct amounts and recorded the data in the diet kitchens log.

Later, I got to assist in taking Kodiak, our boreal owl out for some exercise. This little guy is the cutest thing I ever seen! I swear he has more head than body. Kodiak was hit by a car on the Kodiak Island, giving him his name. Now he has just 25% of his original vision because of the collision. He is a fast little devil often running right into the wall during his mad dashes.

That night we all gathered at Adam’s parents house for a cookout. I have never seen such a large grill in my life like the one they own. You could literally lie down and cook yourself in this thing. Morgan had a good time playing around with the burgers and laughing hysterically at the similarly large spatula.


-Adorable Kodiak.


-So small.


-Morgan and the grill.

May 30th

I just love the trails here! The park service does such a wonderful job making nature more excisable to explore. You can walk though the muskeg areas by planked boardwalks and small bridges. If you wonder off them you can sink down into the bogie wetland for many feet. People have died walking over sinkholes where there entire body was sucked under the surface. It takes years for the muskeg to recover if someone disturbs it by tromping around. Many beautiful things grow here and all the foliage is in full bloom.


-Bridge at Gavin Hill.


-Myst on the mountain.


-Bog.


-Boardwalk.


-Beauty in the bog.

May 29th

Volta hasn’t been cooperating lately with much of the Raptor Centers staff. Lacie, Sitka’s handler is a tad intimidated by him as he isn’t the friendliest bird towards her. Diana, Volta’s past trainer came up from Oregon to give Lacie a hand and a few days off. Lacie has been working non-stop as the center currently has only one handler, so she needed a much deserved break. Everyone at the center was a bit curious to see if Volta would recognize his old trainer and willingly work with her. We were all surprised and excited when Volta appeared on stage. He indeed remembered Diana and was very comfortable in his old familiar surroundings.