A Long Walk on the Tundra
A Long Walk on the Tundra
Submitted by Frank Kelley
August 3, 2008
Teachers & Researchers Exploring & Collaborating
Polartrec.com
Sunday is Go-For-a-Walk Day. If the weather is even close to acceptable, the Kelley family will head out for a walk somewhere, usually the road or the possibly a trail, one way or another, we get out for some fresh air. Today was no different here in Barrow. I was up early, out the door with coffee in hand, and off to explore the tundra.
As has been mentioned before, the tundra is not bold and in your face like mountains or forests. The tundra is sneaky, you have to look close, get down on hands and knees, to notice the beauty. If you drive or walk by, or are in a hurry, you will miss it. I slowed down today. Here’s what I saw.
First, up a quick overview of some of the birds. My camera does not zoom enough for pictures. A few sketches might be posted later in the week. OK, birds I saw today:
-snowy owls,
-loons,
-American golden plover,
-tundra swans,
-jaegers,
-sandpipers,
-and lots of ducks,
-and lemmings!!
I was very pleased with all the sightings, especially the golden plover. I had never seen a golden plover before, yet I was able to identify it based on the details I included in my sketch.
The focus on the way out was birds, on the way back in, flowers, plants, and fungi. I figured everyone goes “oooh†and “aaah†over the birds, someone needed to spend some time with the smaller, stationary lifeforms. I do not have identifications on all of the organisms I took pictures of. I will confirm with the ITEX people some of the more challenging specimens.
First a clump of white lichen. There are three types of lichens; crustose (form a lichen crust), foliose (form a lichen leaf or foliage), and fructicose (form a lichen fruiting body). I think the one below is a foliose. I will confirm.
Please visit the website for plant photos and to learn more.
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