WESTERN ARCTIC GRAY-HEADED CHICKADEE EXPEDITION

In early August, 2009 I lead an ‘expedition’ in search of the bird called by some ‘North America’s most difficult species to find’ – the Gray-headed Chickadee. The following is my journal from the trip.

I flew by myself into Kotzebue, where I spent the night before the trip at Drake’s Camp, a boarding house for construction workers and travelers. The expedition officially began August 4.

August 4, 2009

Up @ 5 am – sneak out of Drake’s Camp to deliver gear to Northwestern Aviation. I meet the owner, Jim Kincaid, who allows me to store my gear there in preparation for our flights later this morning.

Meet my group at Alaska Airlines at 7:30am – all in upbeat moods. We take a taxi-van to Northwestern aviation for our bush plane charter to the Noatak River. We pack the first plane with gear, Walt (my cook and outfitter – owner of Northwestern Alaska Back-Country Rentals of Kotzebue) and I, and fly the 62 miles to Kelly Bar – an extensive gravel beach at the confluence of the Kelly and Noatak Rivers.