Wildlife within the City

     Next time you're in Anchorage, take the Coastal Trail.  Do it, or you'll regret it.  It holds some of the best views here, and you can learn first hand about the behavior of several of Alaska's native animals.  I walked about half of it yesterday, but you can go ahead and do all 11 miles, if you feel like it.  I imagine it gets crowded on summer weekends like Boston's Esplanade or San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, but I had much of it to myself except for the occasional dog-accompanied jogger or cyclist.  There are all kinds of signs with scientific facts on them along the way, but I just glanced at most of them.  I was much more interested in the wildlife so close by.
    Birds are probably the most ubiquitous creatures here, at least visibly.  I saw a Sitka spruce full of chickadees, but whenever I tried to photograph one, it'd move or fly away.  I ended up with a lot of shots of brown blurs or chickadee butts. 

Bald eagles have made a huge comeback in Alaska.  I saw one swoop outside my window when I first got here.

Magpies are chatty and quite common.  My mother's dog's nickname is Magpie (originally Maggie) for her habit of yammering and howling her joys and concerns to anyone who'll listen (or won't; she doesn't care).

Mallards in a pond.

Canada geese.

This raven and magpie were shouting at each other over something.  I wonder if it was a sibling-type argument: "This is my side of the roof!  You get back on your side!"  I didn't see any food between them, so it didn't seem resource-related.  My ornithologist friend might scold me for anthropomorphizing.

The Alaska Railroad runs alongside part of the trail, but not all of it.

   I was thinking I'd write some long essay about this, but I think the scenery speaks for itself (not only that, but I just finished and turned in an environmental essay on California estuaries, so I think I've had my essay quota filled for a week or so, thanks).  This day it was clear enough to see to Denali.

     Moose and bears can also be seen on the trail, but I was not lucky enough to witness that firsthand.  I've seen both black and brown bears before in Alaska, so I'd say I have a betting chance to see them again.  However, this little guy showed me that in Alaska, you should walk with your eyes wide open:

  

     This little ermine was playing peek-a-boo among the rocks.  He had made a little game of it; he'd duck down, run away, then come back and appear from behind a closer rock.  I play-chased him a little bit, then pretended I wasn't interested at all in him.  He kept coming back to see if I'd chase him some more.  Their relatives, weasels, otters, and ferrets, are always playing with things in their environments, or with each other.  They're incredibly smart.  This was the first time I'd ever seen an ermine (or stoat, as they're known in the summer when their pelts are brown), and it was a real treat.  This guy had some major cute going on.

    My cold is back in force, so I'm going to try to get some rest.  Tomorrow I'm going to talk about Anchorage arts (it'll be fun, I promise).