As best I can tell, the breeding bird survey route in Sitka was set up by Marge Ward and Marlys Tedin in the early 90s. I thought they had done it for many years, but I think at some point I realized it was only a handful. The route was not done for several years before being taken on by Carrie Hisaoka for three years around the 2010 time frame. I took on the Sitka route in 2013. Along the way, I’ve had helpers many times, especially in the earlier years, including Kitty LaBounty, Scott Harris, and Tyler Orbison.
The route starts at Medvejie Fish Hatchery with a target start time shortly before 3:30am. This is before sunrise, but the skies are never truly dark here in the summer. The thickness of clouds determines how deep the twilight is. Over the next 5.5-6 hours, I visit each of the 50 stops along the route spaced approximately 0.5 miles between. At the time the route was set up, there was not enough road to do this directly, so the route includes side trips up Blue Lake Road and over to Japonski Island, before eventually going out Halibut Point Road. Finally ending at Starrigavan area with a short side trip to Mosquito Cove trailhead, with the last stops along Nelson Logging Road. The very last stop requires walking up the ATV trail.
They ask that the route be done as closes to the same time each year as is feasible. I have aimed for the second week of June for the general timing. Since the survey is along the road system, I have tried to aim for Sundays, thinking they’re likely to have the least traffic. However, with the cruise ship dock now out along the latter stretch, it’s probably worth making sure there is not a large ship in early (which might mean buses). The survey needs to be done in fair conditions (no more than light rain and light winds), so that has influenced timing in some years.
The first year (2013), I didn’t have the full set of stop descriptions, and had no idea how to reconcile the few I did have with the aim to do a stop every 0.5 miles. Occasionally I’ve had to skip parts of the route due to construction work (Blue Lake Road, Nelson Logging Road). In 2023 a vehicle breakdown forced me to stop the route part way through, and I finished up on a later day.
Photojournal Posts from Breeding Bird Survey Days:
- June 16, 2013 (with Kitty LaBounty and Scott Harris)
- June 16, 2014 (with Kitty LaBounty)
- June 14, 2015 (with Scott Harris)
- June 10, 2016 (with Kitty LaBounty)
- June 10, 2017
- June 11, 2018 (with Kitty LaBounty)
- June 9, 2019 (with Kitty LaBounty)
2020(all routes cancelled due to covid)- June 13, 2021 (with Kitty LaBounty)
- June 12, 2022
- June 11, 2023 (first part); June 13, 2023 (remaining)
- June 9, 2024
- June 10, 2025
