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 April 2020 Newsletter
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In this month's newsletter, we had hoped to highlight the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival and begin registration for the roughly one thousand people that come to Homer to celebrate the birds. The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and Friends of Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges won’t be hosting the 28th annual festival in person, but we are starting to plan some ways to bring you a virtual view. We’ll share those details on the festival website.
While the shorebird festival and many other events are postponed this year, migration is not. The birds are already on their way, and shorebirds will be putting on a dazzling show over the mudflats around Kachemak Bay very soon. Some of the overwintering shorebirds are already out there - Dunlin and Rock Sandpipers. Stay up to date on sightings in Homer on the Kachemak Bay Birders website. eBird is another great place to check the pulse of migration and report bird sightings in Alaska and beyond.
This is a stressful time for many of us, but we hope that you can take time to savor the transition from March to April and the first hints of springtime. We’ll miss all of the events that are being postponed or canceled, but we can find comfort in nature’s familiar patterns of seasonal transition and the miracle of migration.
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 Thousands of shorebirds pass through Kachemak Bay on their migratory journey. Photo by Carla Stanley/USFWS
Sometimes it’s the smallest things that bring the greatest joy. Today, while earnestly teleworking from my dining room table, my eye was caught by the movement of a handful of small birds just past the window. I looked up to see not just a small group but a river of birds; a flow of pine siskins working their way up an alder-filled draw. They kept coming and coming for a minute or two, never more than a half-dozen in any one group, but each group followed instantly by the next tiny flock. In no time, hundreds of siskins were gleaning alder seeds in front of me. They ignored my sunflower and thistle seed feeders 30 feet away; they were getting everything they needed from the alders. It reminded me that, from the birds’ point of view, I am superfluous. They certainly don’t need me, but I need them. To be truly happy, I need more than just people around me. I need the world to have alders and siskins, swallows and salmon. I am so thankful that the siskins reminded me today of the joys to be found in small things, if I just take time to look.
Steve Delehanty
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 Bob Jones by USFWS
Bob Jones
The First Refuge Manager
There are some conservation legacies that are hard to equal. The legacy of Bob Jones is one. He first stepped foot on the Aleutian Islands during World War II, where he served in the U.S. Army. His passion, however, was wildlife. Bob is well known for starting the successful recovery program for the Aleutian Cackling Goose, but his nickname came from his earlier work with sea otters.
Born in South Dakota, Bob traveled the long journey to Alaska as a First Lieutenant in the war. He landed in the Aleutian Islands, stationed in Adak and Amchitka. Bob spent his days installing radar equipment, monitoring for approaching aircraft, and adapting to the stormy, frigid weather of the Aleutians. His job didn’t stop there though. He picked up an additional responsibility during his service – wildlife management - and acquired a new nickname "Sea Otter" Jones.
After the war, Bob never left Alaska. At the time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was hiring someone to live and work in the Aleutians, a place Bob had grown to love, so he applied. In 1948, Bob became the first refuge manager of what is now Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. He spent the next 33 years counting birds, scribbling field notes, and taking his dory out into the tumultuous Bering Sea until retiring in 1981. Bob’s life shows how far passion and dedication can take a person.
Excerpted from a 1998 interview by Chuck Mobley/USFWS
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Alaska Maritime
National Wildlife Refuge
95 Sterling Hwy
Homer, Alaska 99603
907-235-6546
Visitor Center hours and events are temporarily suspended following guidelines from the CDC and recommendations from state and local health authorities. Updates will be posted to the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge website and social media channels.
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 Alaska Marmot on Cape Lisburne by Dave Kuehn/USFWS
Tucked away at home while practicing social distancing? You’re not alone. In the far northern reaches of the refuge, along the coast of the Chukchi Sea, the Alaska marmot is also currently snug in its winter den. The large rodent has different reasons though – hibernation. As late spring approaches, the warm sun will thaw the entrance to its burrow and the Alaska Marmot will emerge, thin, hungry, and bushy-tailed.
Munching on grasses, roots, berries, and mosses this soft, furry critter will quickly begin to gain weight. Even on a low-nutrient tundra diet the Alaska Marmot’s fat stored for hibernation will make up 20% of its body weight! Its chunky silhouette can be seen scurrying around during the early morning and late afternoon, but rarely on a calm day. With a distaste for mosquitoes the Alaska Marmot takes refuge in windy weather. By September, the rodent and the rest of its colony will be ready for another season of hibernation. After all burrow members have gathered inside, the colony will plug up their winter den with dirt and vegetation and curl up again till the next spring.
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