Many birds are active in the early hours of the morning, and can be seen on short walks before breakfast. The grey-cheeked thrush and white-crowned sparrows sing from the steeple of the church or from the rooftops. Yellow warblers, Harris’ sparrows and redpolls sing in the willows, and willow ptarmigan are often heard, and a mother ptarmigan taking her brood out to forage may be spotted. Lapland longspurs carol in flight, and least sandpipers teeter in the willows.
Raptors may be seen out hunting, and gulls often cluster in large numbers up the snye, grabbing spawning small fish. Early in the season, we often see cruising bank swallows or American tree swallows darting around the buildings. Red-throated loons fly quacking by, heading out to sea to fish, and common eiders, common or red-breasted mergansers, and long-tailed ducks pass by in small flocks. Occasionally we spot a wolf along the snye, or a bald eagle sharing the fish feast with the gulls.
