A few birds from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
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Emperor Goose:The Emperor Emperor Goose Nacaullek This goose is truly deserving of its English common name. With its handsome blue cape and white hood, it is one of the most beautiful of our Alaskan waterfowl. It is also uniquely Alaskan in that it both winters and nests in Southwest Alaska near the Bering Sea. Not in exactly the same area, mind you, but within a thousand miles, more or less, the way the goose flies. In spite of its regal English name, its new scientific moniker, Chen canagica, is rather dull, meaning only "Kanaga Island goose," referring to its Aleutian Island winter habitat. Chen is the generic Greek word for goose. I liked the old scientific name, Philacte canagica, better. It meant, "Kanaga Island shorelover." The Yupik name, nacaullek, loosely means, "the one having a parka hood," and is a colorful term in its own right. Something especially interesting about the Emperor goose is that it likes being close to the sea, not unlike many humans in Alaska. In fact, most of its diet consists of seaweed, mussels and other shellfish, which gives its meat a disagreeable flavor. During my first couple of years in Hooper Bay, as a teacher, I often wondered why nacaulleks weren't hunted during the summer. Only in September when crowberries became a significant part of their diet were they finally hunted for food. Emperor geese are now off-limits to hunters at any time of the year because of their extremely low population numbers. In the year 2000, only 62,600 were counted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Up from 55,000 birds in 1999, this number is still far short of the historic 1960's high of nearly 150,000. Until the Emperor's population rises again to this number, hunting will continue to be disallowed. Sorry guys. Back to the bird itself and to some other interesting tidbits about its life history. If you happen to be out in the Hooper Bay area during the nesting and post nesting season, watch carefully as the geese fly and you'll see that when the Emperor flies, it shows a proportionately shorter neck and heavier body than other geese. It has short rapid wing strokes and usually flies close to the ground. While flying it utters a hoarse "kla-ha, kla-ha, kla-ha," and "u-lugh, u-lugh," unlike the calls of any other goose. They are also a very social goose, often muttering in low-toned, cackling conversational notes that rise in pitch to welcome new arrivals. They are much less noisy, however, than White-fronted or Cackling Canada geese. By the first week of June, Emperors return from their winter quarters in the Aleutians to their main breeding grounds in the Kokechik Bay area, near Hooper Bay. Since they have already chosen mates (geese mate for life, remember), they get right to work and start their family. By the second week of June, 3-8 large white eggs have been laid and are being incubated by the female alone, although the male remains nearby guarding the nest. In 24 days, the eggs hatch, and soon afterward the goslings leave the nest. 14-21 days later a fascinating thing happens. The adults shed their flight feathers and are completely unable to fly. New flight feathers are grown, and the adults are again able to fly at about the same time as the young begin to fly, in early August. After an intense fattening up period by both goslings and adults, families of Emperor geese begin to migrate in early fall from their nesting areas in the Lower Yukon Delta to their wintering grounds in the Aleutian Islands. During their migration, a few range as far south as central California and Hawaii and as far west (east) as the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. I wonder if these Russian birds have an accent when they return in Spring?  |
