Wolves and Birds near Yellowknife

Credit: Jeff Wells

I had to be in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories during the second week of June for meetings related to the incredible work that is going on there to put a plan in place to protect the aquatic resources of that region of big water. But since it is light most of the time then, I took the opportunity to get out east of town on the Ingraham Trail and do some sound recording and birding in the early mornings and evenings. The mix of breeding birds there is unusual for those of us from further south with ducks galore, Red-necked Grebes on nests and vocalizing, Arctic and Common Terns, Bonaparte's Gulls, Wilson's Snipe, Lincoln's Sparrows, Orange-crowned Warblers, Blackpoll Warblers, Olive-sided Flycatchers, Gray Jays, Black-billed Magpies, Mew Gulls and the list goes on. Here are a few sound clips of some of these species here:

Recording Near Prosperous Lake (.mp3)
Recording Near Vee Lake Road (.mp3)
Orange-crowned Warbler (.mp3)

What I really love there is the acoustic environments. Of course it is generally much quieter because you are on the edge of one of the world's last great wilderness regions. Also the rocky hills and ledges make the sounds echo off and around the lakes and ponds in beautiful ways.

Probably the most thrilling experience I had was when I was getting a sound recording of a singing White-throated Sparrow and a wolf pack erupted in howls in the background followed by a trumpeting Sandhill Crane. The wolves are a bit faint, so listen carefully. Take a listen to a clip of it here:

Birds with Wolves in Background (.mp3)

One evening I spent right in the city of Yellowknife down on the shore of Great Slave Lake at a place called Willow Flats. Right here you can find nesting Red-necked Grebes, Arctic and Common Terns, lots of waterfowl and gulls, and songbirds in the willow thickets. This is a video I took there on June 9th: