Tim Bouchard
04-02-2006, 07:28 PM
We get excited about spring up here in Interior Alaska. Comes after a long winter. So people get a little excited. Here is a story on the front page of the Fairbanks News paper this morning. Everyone gets excited for the geese.
First geese splash down at Clearwater Lake
By AMANDA BOHMAN, Staff Writer, News Miner
Darlene Chaffin rested her head on the kitchen table for a moment's rest between decorating for her son's birthday party and baking him a cake when her husband burst into the house Saturday afternoon.
"He just came running in and said, 'Honey, the geese are here,'" Chaffin declared, relishing the story.
After five years of being beat by other birdwatchers, the Chaffins are unofficially the first to report that Canada geese have arrived at Delta Junction's Clearwater Lake, 100 miles south of Fairbanks.
This means birders can expect them in Fairbanks in a week or so.
"It's a good sign of spring," Chaffin said. "It's just something that uplifts people's spirits. When I go to church tomorrow, I'll probably tell lots of people."
Allen Chaffin heard several geese, but saw only one that had landed across the lake, said his wife, known by locals as the "the goose watcher."
As the afternoon passed, about five more joined the lone goose.
"They're just sitting there on the edge of the ice. They're lingering," Darlene Chaffin said.
The Chaffins have lived on Clearwater Lake, a common pit stop for geese headed north, since 1970.
A few days ago, Chaffin reminded her husband and grandchildren to watch and listen for the birds, which she said are about a week early.
The earliest Chaffin has seen a Canada goose on Clearwater Lake is March 31.
The earliest recorded sighting of Canada geese at Fairbanks' Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge was April 3, 2004. Last year, Canada geese arrived in Fairbanks on April 7. In 2003, the first geese showed up on April 9 and in 2002 it was April 18.
"We've lost some snow here in the last two days. This is what they need," said Fairbanks meteorologist Ted Fathauer.
Temperatures are expected to rise above the freezing mark through Monday, after which 1 to 2 inches of snow is expected as temperatures dip below freezing the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service.
If the geese wait until next weekend to arrive, temperatures are expected to be above freezing again and Creamer's Field will be plowed, according to the weather service and wildlife biologist Jason Caikoski. Caikoski works for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, adjacent to the refuge.
"Soon thereafter, we'll have grain spread," Caikoski said. The birds' food comes courtesy of the Borealis Kiwanis Club.
Allen Chaffin's sighting came a little while after Darlene brought their grandchildren inside following a wiener roast as the family enjoyed temperatures in the high 40s on Saturday.
"There'll be just a few geese coming in right now," Darlene Chaffin predicted. "Then they'll wait awhile and then a whole bunch will come in."
First geese splash down at Clearwater Lake
By AMANDA BOHMAN, Staff Writer, News Miner
Darlene Chaffin rested her head on the kitchen table for a moment's rest between decorating for her son's birthday party and baking him a cake when her husband burst into the house Saturday afternoon.
"He just came running in and said, 'Honey, the geese are here,'" Chaffin declared, relishing the story.
After five years of being beat by other birdwatchers, the Chaffins are unofficially the first to report that Canada geese have arrived at Delta Junction's Clearwater Lake, 100 miles south of Fairbanks.
This means birders can expect them in Fairbanks in a week or so.
"It's a good sign of spring," Chaffin said. "It's just something that uplifts people's spirits. When I go to church tomorrow, I'll probably tell lots of people."
Allen Chaffin heard several geese, but saw only one that had landed across the lake, said his wife, known by locals as the "the goose watcher."
As the afternoon passed, about five more joined the lone goose.
"They're just sitting there on the edge of the ice. They're lingering," Darlene Chaffin said.
The Chaffins have lived on Clearwater Lake, a common pit stop for geese headed north, since 1970.
A few days ago, Chaffin reminded her husband and grandchildren to watch and listen for the birds, which she said are about a week early.
The earliest Chaffin has seen a Canada goose on Clearwater Lake is March 31.
The earliest recorded sighting of Canada geese at Fairbanks' Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge was April 3, 2004. Last year, Canada geese arrived in Fairbanks on April 7. In 2003, the first geese showed up on April 9 and in 2002 it was April 18.
"We've lost some snow here in the last two days. This is what they need," said Fairbanks meteorologist Ted Fathauer.
Temperatures are expected to rise above the freezing mark through Monday, after which 1 to 2 inches of snow is expected as temperatures dip below freezing the rest of the week, according to the National Weather Service.
If the geese wait until next weekend to arrive, temperatures are expected to be above freezing again and Creamer's Field will be plowed, according to the weather service and wildlife biologist Jason Caikoski. Caikoski works for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, adjacent to the refuge.
"Soon thereafter, we'll have grain spread," Caikoski said. The birds' food comes courtesy of the Borealis Kiwanis Club.
Allen Chaffin's sighting came a little while after Darlene brought their grandchildren inside following a wiener roast as the family enjoyed temperatures in the high 40s on Saturday.
"There'll be just a few geese coming in right now," Darlene Chaffin predicted. "Then they'll wait awhile and then a whole bunch will come in."