Saqul’aat – Ducks Saqul’aarsurciqukut. – We are going to go duck hunting. More than fifty-two species of loons, grebes, swans, geese, and ducks winter along the gulf coast of Alaska. Waterfowl begin arriving in September, flocking to protected bays and estuaries to feed on shellfish, vegetation, and insects. About two hundred thousand birds winter in […]
NANWAQ – LAKE NANWAQ CIKUMAUQ. – THE LAKE IS ICED UP. Although no place in the Kodiak Archipelago is more than eighteen miles from the ocean, lakes and rivers are important topographic features for both people and animals. In addition to drinking water, fresh watercourses provide access to char, trout, salmon, and waterfowl and an […]
Kinguk—Insect Kingut ilait kumsugnartaartut.—Some insects are ugly. Mosquitoes, black flies, white socks, no-see-ums, and other biting insects are an inescapable part of summer in the Gulf of Alaska. Hatched during the warming days of May, they thrive until the heavy frosts of fall. Anyone who has worked outdoors on a still day knows the […]