Heather Wilson flies around Alaska counting waterfowl as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s migratory bird management program. The nationwide team, made up of ecologists, biologists and pilots, surveys continental bird populations across North America.
“The main mission of this group is to maintain healthy bird populations and their habitats for the benefit of future generations and the benefit of the American public,” Wilson said.
Wilson gave a presentation about her work at REI in Anchorage on Tuesday as part of the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuge’s monthly meeting. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center hosted a virtual watch party.
Wilson surveys major waterfowl production areas across Alaska, from the North Slope to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. She counts and identifies the birds, with the help of an observer and photographer, while piloting an amphibious, single engine aircraft.
Most surveys are slow and low to the ground that follow an imaginary line. Wilson says her observations from the pilot seat are logged into a computer system, which is later transcribed into text data.
“I just press a button on the yoke, it shunts my voice from the intercom system to a computer and records the observations," Wilson said. "There’s no way we could really write them down or be pressing buttons and typing in information. It’s happening so fast as we go.”
When waterfowl are grouped together in large numbers, counting each individual bird is nearly impossible. To estimate larger groups, the team counts a small section of birds and multiplies it. The process, known as binning, is often coupled with data from a photographer and cameras mounted under the plane.
Wilson says this method of observation has been especially helpful when surveying thriving waterfowl breeding areas, like the Yukon Delta in late spring.
“It is an immense waterfowl production area, one of the best places I can think of on Earth,” she said.
Wilson’s team travels to remote locations for weeks at a time, often staying in shared government bunkhouses, rentals or field camps. Pilots and observers typically fly in intervals of four to six hours, although it can be longer.
The team also has to plan airplane fueling and storage logistics. Wilson says they’re sometimes required to ship their own barrels of fuel to camp weeks ahead of time because there are no fueling options.
“One of my observers calls our traveling surveys backpacking with an airplane because we stay in different places each night and just carry with us what we need," Wilson said. "We’re trying to maximize fuel and the amount of work we can get done, both during a finite period when the birds are breeding and when we have good enough weather to fly during that period.”
When Wilson's team is not in the field, they’re practicing in-flight survey techniques with retired pilots. And, when they’re on location but aren't flying, Wilson says they’re often collaborating with other biologists on special projects, like genetic studies.
“All of our projects are aimed at understanding population trends, distributions and changes – basically to effectively manage and conserve these species,” Wilson said.
“It was really remarkable to see the effort that is involved in knowing what we know,” said Leah Eskelin, visitor center manager at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. “I think that’s probably a focal point of the work here at Kenai is, we have biologists that have dedicated their entire lives to understanding the ecology of Alaska and how the plants and animals, people here coexist."
Eskelin, who helped organize the virtual watch party in Soldotna for Wilson’s talk, says educating people on the peninsula about the biologists’ work can instill a greater love for the land around them.
“We really take that connection to play seriously," she said. "It's been really fun to invite people in to learn more about Alaska, the research and the interesting people who have devoted their lives to knowing more and protecting these amazing lands.”
The Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuge’s next meeting will be in January. The wildlife refuge’s visitor center will host another watch party then.
