News From Shageluk, AK April 11, 2006 Students at Shageluk's Innoko River School "According to a chart we've been keeping for several years, we should be starting to see many different kinds of spring birds now. We aren't seeing hide nor feather of any of them!" writes Joyanne Hamilton, teacher at Innoko River School.   EARLY BIRD CONTEST REMINDER! Challenge Question #4: “When will the first robin of spring 2006 arrive in Shageluk, Alaska?” To respond to this question, please follow these instructions. Try This! Shageluk's Weather and Migrants: Your Prediction Find Shageluk on the NOP map (right) and then on a map of Alaska in the atlas. Use the atlas to find McGrath, AK. Remember what Ms. Hamilton said: "When the weather is bad between McGrath (in the interior) and us (on the western interior, closer to the coast), we won't see any migrants until the weather clears." How does the two-week forecast look? Now see #2, next: Click on this Web page to see the weather forecast for the next two weeks in Shageluk. Notice that the page includes a map that shows the temperature anomaly. Look up the word anomaly. In 2005 the first Robin seen was on April 10. Study the school's chart to look for any patterns for all the bird sightings. Consider the two-week weather forecast. Then make a prediction for when the first robin will be seen in 2006. (NOTE: The dates in Journey North's records for Shageluk vary slightly from this chart. How do you suppose the school's data and the data in our data bank could be different?) The first Bald Eagle sighting is 10 days earlier than last year. Does that fit any patterns that you see in the data? Would you consider the sighting to be an anomaly, or within normal? Defend your answer. It Depends on the Weather: A Look Back "We here in Shageluk are gifted with a series of spring birds on their migration to western Alaska! Our birds in Shageluk mostly come from east to west as the birds fly into Canada and then into Alaska--up the continent, and on the northward migration flyway path for most of the North American birds. When the weather is bad between McGrath (in the interior) and us (on the western interior, closer to the coast), we won't see any migrants until the weather clears." Ms. Hamilton remembers back to nine years ago when "flock after flock after flock of every bird imaginable came soaring over and passing by—going directly east to west!" Read more: It Depends on the Weather: A Look Back What will happen in 2006? Stay tuned!   Copyright 1997- 2006 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form.