Tuesday:
On the glacier view trail out at Exit Glacier I was listening to the bird calls, everything sounded normal. Hermit thrush, sparrows, etc… then there was squawking. Not quite eagle squawking, not gull… hmmm.
Thursday:
Great news! Figured out which bird most likely has been squawking. This is very exciting. So, I listened to a bunch of birds in the area (more of what I’ve heard today) and listening to a herring gull, they can make a “gagaga” alarm sound. Which sounds almost exactly like the mysterious squawking.
I've been thinking a lot about why people visit Exit Glacier. Yes, it's beautiful and a greak Alaskan experience, but it's also something else. Besides the road out there, the well-marked trails, and many other visitors, our glacier feels untouched. It's a little escape from society. Thoreau said that he went to the woods to live deliberately. Maybe people visit Exit Glacier for and the rest of Kenai Fjords National Park for the same reason. If you are seeking a fuller life, marked with frozen glacier beauties and lovely ocean swells, I would suggest our national park.
-Robin McKnight, Interpretation YCC