Page 34 - Yukon Winter Visitor

TESLIN
PHOTO: VILLAGE OF TESLIN
GATEWAY TO THE SOUTHERN LAKES
Teslin is a small village located at Mile 804 (Km. 1296) on the Alaska Highway. It is bordered by the waters of Nisutlin Bay and Teslin Lake. Until the turn of the century this was the summer camp or meeting place of the Tlingit tribe from southern Alaska.
Teslin is home to approximately 450 people. These inhabitants enjoy a prosperous
community with such facilities as a museum, R.C.M.P detachment, school, community centre, health unit, post office, motels, restaurants and a general store.
32
teslin.ca
Phone: (867) 390-2530 | email: [email protected]
Village of Teslin | P.O. Box 130, Teslin, Yukon Territory Y0A 1B0
WINTER WILDLIFE VIEWING
NOVEMBER echoes with the sounds of Faro’s fabulous Fannin Sheep as rams ram rams. Wolves that have been separated during the summer reform their packs.
DECEMBER A few hardy ducks remain. The ptarmigan move down from their mountain locales into the lower elevation willow thickets. This is a time when the lynx, marten and coyote can be found through their tracks left behind in the snow.
JANUARY Caribou and elk are unconcerned with cold. Ptarmigan can be seen with their “snowshoe” feathers on the soles of their feet. Tracks are one of the best ways to find wildlife in winter.
FEBRUARY High on lonely alpine ridges, the Golden Eagle migration has begun. The Bohemian Waxwings return to the southern
Yukon to feed on frozen berries. Wolves and owls are courting and mating at this time of year.
MARCH Snow Buntings are seen by the roadside in abundance. Open water begins to appear in the ice choked lakes and rivers, the first Trumpeter Swan scouts will search for roots of pondweeds.
APRIL Cloak butterflies emerge from
their winter sleep to feed on the abundant willows. The Arctic Ground Squirrels make alarm calls that announce the arrival of spring. Thousands of swans, both Tundra and Trumpeter, converge on M’Clintock Bay along with waterbirds and gulls of all kinds.