Ice of Change - Amid Waterfowl Sightings

Observation by Opik Ahkinga:

The beginning of the new year looked like a Diomede month of November. On January 11th (Figure 1.), waves rolled in with the prevailing south winds. Our temperatures were above freezing, and the air wasn't so cold. The beach should have been covered with shore ice and frozen solid white rocks. Never in my life I'd ever seen unfrozen wrack on our beach way. I don't believe any local has. Hunters shake their heads and say it should not be like this today.

A week later the ice came with the cold north winds. Our temperatures felt like -25° F degrees with a windchill, and many people were happy about that...even if it still wasn't colder enough. When the ice comes and sets to freeze we watch for polar bears. No one saw one yet.

Before the slush began to freeze on January 19th, we still had ducks feeding in the open waters. It was 21st (Figure 2.), and the ducks flew back and forth over the thin new ice to find open water. There was a little opening by Big Diomede, and the ducks flew there. For a couple days the birds flew between the strait for water. On the 24th, flocks of ducks flew towards the south side of our island. In the morning of the 25th, there was a open lead where some ice had broken away.

Winds gusted up to 30mph, on the 26th (Figure 3.). That nice looking flat ice began breaking away.

By the 27th (Figure 4.), we have much open water in front of our village again. I looked through binoculars to see the different types of ducks (Figure 5.). I was surprised to see cormorants! That is not normal at all. Of the ducks, I saw one king eider, two Steller's eiders, common eiders, a common loon, and the smaller birds I thought were Murre. We're nearing the end of January, and these birds should not have been here.