Our early morning started with a nature hike near the lodge. Our local guide gave us a quick lesson on how to act if we encountered a brown bear or a moose: brown bear - don't run and act big; moose - run and hide! Not sure what to do if we saw both at the same time :-)
We made a short detour to see if the clouds had moved from Denali, and we got lucky.
Denali from near Kantishna Roadhouse
While we were stopped to view Denali, I saw a male and a female Wilson's Warbler, a juvenile Savannah Sparrow, and a Snowshoe Hare. Western Wilson's Warblers are brighter yellow than those we see here in the eastern United States.
Male Wilson's Warbler
Female Wilson's Warbler
Female Wilson's Warbler
Juvenile American Tree Sparrow
Snowshoe Hare
Snowshoe Hare
We didn't see much wildlife on the hike, but it was interesting, and we were glad that they had provided knee high boots to navigate through some deep and muddy water on the trail. In the afternoon, some of our group panned for gold and attended a dog mushing lecture and demo. I opted to do some birding at the lodge and along the nearby road, deciding it prudent not to go far from the lodge on my own. At the lodge, I saw a juvenile Canada Jay (formerly named Gray Jay), a few juvenile Dark-eyed Juncos, and a Red Squirrel.
Juvenile Canada Jay
Juvenile Dark-eyed Junco
Red Squirrel
Birding along the road near the lodge was really interesting, and I was tempted to hike farther, but remembered the warnings about brown bears and moose. There were several Wilson's and Orange-crowned Warblers, and I had never seen juveniles of these species before.
Male Wilson's Warbler
Male Wilson's Warbler
Juvenile Wilson's Warbler
Juvenile Wilson's Warbler
Juvenile Wilson's Warbler
Juvenile Wilson's Warbler
Adult Orange-crowned Warbler
Juvenile Orange-crowned Warbler
Juvenile Orange-crowned Warbler
Juvenile Orange-crowned Warbler
Juvenile Orange-crowned Warbler
Juvenile Orange-crowned Warbler