The Tlingit in Southeast Alaska have to main clans - the Eagle and the Raven. Obviously most of the pictures I took this week were of the Eagle Clan's namesake. While the eagles dominated the Chilkat's flats, there were numerous ravens around, mostly on the shores. I didn't think about taking pictures of them until late in the week. This is the best of those pictures.

The magpie is a smaller, sleeker, black and white cousin to the omnipresent Raven. I made several unsuccessful attempts to photograph one in flight. This is the best of the pictures I took of them. Note the long tail and the almost invisible black eye.

A bird I was surprised to find along the Chilkat was the Trumpeter Swan. I saw a pair each day. I don't know if they were the same pair, and others told me that some of the lakes further north had a reasonable sized flock of them. I am not sure what attracted them to the Chilkat for they were clearly foraging for food from the bottom of the river rather than being interested in the spawned out salmon which the other birds were after. I was also surprised to see that they were bigger than the eagles. Further research revealed that they can be up to twice as heavy. This is the best of my swan pictures. A duck is also feeding to the right of the swans.

The last common bird found in the Bald Eagle Preserve are the common merganser ducks. This collage shows both an adult male in breeding plumage(top) and a female (bottom). Both genders have head crests although normally they lie smoothly across the head. In the lower picture a hint of the female crest is visible.

While looking across the Chilkat river, your back is to the Takshanuk Mountains. A number of Mountain Goats reside there. Despite their name, they are not true goats, they are relatives of antelopes, gazelles, and cattle. They live at or above the tree line. Generally all you can see is some white rice like specks on the mountain side. With my 500mm lens I was able to get some tolerable pictures of them, with this being the best.