Climate Change

Is Climate Change Affecting Spring Migration Areas for Birds in the Yukon Southern Lakes?

Jim Hawkings, YBC director

The Yukon climate is changing rapidly — more rapidly than in southern Canada.  Is this resulting in visible changes to important wetlands used for spring migration of waterbirds in the Yukon Southern Lakes?

 

Below is an aerial photo of M’Clintock Bay taken on 26 April this spring (2026)

M’Clintock Bay as seen from 5,000 ft above sea level on 26 April 2026. Swan Haven is in the centre-left and the Alaska Highway can be seen at the base of the mountain in the background.

Here is a satellite image of the entire M’Clintock Bay/Lewes Marsh area taken the day before….

Satellite image of M’Clintock Bay/Lewes Marsh acquired 25 April 2026 by the Copernicus Sentinel 2 satellite.

What was the spring weather like this year?

Compare this with photos taken on the same date in the earliest and latest springs since 1986:

Earliest: 2016

M’Clintock Bay as seen from 5,000 ft above sea level on 25 April 2016. Swan Haven is in the centre-left and the Alaska Highway can be seen at the base of the mountain in the background.

NOTE the satellite image below is from 2019 (the second earliest spring in this series since 1986) as there is no image available from 2016.

Satellite image of M’Clintock Bay/Lewes Marsh acquired 25 April 2019 by the Copernicus Sentinel 2 satellite.

Latest: 2013

M’Clintock Bay as seen from 5,000 ft above sea level on 27 April 2013. Swan Haven is in the centre-left and the Alaska Highway can be seen at the base of the mountain in the background.

According to the photo record you can look at below, 2026 was the 3rd latest spring since 1986.  This is not surprising given that March 2026 in Whitehorse was the coldest on record since 1940 according to Environment Canada data.

What do You Think?

Below you can judge for yourself what might be going on from a series of  aerial photographs taken around the Southern Lakes each spring since 1986.  This photo -record is a passion of mine, combining 28 years from my career at Environment Canada, from 1986-2014, and since then with the help of local pilots Gerry Whitley and David Downing and the support of LightHawk.org and the Yukon Bird Club.  NOTE: there are no photos from 2020 due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In each case you can look at the photos arranged by year or arranged from earliest to latest spring.

(Note that these are oblique photos, some taken from different angles and elevations, so sorting them precisely by ice cover is somewhat subjective. Also note that some years are missing from some collections owing to variations in survey coverage)

Aerial photos of M’Clintock Bay (Swan Haven) taken on the same two dates (with a few exceptions….) every year:

April 24
Sorted by Year
Sorted by Earliest to latest Spring

May 8
Sorted by Year
Sorted by Earliest to latest Spring

 

Updates from Previous Years

2025

M’Clintock Bay as seen from 4,500 ft above sea level on 26 April 2025. Swan Haven is in the centre-left and the Alaska Highway can be seen at the base of the mountain in the background.

2025  ranked 7th earliest of 36 years for the April photo, and 13 of 39 years for the May photo.

2024

M’Clintock Bay as seen from 4,500 ft above sea level on 25 April 2024. Swan Haven is in the centre-left and the Alaska Highway can be seen at the base of the mountain in the background.

2024  ranked 11th earliest of 36 years for the April photo, and 4th of 39 years for the May photo.
2023

M’Clintock Bay as seen from 5,000 ft above sea level on 22 April 2023. Swan Haven is in the centre-left and the Alaska Highway can be seen at the base of the mountain in the background.

2023  ranked 13th earliest of 36 years for the April photo, and 17 of 39 years for the May photo.

2022

M’Clintock Bay as seen from 5,000 ft above sea level on 29 April 2022. Swan Haven is in the centre-left and the Alaska Highway can be seen at the base of the mountain in the background.

2022  ranked 17th earliest of 36 years for the April photo, and 32 of 39 years for the May photo.

2021

M’Clintock Bay as seen from 5,000 ft above sea level on 24 April 2021. Swan Haven is in the centre-left and the Alaska Highway can be seen at the base of the mountain in the background.

The first 11 days of April were cold with a near-record snow pack. Then then we had 10 days of sun with above-normal temperatures. The result was a spring melt that was somewhere in the middle of the pack but a bit later than average for both photo-survey dates. It ranked 23rd earliest of 36 years for 24 April, and 22 of 39 years for 8 May.