Bowhead whales are taken during their spring and fall migrations that take them past the coastal villages. Caribou may be available year round in some years, but it is too dark and cold for a lot of hunting in mid-winter. In late winter, when there is more light but whaling season has not yet taken preeminence in peoples' activities, more caribou hunting occurs. It also becomes more important in late summer- early fall when caribou are fattest and before bulls enter the rut. Fish are taken primarily in the summer and fall, but more heavily during their fall migration.
Most waterfowl are present only during late spring, summer, and early fall.
Use of waterfowl is heaviest during their spring migration, when flights of large numbers makes these birds more readily available to people.