The main wave of bird migrations passes through the last week of April and the first week of May. Grey and humpback whales can also be observed migrating off the coast. Spring is a time when steelhead trout are found in many streams, mountain goats are close to sea level, the snow is melting, and the lush coastal greenery begins to make its comeback. Summer is typified by meadows of wildflowers in bloom, twenty hours of daylight, huge concentrations of Aleutian and Arctic Terns along the coast, hundreds of harbor seals on icebergs and in front of tidewater glaciers, salmonberries and strawberries for the picking, and mosquitoes. In the fall, thousands of salmon spawn in the many rivers and streams, drawing hundreds of foraging gulls, eagles, ravens, magpies, and brown bears. Fall is also a peak time for sport fishing and hunting.
Winter is a quiet time.
Waterfowl retreat from the coast to sheltered locations. Hundreds of Stellar sea lions haul out at wintering sites along the coast. Wolf, moose and other animal tracks are readily visible in the snow. The daylight hours shorten to seven per day, and on clear nights the aurora sweeps across the starry skies.