Is climate change affecting areas like Swan Haven where swans and other birds gather each spring? We know that our climate in Yukon is generally warming, but can we see that with our own eyes when we look at the same place over many years?

This is a time series of photos taken on almost exactly the same date(s) each year. These aerial photos of M'Clintock Bay/Swan Haven were taken each spring since 1986 on or about 24 April and 8 May. Most were taken at about 5,000 ft above see level (approx. 3,000 ft above the ground).

You can view them two ways:

April (all the April photos together), or

May (all the May photos together).

For each month will get a further option to view the photos sorted by year or "hand-sorted" according to the amount of ice/snow present, with the earliest spring first and the most "wintery" last.

The title and the first part of the file name indicate the date the photo was taken (yyyymmdd).

What do you think -- is spring getting earlier, later, or is there no trend?

These photos were obtained during flights conducted by the Canadian Wildlife Service (1986-2014), and with aerial support from LightHawk (2016 - 2018). Local Whitehorse pilots Gerry Whitley and David Downing generously donated their aircraft and excellent piloting skills for all surveys since 2015.