Alaganik Slough

Alaganik Slough is only a short drive outside Cordova. We drove out one evening just before sunset with our friend Craig to check it out. Fishing just outside the Copper River Delta along the sand bars, you can only see that a vast flat area stretches inland with mountains on all sides. I was really looking forward to seeing the delta from inside.
There are lots of moose on the delta this time of year, and they are big ones!
The willows were flowering and attracting all kinds of pollinators,

...such as these surprisingly huge but herbivorous mosquitoes...


The Canada geese are here in full force:
The hooligan (aka euchalon, aka smelt) are running and got caught all over the banks of the slough at low tide. I don't know much about hooligans but these must be spawned out I suppose... they are known as candlefish because they are so oily that they can be dried and lit like a candle for stinky winter illumination. We watched some eagles taking them out of the river but they looked pretty bored. Obviously they are waiting for the big payday when the salmon run kicks into high gear.


The delta is unbelievably rich in color.