Lynn Barber's Birding Blog

This morning’s early flight from Juneau was uneventful except for extreme bumpiness as we started our descent. After picking up my car from airport parking, I went birding even though it was nearly dark out. My goal was the Northern Hawk Owl that has been hanging around the Anchorage airport. This is the bird that I was hoping to start my year with until I changed my plans and went to Kodiak instead of starting the year in Anchorage. Although I spent about an hour wandering around and looking for it, I did not see the Hawk Owl, and in fact did not see any birds at all out there.

Having gotten word recently of a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in south Anchorage, I went down there, and after some time surveying neighborhood spruce trees, finally located the dove hiding on a spruce branch. It is good that there was an Anchorage Eurasian Collared-Dove last year so everyone who really wanted one on their Anchorage list had a chance to do so, since this year’s bird is not accessible to the public unfortunately.

After finally getting the dove on my year list, I drove to a north-eastern part of Anchorage where I had done the Anchorage Christmas Bird Count in December because I knew there were many fruit trees and fruit-eating birds there. While the robins were not longer easily found, there were a couple of good-sized flocks of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS still around, and a single DOWNY WOODPECKER. When I got home later, I had another Downy Woodpecker at my suet feeder.

I made one more unsuccessful foray for the Northern Hawk Owl, but did add BOREAL CHICKADEE on my way there.

I watched my feeders a while until it got dark. In addition to the Downy Woodpecker, there were six Pine Grosbeaks and three Common Redpolls filling up before bedtime.

So, four more new year-bird species today. I’m hoping to do some more bird-hunting in the wider Anchorage area in the next couple of days.