Try, try again. And again. And again.
Today was a couple of those trials. I started the day birding with Louann Feldmann – my first try for the newly discovered Peregrine Falcon in downtown Anchorage, which she had seen yesterday. No luck, not even a pigeon, which the falcon apparently had been chasing yesterday.
So, we went to where the Cedar Waxwing had been seen, and where I had seen it earlier, for Louann’s second try for the bird, and we found it, as well as the usual Bohemian Waxwings, American Robins (many of them today after I had tried so hard to get my first one a few days ago), Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches and a Brown Creeper.
Then, we were off to look once again, and again unsuccessfully, for the Townsend’s Solitaire that was seen a while ago behind the Anchorage International Airport along an airport fenceline. We did see the Northern Hawk Owl again without even trying, a bird that I had tried for many times this year before I finally saw it.
In the afternoon I went downtown again to look for the Peregrine Falcon, but nothing again, not even a pigeon. I know I will see a Peregrine somewhere this year, but still….
At home, we had a couple of redpolls, including at least one probable Hoary Redpoll again, a species I had thought would be difficult particularly in this part of Alaska, but which is being found all over the place.
So, today was a mixture of trying for and not finding birds, trying for and finding birds already seen this year, and not trying for and yet finding uncommon to rare Alaskan birds that I had already seen this year. I guess that is a sort of typical day, but I had not thought about it that way before.
Although I have seen quite a few birds this year so far, I am sure there will be many more days like today when I do not succeed at what I try. But I will keep trying.
Bottom line: NO NEW BIRDS TODAY.
Lynn Barber's Birding Blog 