I spent about an hour this afternoon at and near Potter Marsh. Only a little snow remained of the big snowfall that we had on March 19th.
A soaring Bald Eagle high above welcomed me as I approached the boardwalk.
Along the boardwalk, a Black-billed Magpie was making little purr-like sounds as it worked on its bulky nest (visible as a dark pile of sticks through the branches of the trees near the boardwalk). I also noticed a few pussy willows along the walk. The only other birds along the walk were Black-capped Chickadees and a pair of Mallards swimming in the expanding area of water in the marsh.
When I drove the highway along the edge of the marsh, I was able to see three distant moose off to the east grazing at the edge of the trees, as well as a little speck perched out in the marsh that was a Northern Shrike.
The biggest surprise was about 40 Herring Gulls on the ice, calling and flying around. There were no gulls seen by us on the Anchorage Audubon big day just 4 days ago, not at Potter Marsh and not in all of Anchorage. Today the gulls appeared to be standing out on the ice just waiting for spring. Note: gull experts, feel free to tell me these are not Herring Gulls or are hybrids.
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Lynn Barber's Birding Blog 