As promised I did not spend time today at Potter Marsh, except briefly along the highway to once again photograph the Trumpeter Swans, and to photograph the Mew Gulls that have arrived there.
Then I resolutely drove south to Girdwood with the wind whipping up all sorts of little things and hurling them at my car and threatening to blow me off the road. My goal was to check the roadside wetlands for ducks or shorebirds or something new. Mostly there were Bald Eagles and Common Ravens, and more Trumpeter Swans.
By the time I got to the turnoff for Portage, it was mostly pouring rain. I took a few short wet walks but mostly just drove there and back. There was a pair of Barrow’s Goldeneyes at a pond along the Portage road where I often saw them last year.
I returned to Anchorage and went to Spenard Crossing on my way downtown to get our mail. The two Gadwalls that had been there a couple of weeks ago (or two others, I guess) were there, as well as over 30 Common Goldeneyes and some Barrow’s Goldeneyes as well. A single Bufflehead male dove continuously, and of course there were Mallards.
Tomorrow I’m heading even farther south, unless we get a blizzard or the pass is impassable.
124 species so far
Lynn Barber's Birding Blog 