Before I left Anchorage this morning I tried to find the Blue-winged Teal that has been seen in Anchorage. It was raining gently and visibility was fine, but no teal. After about an hour I decided it was time to get on the road to Kenai.
Along the way I stopped periodically to listen for birds, and eventually I found a YELLOW WARBLER. I will try to get a picture eventually, maybe tomorrow. I also saw a stunning pair of Common Loons on a lake along the highway.
When I got to the Kenai area, I went to the Kasilof Beach field trip of the Kenai Birding Festival to watch the shorebirds come closer as the tide got higher. Most of them were Dunlins and Western Sandpipers, but there were also a few Short-billed Dowitchers and Hudsonian Godwits, a Whimbrel, a couple of SANDERLINGS, and finally a Marbled Godwit. It is always good to see a bird more than once during the year that not so long ago I was worried about seeing once.
Tomorrow I will go on a couple of morning field trips through wooded and shore areas, and in the afternoon I will probably go back to the Kasilof area for shorebirds.
196 species so far
Lynn Barber's Birding Blog 