Lynn Barber

I did not really have any ideas for places to find new year-birds today. I had already explored all the spots that I knew about in the Juneau area that seemed to have potential the last couple of days. Last night I listened for rails a few places until quite late but I did not hear any.

So this morning I just went back to the Mendenhall Wetlands for starters. I had been there this week shortly after high tide and a couple of hours after high tide, so this morning I went shortly after low tide. The same birds were around each time. Today, in addition to those there was a single Bonaparte’s Gull (imm.). I also wandered about taking pictures of flowers (goat’s beard and fireweed in picture below), a red squirrel and another one of the many Savannah Sparrows.

This evening I am due to fly back to Anchorage. All sorts of interesting birds have been reported around the state. I haven’t decided exactly on where to go and when, and I do have client work to do right away. As always, a bit of juggling and a lot of decision-making.

272 species so far