This morning Steve Heinl and I explored north of the town of Ketchikan, including at a couple of marinas and Jerry Koerner’s birdy yard. Mostly we had juncos everywhere we went. We also had Song Sparrows in most places and Fox Sparrows in a few (not shown).

Among the small numbers of waterfowl seen today was a flock of Common Mergansers at Ward Cove.

In the afternoon I went back to Herring Cove. The usual birds, Steller’s Jays and Dark-eyed Juncos, were most common, but even they weren’t there all of the time. The Varied Thrush put in a periodic appearance as did the Spotted Towhee and Northern Flicker.

Two Eurasian Collared-Doves came in for awhile but left when a car came by.

The two American Dippers were down in the water chasing each other around now that the water level was down somewhat.

On one of my periodic drives back down the road I found the Wilson’s Snipe that has been seen a couple of times the past two days.

I left before the sun had set all of the way today and got many pictures of the beautiful sunset on the drive back to Ketchikan.

307 species so far

 

Steve Heinl and I birded the location out at Herring Cove where the Swamp Sparrow has been seen. It was a beautiful morning again with an actual sunrise sneaking between the clouds.

The vegetation was covered with beautiful ice crystals, which glistened when the sun hit them.

We were there for a couple of hours in the morning and then in the afternoon I went back. Again it was birdy, but we wandered off to a nearby area to bird for a short while, during which time Jim Lewis got the day’s only sighting of the Swamp Sparrow. He also saw the Spotted Towhee again, which I saw later today too.

Other birds there were the usual Dark-eyed Juncos, a Northern Flicker (red-shafted), Steller’s Jays and a Varied Thrush, in addition to the birds out on the water. Some of the birds that were photographed were being seen through a fence at the edge of the parking lot, which can be seen in some of the pictures.

Towards town from Herring Cove, we saw a Brandt’s Cormorant, which was quite close to shore until it saw us and flew farther out. In the various brushy areas we had more juncos, Song Sparrows and a singing White-crowned Sparrow. The most surprising bird was a late Hermit Thrush on the grass along the road.

Tomorrow we’ll wander some more around Ketchikan and probably give the Swamp Sparrow another chance to allow itself to be photographed.

307 species so far

 

I flew from Anchorage to Ketchikan today, a spectacular sunny day. We stopped in Juneau and Sitka and eventually (5 hours later) landed in Ketchikan.  Even if there are no new birds on this trip, the scenery today makes the trip worthwhile.

I spent the next few hours looking for, but not finding, a Swamp Sparrow to photograph, but it was quite birdy and quite mild (just below freezing). Birds seen include: Common Mergansers, Canada Geese, American Dippers (not photographed), a Fox Sparrow (not shown) and the Spotted Towhee that was still around and still mostly hidden by  branches.

307 species  so far

I only did yard-birding today. The morning began with Bohemian Waxwings perched high in birch trees in the back yard, apparently eating the tiny birch seeds that are numerous. The waxwings reappeared a couple of times during the day.

Steller’s Jays also came and went, including the amazing “Beaky” with only half a beak but doing well.

The Pine Grosbeaks were mostly not around, with only three females showing up a couple of times.

At first the Black-billed Magpies were around the yard in ones and twos as usual, hopping on the porch, eating from the dog food bowl placed out for them, and sampling other feeder areas. I got the idea late in the day to clear the snow off our frozen outer birdbath and put mealworms and dried fruit there, hoping the waxwings might come down. They did not do so, but the magpies immediately discovered the new treats, and they told all their friends. By around sunset, there were at least three and usually more magpies at the new feeding station all the time, and the feed had disappeared. I added more mealworms and fruit, and more magpies, up to nine at a time, were chowing down, with lots of squabbling and fussing. I may have to rethink this feeding station idea.

307 species so far

 

I birded this morning with Patty Rose in Juneau. It was cold for Juneau, 18 degrees, said my rental car. The tree branches were still snow-covered from a previous snow and by early afternoon when I flew back to Anchorage, it was snowing again.

We first checked the location where Long-eared Owls have been seen in the past, but we only had Common Ravens, a Black-billed Magpie, a Northern Shrike and Bald Eagles.

We then drove a neighborhood near the airport to look for flocks, but found few birds.

At the Mendenhall Wetland dike trail, we only walked a short distance due to time constraints and the fact that it still felt cold even though it was not windy. Again, birds were few – a couple Mallards, a flitting about flock of White-winged Crossbills and my favorite – a Short-eared Owl over the wetlands.

We had an early lunch with Gus Van Vliet, who suggested that I post a list of birds that I still needed for my big year, so I will do an additional post with that information shortly.

307 species so far

 

I did not have much time for birding today between morning activities, including playing in our church bell choir, and going to the airport in the early afternoon. It was a beautiful cold (-3 degrees) morning and was only up to 2 degrees above zero when I went to the airport at 1:30. The spectacular snow-covered mountains out our living room window made me once again appreciate the location of our home.

The main birds in the yard were the usual Steller’s Jays, Pine Grosbeaks and Common Redpolls. Although some of the redpolls came to the porch to eat, most of them seemed to favor a shelled sunflower seed feeder out in the yard.

The sunset as we flew out of Anchorage was also beautiful.

For the first 1/2 hour of the flight (stopping in Cordova and Yakutat on the way to Juneau) the sunset tinted the tops of the mountains beneath us and then was gone. I just cannot get over how beautiful Alaska is!

Tomorrow morning I fly to Ketchikan, to bird of course.

306 species so far

 

 

Today was another day to catch up on things at home and to watch our very birdy yard. The snow that fell the last few days covers the tops of many of the feeders. It also covers many of the birds’ food sources, so the birds were quite active.

  

Birds seen in the yard today were:

Common Redpolls trying out many of the feeders,

Pine Grosbeaks also going to multiple feeders,

Steller’s Jays at seed-feeding areas, as well as coming to the usual peanuts and mealworms,

a Downy Woodpecker sitting on the birch tree prior to coming to the nearby suet feeder,

and Black-billed Magpies snarfing up fallen seeds and mealworms on the porch, and loving the leftover dog treats that we put out today for the first time.

 

306 species so far