I spent a couple of hours this morning briefly checking a few more Anchorage birding areas. I started at Spenard Crossing but not easily finding anything new, went over to Westchester Lagoon. There, new year-birds were a single Northern Shoveler and five Arctic Terns (at least) near to and on the closest island to the parking lot with Mew Gulls and Canada Geese.
At the boat dock area on Ship Creek, there was a single Sandhill Crane grazing and three swans (presumably Trumpeter) far out on the mud. The latter flew off soon after I arrived but the crane stayed. Also there were five Green-winged Teal, Canada Geese, and miscellaneous gulls.
I walked upstream a bit on the sidewalk, where many of the plants were budding out.
There were three Common Mergansers in the stream, two of which engaged in a bit of X-rated activity.
Nearby there was a noisy altercation among three Mew Gulls.
The highlight for me, however, was a small bird that flew high into a sapling and stayed there. It surprised me to see that it was a Merlin (it had seemed much smaller).
I won’t be able to bird for awhile in Anchorage (or Alaska) as I will be on my way to see Lower 48 spring warblers in Ohio and be on a panel of women birders at the Greatest Week in American Birding next week. It will be fun to immerse myself in birds, most of which I will not ever be able to see in Alaska.
Lynn Barber's Birding Blog 