Lynn Barber

I surveyed Anchorage’s Oceanview Bluff Park for Alaska Audubon’s Birds ‘n’ Bogs program this morning. It was windy and a bit chilly at 45 degrees. Of the target birds, I saw both Tree and Violet-green Swallows fly overhead, and a single Greater Yellowlegs displayed in the distance. This is the “early early” survey of the site, with three more to follow in the next few weeks.

There were Mallards and Green-winged Teal, distant calling Sandhill Cranes, a fly-by Northern Harrier, singing Orange-crowned Warblers, White-crowned Sparrows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, as well as American Robins, Black-capped Chickadees, and Common Redpolls.

Highlights for me we the usual displaying Wilson’s Snipe (at least three), the most noisy birds of today’s survey. One of them hurtled down and landed in the wetland right in front of me, sit still for awhile, and eventually started feeding and calling (see video).