I birded today but I just cannot post now. Our dog is very very sick – it’s unclear if there is anything that can be done.

Anchorage has had a lot of rainy days lately and today was no different. At first it did not look like I could get out to bird much, but then it looked like it might stop raining for a little while. I charged out to Potter Marsh determined to see a few birds, and that’s just what I did. I saw a few birds, and then the rain began in earnest again.

I saw seven species before I hurried back to the car (I had neglected to bring a raincoat). I managed to photograph one of the two Black-billed Magpies that were apparently poking around on a partly submerged stump, as well as one of the about 30 Greater Yellowlegs, one of the two dowitchers, and the immature Bald Eagle that was striding among the dead fish on a little sandbar.

Also seen were Green-winged Teal, Mallards and a Glaucous-winged Gull. Hopefully there were no rarities there that the rain kept me from seeing.

Our back yard was quite busy today, mainly with Steller’s Jays emptying the peanut jar.

I hope that I will be able to spend more time birding tomorrow.

289 species so far

Today was mostly a day of highway driving. Before I started the big drive, however, I attempted to bird some gravel roads around Delta Junction. After only 1/2 block on the first road that I chose, I came upon a red flag and a sign indicating that the road beyond was closed for military maneuvers. On the second road I was able to drive nearly 2 miles before I came to the red flag warning. This road was very productive so I was able to bird before and after I turned around.

Birds seen and photographed included a flock of Common Ravens (over 12), a dark Rough-legged Hawk, Wilson’s and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-crowned Sparrows and White-winged Crossbills.

Also seen were Gray Jays, Boreal Chickadees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, American Robins, Townsend’s and Orange-crowned Warblers, a Savannah and a Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Common Redpolls.

On the drive some of the same birds were periodically seen but it was very windy and sometimes rainy so I did not linger long anywhere. I did at least slow down to take a flower picture or two and at a couple of the more picturesque bogs along the way. Because I also learned that our dog Shar had been sick yesterday, which may be due to her cancer’s reappearance, I wanted to get home soon so drove much of the route without stopping. She seems to be okay for now.

289 species so far

I stayed last night in Glennallen, and today drove to Kenny Lake, Delta Junction, Tok and then back to Delta Junction (448 miles today). Well worth it!

There were a couple of Ruddy Ducks at Kenny Lake, plus Greater Scaup, Mallards, Northern Pintails, Red-necked and Horned Grebes, six Red-necked Phalaropes, about 10 distant Red-winged Blackbirds, unidentified flitting warblers, and Savannah and Lincoln’s Sparrows.

After about an hour at Kenny Lake I began the drive to Delta Junction, checked in to my motel, and then drove very slowly to Tok, listening and looking for Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. I never saw one but while slowly following the pilot car on a long portion of gravel road being resurfaced, I heard the distinctive “churr” call of a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER very near me in the mostly deciduous woods along the road. Because of all the road equipment I could not stop or go back to look for it. Later I heard what I believe was the sound of  young sapsuckers somewhere high in another grove of deciduous trees.

Other birds on the drive between Delta Junction and Tok were American Three-toed Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, American Kestrel (3) and Gray Jay. Both species of crossbill were heard but not seen.

I will probably go back to Tok and beyond it closer to the border tomorrow to see what I can see.

289 species so far

 

 

It was another beautiful morning out at Westchester Lagoon, the nearby trail and inlet.

My goal this morning was to see if there were any interesting shorebirds pushed in closer by the high tide. As I told the passerby who asked if I was seeing anything good, “they are all good”, but today, none of them as far as I could tell were rare. Mostly there were Hudsonian Godwits and dowitchers (presumably Short-billed as most are in Anchorage) and a few Greater Yellowlegs. There was a handful of Bonaparte’s and Mew Gulls.

Other birds around included the usual large number of Red-necked Grebes. The young ones are rapidly approaching adult size and are gaining a bit of color.

There were two Sandhill Cranes back in a marsh along the Chester Creek trail and four Canada Geese on the Lagoon.

I am posting this early because I have meetings all afternoon and then the plan for this evening is to head north for a few days for a bit of wandering around birding through Glennallen to the Delta Junction and Tok area. I have been getting tired of limiting my birding to the greater Anchorage area.

288 species so far

 

 

I was looking for little birds, passerines, and they were around. But there were also some big birds, including a fly-by Northern Harrier female (not shown), a distant Osprey and a distant small raptor, a Merlin I believe (blurry pictures of the latter two below).

Little birds included three Dark-eyed Juncos, a Lincoln’s Sparrow, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Warblers (not shown; mostly young ones), an Orange-crowned Warbler, and two Wilson’s Warblers.

288 species so far

My full intention was to go down to Girdwood and Portage south of Anchorage today, but I only got as far as Potter Marsh. While I was at Potter Marsh it was sort of raining but when I started driving south I ran into heavy rain and decided to turn around. I really had no particular birds in mind to chase anyway.

At Potter Marsh there were not many birds, just some of the typical birds: both Yellowlegs, Green-winged Teal and Mallards, a couple of mostly sleeping Wilson’s Snipe, a single juvenile Bald Eagle, ten Common Ravens still fighting over dead fish, and a few Alder Flycatchers.

It’s less than three weeks until I do some serious traveling and have a better chance at some new birds than I have had lately. I am very much looking forward to my trips to the Gulf of Alaska (Juneau to Whittier), Gambell, St. Paul Island and Barrow.

288 species so far