Field Trips

June 22-25: Alaska (part 3)

Today, Tuesday, we were on the road by 7:30. A short stop at Kincaid Park in Anchorage produced a Common Loon, two Red-necked Grebes, and several Bald Eagles. Our next stop was Potter Marsh, a well-known birding area a few miles southeast of Anchorage. The north end of the marsh has a nice boardwalk. Birds seen here included a Canada Goose family, Mallards, Tree Swallows, Lesser Yellowlegs, Lincoln Sparrows, and an Alder Flycatcher. The south end of the marsh, adjacent to the highway, had many nesting Mew Gulls and Arctic Terns. Other birds seen included Horned Grebes, Harlequin Ducks, and Rusty Blackbirds. After lunch, we continued our journey south on Seward Highway arriving at our destination, Renfro’s Lakeside Retreat, around 5:30. Our group shared three cabins, each located on the shoreline of Kenai Lake. These cabins are located about 20 miles north of Seward.

On Wednesday morning, we met at 6:30 am to begin our birding day. We birded several places in and around Seward, including Lowell Point State Recreation Site. We saw a number of new species including Pigeon Guillemots, Pelagic Cormorants, Marbled Murrelets, and Common Murre.

At 11:00, we boarded the boat Orca Voyager for a Kenai Fjords National Park Tour. The boat departed at 11:30 and returned at 5:30, a 6-hour cruise. The cruise covered Resurrection Bay and Aialik Bay. At the north end of Aialik Bay is the Aialik Glacier. We spent about 45 minutes there, watching glacier ice calving into the water. Birds seen during our cruise included Horned and Tufted Puffins, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, Kittilitz’s Murrelets, Glaucous-winged and Mew Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwakes, and Common Murres. Mammals seen included Sea Otters, killer whales, Dall porpoises, humpback whales, black bears, and mountain goats. This was a wonderful and educational cruise.

On Thursday morning, again our birding day started at 6:30 am. We birded some trails in and around Seward. Birds seen included Pine Grosbeaks, both species of Kinglets, Townsend Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Pine Siskins, Varied Thrushes, Magpies, Violet-green Swallowtails, Hermit Thrushes, and a Spotted Sandpiper. In the afternoon we spent some time at the Alaska Sea Life Center. It is Alaska’s only public aquarium and ocean wildlife rescue center. One of the highlights, especially for birders, is a seabird habitat that houses many of Alaska’s water birds.

Friday morning, June 25^th, we checked out of our cabins and were on the birding trails by 7:00 am. We didn’t see very many birds this morning, although we did pick up two Olive-sided Flycatchers, Townsend Warblers, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. We stopped at Exit Glacier, where we hiked the 1-mile trail to see the face of the glacier. After lunch in Seward, we started driving north again, stopping at several spots along the way to do some birding. Additional species picked up this afternoon included Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Sooty Fox Sparrows, and an American Dipper. We arrived at our destination, the little town of Hope, around 6:30 pm, where we stayed the night.

Following are a few images taken during this part of our trip. (For a larger view, double click on the desired image.)

June 18-21: Alaska (part 2)

Today, Friday, June 18, our goal is to drive to Deadhorse, a distance of 500 miles over mostly gravel road. After a quick breakfast, we were on the road by 6:30 am. From Fairbanks, we headed north to Fox, then northwest on the Elliot Highway to Livengood, where the Dalton Highway begins and ends in Deadhorse 414 miles later. We stopped periodically to stretch our legs and to look for birds. We crossed the Yukon River( MP 56); a stop was made at the Arctic Circle Wayside (MP 115) where there is an Arctic Circle sign and viewing deck with interpretive displays. The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line at latitude 66° 33” North, where the sun stays above the horizon for one full day on the summer solstice (June 21), and below the horizon for one full day on winter solstice (December 21). As you go further north, there are more 24-hour days and nights. At Deadhorse, there are 63 continuous 24-hour days and 54 continuous 24-hour nights.

We stopped for lunch at Coldfoot (MP 175). We were on the road again by 2:00. We crossed the Continental Divide at Atigun Pass (PM 244). Rivers south of here flow into the Pacific Ocean or Bering Sea, while rivers north of here flow into the Arctic Ocean. We finally reached Deadhorse (MP 414) at 9:30 pm. We would eat and sleep at a guest lodging facility for the next two days. It was a dormitory-style building complete with bathrooms down the hall. Because of the muck outside, we had to remove our shoes as we came into the building. All this for $200 a night, meals not included. Interesting birds seen on our journey northward today included: Northern Hawk Owl, Harlan’s Hawk, Boreal Chickadees, Wandering Tattler, Snow Buntings, Long-tailed Jaegers, Gyrafalcon, Yellow Wagtails, and Pacific Loons. Two members of our group were lucky enough to see the elusive Bluethroat.

Saturday morning, we were up for breakfast at 7:00 am. By 8, we were out looking for birds. Jim drove the van all around Deadhorse looking for wet, marshy areas. We stopped for lunch at 1:00 pm. By 2, we were out on the roads again. Since it doesn’t get dark here, we even birded a couple of hours before midnight. Interesting birds seen today included: Lapland Longspurs, Red-necked Phalaropes, Eiders (Common, King, & Spectacled), Loons (Pacific & Red-throated), Brant, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoters, Glaucous Gulls, Jaegers (Long-tailed, Parasitic, & Pomarine), Sandpipers (Pectoral, Semipalmated, & Stilt), Rough-legged Hawk, White-fronted Geese, and Tundra Swans.

On Sunday, June 20, we drove back to Fairbanks, another 500-mile trip. We had an early breakfast and were on the road by 6:45 am. As before, we stopped along the way several times to look for birds, but not as often as on the way up. We arrived at Coldfoot around 2:00 and had lunch. We continued our drive to Fairbanks, arriving there at 8:00 pm. Interesting birds seen on the trip south included: Smith’s Longspurs, American Tree Sparrows, Hoary Redpolls, Gyrafalcon, Yellow Wagtail, Northern Wheatear, American Kestrel, Golden Eagles, Gray Jays, Osprey, Alder Flycatcher, and Bohemian Waxwings.

On Monday morning, we birded Creamer’s Field Migratory Refuge and the Smith Lake Boreal Forest Nature Trail. Four species of Swallows (Bank, Cliff, Tree, & Violet-green) were seen. Other interesting birds seen included a Northern Waterthrush, Swainson’s Thrush, two Hammond Flycatchers, four Lincoln Sparrows, Bohemian Waxwings, Townsend Warbler and Boreal Chickadees.

We then started our trip back to Anchorage, a distance of 350 miles. We departed Fairbanks around 2:15. After a long drive and a brief stop at a Wendy’s in Wasilla for a light supper, we arrived at the Alaska Long House in Anchorage around 10 pm. This marked the end of the northern part of our trip. Starting tomorrow, we would head south into the Kenai Peninsula.

Following are a few images taken during this part of our trip. (For a larger view, double click on the desired image.)

June 14-17: Alaska (part 1)

Earlier this year, I signed up for a trip to Alaska sponsored by the Galveston Ornithological Society with Jim Stevenson

as the tour leader and birding guide.  The first week would be spent in northern Alaska from Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay;

the second week would be centered on the Kenai Peninsula.  The trip would culminate with a ferry trip out to Kodiak

Island and a day of birding.

I flew to Anchorage, AK on June 13^th, arriving there in late evening.  The next morning, Jim picked me up in his Ford

van, along with seven others who had signed up for the trip. Our first destination was the Eagle River Nature Center

located about 15 miles northeast of Anchorage.  We spent 2½ hours walking the trails.  Interesting birds seen included

Spruce Grouse, Common Redpoll, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-capped Chickadees, and a Golden Eagle.  Several species

of wild flowers and butterflies, including a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail were noted.  We also saw our first moose along

these trails.

We continued our drive north until we reached the small town of Cantwell, where we stopped for the night.  The next

day, June 15, we visited the Denali National Park and Preserve.  There is a single road into the park; public cars are

prohibited.  So we signed up for a 8-hour shuttle bus tour, which took us to the Eielson Visitor’s Center, located at mile

marker 66.  During this bus trip we saw grizzly bear, wolf, caribou, moose and Dall sheep.  Unfortunately, all of these

animals were at a great distance making it difficult to obtain good photos.  Birds seen included Golden Eagles, Long-

tailed Jaegers, Ravens, Mew Gulls, and Willow Ptarmigans.  Arctic ground squirrels were common at the bus stops.

We did get good views of Mount McKinley and, of course, the scenery was spectacular.

On Wednesday, June 16^th, we drove east along the Denali Highway, which is mostly gravel road.  We stopped

numerous times along this road to get out and look for birds.  Birds seen included Greater Scaup, White-winged

Scoters, American Wigeons, Green-winged Teal, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Northern Shovelers, and both Eagles (Bald

and Golden).  We stopped for the night at the Maclaren River Lodge.  Interesting birds seen here included a nesting

Say’s Phoebe, Red-throated Loon, Cliff and Bank Swallows.

On Thursday morning, June 17^th, we continued our journey along the Denali Highway to Paxson.  We made one stop

at which we spotted a Northern Wheatear and two American Pipits.  At Paxson, we turned north and headed to

Fairbanks, our next destination.  In Fairbanks, we stopped at the Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary where we heard

there was a Yellow-billed Loon on Wander Lake.  Sure enough, the Loon was there and it was kind enough to swim

quite close to us.  Other birds seen included a pair of nesting Red-necked Grebes, Rusty Blackbirds, Alder Flycatchers

and a Bohemian Waxwing.  We stayed in Fairbanks over night.

Following are a few images taken during our trip. (For a larger view, double click on the desired image.)

June 3: Ding Darling NWR

This morning, three of us traveled to Sanibel Island to visit the Ding Darling NWR,

arriving there at 8:00.  We discovered the tide was high, so about the only birds seen

were large wading birds. We did see about a dozen Spoonbills, but they were perched in

some distant trees.  We also saw a Magnificent Frigatebird fly over.  Two Reddish Egrets

did some nice dances for us.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice lunch at Doc Ford’s, which is almost across the road from

the NWR.  While eating, we noticed a Pileated Woodpecker on a tree right outside one of

the restaurant windows.  Following is a detailed list of birds seen this morning.

Brown Pelican     1                   White Ibis   2

Double-crested Cormorant     17       Roseate Spoonbill   14

Anhinga     2                         Turkey Vulture   1

Magnificent Frigatebird     1         Osprey   6

Great Blue Heron     1                Mourning Dove   3

Great Egret     40                    Common Ground-Dove   4

Little Blue Heron     2               Pileated Woodpecker   1

Tricolored Heron     1                Northern Mockingbird   1

Reddish Egret     2                   Northern Cardinal   6

Green Heron     1                     Common Grackle   5

Following are a few images taken during our trip. (For a larger view, double click on the desired image.)

For summaries of earlier trips, click on Archives.