White-crowned Sparrow and Friends

Friday. Temperature: 39 RH: 87% Pressure: 29.38 Precipitation: Light Rain

We were shocked to see a forecast for possible snow today. This late in the year, we are all starved for spring. Thankfully, there was a fresh sign of spring: an American Robin in our yard, foraging on the ground with some White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Black-capped Chickadees flitting overhead in the branches. Even in the rain or snow, life in Alaska is good.

Dark-eyed Junco

American Robin

American Robin

White-crowned Sparrows

The White-crowned Sparrow lives in the Southern US and Mexico during the winter. They are year-round residents of Oregon, Western Washington, and so on as seen. Many come to Alaska in the summer. They breed in bushes and stunted trees on taiga and tundra. This is a Gambel's subspecies. The median crown stripe meets the gray lores and the supercilium is not pinched off. The bill is also orange, but would be yellow in Pacific and pink in Dark-lored varieties.

Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival

A great time was had by all this weekend at the shorebird festival in Homer. We were blessed with nice weather most of the weekend and beautiful calm seas. I will post photos as time permits, but I wanted to get a list up of the birds I saw over the weekend. I could not get good photos of many, as we were rocking along in a small boat much of the time. I counted 50 separate species if you include the Double-crested Cormorant and Arctic Tern seen Cooper Landing. These include:

Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Red-necked Grebe
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Bald Eagle
Black-bellied Plover
Pacific Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Black Turnstone
Surfbird
Dunlin
Western Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Red-necked Phalarope
Glaucous-winged Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Kittlitz's Murrelet
Tufted Puffin
Black-billed Magpie
Mallard
Common Raven
Northwestern Crow
Tree Swallow
American Pipit
Orange-crowned Warbler
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Greater White-fronted Goose
Sandhill Crane
Mew Gull
Marbled Murrelet

Scaups

Rafts of Common Murres

Pelagic Cormorants

Harlequin Ducks

Common Murre

Sandpipers, Dunlins

Scaup and Wigeon

Orange-crowned Warbler

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Birders on the Danny J

Pelagic Cormorants

Tufted Puffin

Red-necked Grebe

Weather: Palmer 49% RH, 30.19 mmHg N8G13 Temp: 34-48F Precipitation 0
Sunrise 5:21 AM Sunset 9:49 PM Day Length 16:28 Elevation 46 degrees

A Monday with plenty of work to do. Stopped by Palmer Hay Flats at Fireweed Lane, one of my favorite birding spots. The area was mostly empty except for the few Swans, Magpies, and passing Canada Geese in their giant V-formations.

I was rewarded with a Red-necked Grebe, alone on the water but for a couple Buffleheads. These are uncommon in our area, but this looks like their preferred summer habitat. They like to next on marshy ponds in the tall grasses. In the winter, they live mainly on deep open ocean, often near rocky coasts and on eastern Great Lakes. They dive for fish and crustaceans. It's distinguished from the Horned Grebe by white cheeks instead of yellow, its red neck and larger size.

Red-necked Grebe

Two adult breeding male Buffleheads and one non-breeding male on the right, a juvenile.

Northern Pintails, Greater White-fronted Geese

Weather: Clouds breaking up, patchy sunshine. Ground covered with water and patches of snow from yesterday's late spring unexpected snowfall.

A Sunday drive turned up various birds taking advantage of the temporary pools of water in the farmers' fields.

Northern Pintail

Greater White-fronted Goose

Canada Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose

Later, I went back to another favorite birding site, the Old Matanuska Townsite.  Present were some Tundra Geese and a curious mammal that I assume is a River Otter. (Lontra canadensis) It was about the size of a beaver but had a long round furry tail. It was snuffling and blowing air and water from its nose, while staring right at me. It kept diving and coming back up to confront me.

Swans

A beautiful day watching Trumpeter Swans coming in to land at the Old Matanuska Townsite.

Raptors and Geese

The birds are really moving into the Valley now. There are hundreds of geese and the raptors are making an appearance.

Canada Geese and Snow Geese over the Knik Valley

Canada Geese coming in for a landing

Streams and open water areas are filling up.

Canada Geese fly over.

Hawks are showing up throughout the area.

Bald Eagle, Palmer, Alasa

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk near Mat-Su Regional Medical Center

Red-tailed Hawk in full adornment

Pioneer Peak, Alaska

Common Ravens are showing some unusual grouping behaviors.

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

A trip to the Old Matanuska Townsite revealed my first ever Kingfisher birds. Not only one, but a mating couple enjoying Spring courtship!

Female Belted Kingfisher

Female Belted Kingfisher: she flew up on the wire and got the attention of a male that was down below - next photo.

Male Kingfisher: Note his pretty blue 'waistcoat'.

Courtship dance - they then flew off together down the river.