SOUTH BAY BIRDERS UNLIMITED

Birding in Alaska, May 24 - June 10, 1998

Kendric C. Smith

We were on a Sierra Club Birding Trip. The Co-Leaders were John M. O'Donnell (birds) and Carole Dienger (plants and birds), and Assistant Leader Howard Dienger (history). We spent a day or so birding the Anchorage area, then flew to Nome for a few days, back to Anchorage, then to Seward for a pelagic trip and birding the Kenai area, then back to Anchorage and up to Denali for a few days, and back to Anchorage to end the formal trip. My wife and I then went to Sitka for a few days before returning home.

There were generally two kinds of birds in Alaska, those that were there last week, and those that were probably coming next week. Nevertheless, we had a good group and had a good time, and did see quite a few birds, but we had to work at it. There was often only one or two individuals of a species seen. Spring had not yet come to Alaska, especially in Nome. They had a mild winter in Alaska, but received 3-4 feet of snow the end of May, so some of the roads were not open yet. We had fog and light rain almost every day. I still have not seen Mt. McKinley after two trips. On our pelagic trip out to a glacier at Kenai, we wore everything we owned (long underwear, wind pants, etc.), and were none too warm. Sitka, being further South was warmer, but we still had fog and rain, especially on our pelagic trip. Sitka seemed more Alaskan, with Bald Eagles everywhere. The trees looked like Christmas trees with white lights on them. We saw very few Eagles elsewhere on our trip. There were also many Ravens at Sitka.

The birds in greatest abundance on our trip were Townsend's and Wilson's Warblers (seen and heard), and Varied Thrushes (often heard, but seldom seen). The rarest bird was the Common Ringed Plover (Nome). The most exciting bird for me was a male Northern Goshawk near the nest (Anchorage).

It was nice to see the common birds of California all dressed up in their breeding plumage. The Surfbirds were especially beautiful, as were the the Dowitchers. The picutres of these birds in the National Geographic Bird Book don't begin to show how beautiful they really were.

I did not see a Merlin. I hope Merlie is OK (the Merlin that has spent the Winter by our house for the last 6 years).

We found a baby Walrus under some old railroad machinery about 30 miles outside of Nome (walruses shouldn't be anywhere near Nome). We called U.S. Fish and Wildlife and they rescued it, and sent it to Tacoma, Washington for rehab. Things were looking good for a few days, but it died of an intestinal obstruction and the resultant operation. A week of no food after being born didn't help his chances.


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