Kenai Birding Festival

Yesterday afternoon, on the low tide a friend and I walked 3 miles north from the Captain Cook beach access.  Didn't see much until we were a mile up the beach.  

Scattered along the mud flat,  feeding were:  20-30 Bonaparte's Gulls, a dozen Arctic Terns, 25-30 Whimbrel, 2 Yellow Legs, and 3 smaller light colored peeps. Later, near the mud a flock of 14 Surf Scotors drifted at rest on the incoming tide. There were also larger gulls on the mud.  Up the beach 2 eagles sitting in trees.

When we arrived at our turn around point we heard a loud wail in the distance.  After scanning the water with binoculars we saw it was a lone Common Loon calling its mate. They did get back together after quite a bit of wailing.

Shorebirds are building at the north bank of the Kasilof River.  Today at 4PM there were 5,000 or more shorebirds on the mudflats.  High tide was around 7PM but at 4:45 PM the birds were moving off the flats so one needs to be there 3 hours before high tide.  Birds present today were black bellied plovers, whimbrels, hudsonian godwits, dunlin, peeps, dowitchers, and various waterfowl.  Also red breasted mergansers in the river.

Seward Alaska Sporadic Bird Report

Thanks to a call from Robin C, and help from Jim H, I was able to photograph the female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD that Robin spotted this afternoon at the beach near the old railroad car at Lowell Point.

The mostly gray bird, with a flash of blue on her wings, perched on top of lookouts including driftwood, posts, and short spruce tips, looking for insects (flies?) on the ground. After a thorough search, she quickly flew down and disappeared behind the dead beach rye grass for a moment while she ate. She soon reappeared to return to the same perch or another one close by, working her way along the beach.

I last photographed a Mountain Bluebird in Seward on December 25, 2004 through January 6, 2005. It's great to host one again!

If you come, please be alert for heavy dump truck traffic on Lowell Point Road and at the Point. CAUTION: there are several places along Lowell Point Road where rather alarmingly large rocks are scattered on the roadway; be alert to more rocks falling from the unstable steep slopes.

When you reach the Point, turn left at the Silver Salmon Derby Campground sign (just before the sewage lagoon) and drive slowly until you see the historic gold and blue railroad car. Park well off the road. Beach Drive is under construction just around the corner, parallel to the beach, and is closed except for all those dump trucks and heavy machinery. Good luck and safe travels!

Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

for a few photos, please visit <http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com>
http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com/

About 40 birders spent the afternoon and evening looking for the Hobby at Anchor Point yesterday.  No luck.

However, Connie and I recorded 36 species of birds for our efforts and others had more than we did.  So it was a good day of birding at this location.  The combination of saltwaters of Cook Inlet, the Anchor River, and the estuarine area provide a variety of habitats that make birding special here..

KACHEMAK BAY BIRD ALERT INFORMATION LINE (235-PEEP)
May 10, 2013

Our Shorebird Festival is in full swing!!   Large numbers of shorebirds are here and the weather is great. Around town one can hear birds singing, snipe winnowing, cranes calling... The following list by area updates birds seen in the last two days.

Anchor River:  An EURASIAN HOBBY was sighted at the mouth of the Anchor River on the 10th.  This is extremely rare, possibly never before seen on the Kenai Peninsula and only a few times in Alaska.    (Check AKBirding for more details posted by Aaron Bowman.) Large groups of WESTERNS, DUNLIN, Plovers,  and some Turnstones, LEAST SANDPIPERS, WHIMBRELS, DOWITCHERS sp. There have been no further sightings of the WILLETS but hopefully since they were heading north, someone would have seen them up there?

Mud Bay:  CASPIAN TERNS and HUSONIAN GODWIT on the 9th (previous sightings of MARBLED and BAR-TAILED there).  Large groups of WESTERNS and DUNLIN; many SEMIPALMATED, PACIFIC, AND BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, also AMERICAN PIPITS AND LAPLAND LONGSPURS. A YELLOW-BILLED LOON  was seen in the Bay off on the 10th.  Nearby, on Kachemak Drive there: ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. (Only other warbler YELLOW WARBLER reported at Anchor River on the 7th.  But it's finally warming up!)

Mariner Park Lagoon: TRUMPETER SWANS, SANDHILL CRANES, MERLIN, AMERICAN PIPITS, large groups of WESTERNS and DUNLIN plus DOWITCHERS, WHIMBREL, LEAST SANDPIPERS.

Harbor/Barge Basin: BLACK TURNSTONE, WANDERING TATTLER, RED-FACED CORMORANT, YELLOW-BILLED LOON

Out in the Bay/Gull Island:  TUFTED PUFFINS, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (large groups), PACIFIC LOONS, ROCK SANDPIPERS, SURFBIRDS, BLACK OYSTERCATCHER, PIGEON GUILLEMOT, MARBLED and KITTLITZ'S MURRETLETS, RED-FACED CORMORANTS.

Overlook Park Hike (beach from Diamond Creek trail to Bishop's Beach): SAVANNAH SPARROW, HAIRY WOODPECKER.

Waddell Street (below the Badarka Inn): RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD. Bishop's Beach: AMERICAN PIPITS, NORTHERN HARRIER, COMMON EIDER ("way out there").

Beluga Lake: CANVASBACK.

Below Beluga Lodge:  There was another sighting on the 8th of the COMMON (or EURASIAN) TEAL in Beluga Slough. Note: this is a subspecies of the GREEN-WINGED TEAL, not a species itself, as previously reported, but could be at some time.


 IT'S  A GREAT DAY TO BIRD!! And a Great Shorebird Festival, too!!

Kasilof River north bank on May 10th at 2:22 PM.  

Peeps - mostly western and semi-palmated - 1800

Dunlin - 700

Semi-palmated plover - 3

Long billed dowitcher - 25 (note I was making these identifications quickly as time was running out but I think this is fairly close to the true percentage of the two dowithcher species)

Short billed dowitcher - 100

Whimbrels - 4

Hudsonian godwits - 2

Black bellied plover - 10

Other birds observed

Canvasback - 2

Bonaparte's Gull - 2

Pintails - 26

Northern Shovelers - 50

Greater Scaup - 30

Bald eagle - 1

On May 10th at 4PM Connie and I observed a pair of ring-necked ducks at Spenard Pond which is at the intersection of Kalifornsky Beack Road and the Bridge Access Road - In addition to the ring necked ducks there were lesser scaup and a pair of shovelers.  Buffleheads were also present.  This is a neat little pond this time of year as lots of different waterfowl like the share it.

Today at 5:10 I noticed a long winged falcon fly by the Anchor River
estuary near the boat launch parking area.  Initially I noticed that it was
not a Merlin, too large and long winged, and not a Peregrine, too small
bodied and long winged and bodied.  It struck me as a Hobby which I
am familiar with from Japan.  About 5 min later it came back flying slowly
into the wind and relatively low to the marsh using relatively few wing
beats.  Two other birders (Brad M. and Wendy) arrived and were able to see
it at this point.  We had a distant view of it perched in some cottonwoods
on the bluff then good looks of it as it flew low to the river and out of
sight toward the mouth.   By this point its ID was clarified as a EURASIAN
HOBBY.  There are also a few Merlins in the area which fly on much shorter
wings with more rapid and frequent wing beats.  Other good field marks are
the light face with a thin black "moustacial" mark and white reaching well
behind toward the nape.  The under-tail coverts up toward the lower belly
were light rust in coloration.  The belly and chest were streaked looking
darker between the white chin and throat and rusty light under-tail.

Aaron Bowman

Good birding on the Kenai River flats this evening at high tide.  The birds were pushed into the marsh and the Hudsonain Godwits were putting on a good show.  Here is the species list for the night.

Greater White-fronted Goose 

Cackling Goose 

American Wigeon 

Mallard 

Northern Shoveler 

Northern Pintail 

Green-winged Teal 

Canvasback 

Common Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser 

Bald Eagle 

Sandhill Crane

Black-bellied Plover

Greater Yellowlegs Delete

2

Lesser Yellowlegs 

Whimbrel 

Hudsonian Godwit 

peep sp. 

Long-billed Dowitcher 

gull sp. 

Arctic Tern

Black-billed Magpie

Northwestern Crow

KACHEMAK BAY BIRD ALERT INFORMATION LINE
(235-PEEP)
May 9, 2013

The Shorebird Festival starts  today!  The following list  by area indicate birds seen in the last two days.

Anchor River: The evening of the 8th there were 3 WILLETS seen flying north.  This observation was made during Shorebird Monitoring and several people saw them.  This is a very rare bird here, not even on our Checklist of Birds of Kachemak Bay, although last year there were some seen near the Kenai River I was told.  Also at the Anchor River were SURFBIRD (8th report that it was singing, not just flight call!), YELLOW WARBLER near campground area, FOS warbler!  BLACK TURNSTONE (1), LEAST SANDPIPER (1), DUNLIN, WHIMBREL (48 seen on the 3rd), PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (37 seen on the 5th). NORTHERN KINGFISHER, AMERICAN PIITS, EURASIAN WIGEON, GLAUCOUS GULLS, HERRING GULLS.

Mud Bay:  BAR-TAILED GODWIT (1), MARBLED GODWIT (3), AND PEREGRIN FALCON seen on the 6th. More recently, WESTERN SANDPIPERS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVERS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS,  WHIMBREL, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER,  LEAST SANDPIPERS, DUNLIN.

Mariner Park Lagoon: TRUMPETER SWANS, no nesting Cranes (yet); possible connection ??

Mariner Beach: RUDDY TURNSTONE, WHIMBREL, SURFBIRDS (40).

Louie's Lagoon/Green Timbers:  WHIMBREL, DUNLIN, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER.  PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER, BRANT (31),  RUDDY TURNSTONE seen on the 5th. 

Barge Basin: YELLOW-BILLED LOON, COMMON LOON.

Harbor: SURFBIRDS on the jetty, WANDERING TATTLER by the Harbor, MERLIN.

Out in the Bay/Cohen Is., etc.:  SURFBIRDS, BLACK OYSTERCATCHER, PIGEON GUILLEMOT, MARBLED and KITTLITZ'S MURRETLETS.

Beluga Slough: WHIMBREL, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, RUDDY TURNSTONE, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, DUNLIN, DOWITCHER sp., SANDHILL CRANES, far fewer numbers of geese --GREATER WHITE-FRONTED, CACKLING/CANADA.  AMERICAN PIPITS in the area just below Beluga Lodge.  There was another sighting on the 8th of the COMMON (or EURASIAN) TEAL in Beluga Slough. Note: this is a subspecies of the GREEN-WINGED TEAL, not a species itself, as previously reported.

Downtown Homer: RED CROSSBILLS seen on the Calhoon Trail on the 3rd and  on Mainstreet. Previously seen out Skyline Rd.

Please report Sandhill Crane sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch at 235-6262 or reports@cranewatch.org.

 
 IT'S  A GREAT DAY TO BIRD!! And a Great Time for a Shorebird Festival, too!!