Birding Alaska

Now that the frenetic spring and summer breeding season is over and my schedule has eased up I have some time to post photos of this summer’s adventures. One of the highlights of my summer was a short trip that Bob Dittrick and I took to a nondescript ridge called Deadhorse Pass on the Eureka Road off of the Elliot Highway. We had just returned to Fairbanks after a three week stint in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and had only two days break in the schedule before Bob headed back into the Refuge and I headed for Nome.

The Eureka Road is about a three hour drive north and west of Fairbanks and is the location of the first Yellow-bellied Flycatcher nest found in Alaska. Yellow-bellied Flycatchers have been recorded irregularly in the spring in east-central Alaska for a number of years (mostly singing males). The species has also been caught at banding sights in Fairbanks and Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. The Eureka Road population was discovered in 2004 and was nicely written up in Western Birds volume 37, number 1 which you can find here:

Martin, P. R., Bonner, F., Gibson, D. D. 2006. First Nest of the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher for Alaska with Notes on Breeding Biology. Western Birds 37:8-22.

We arrived on the ridge around 4 PM on July 3rd but the only empid that we heard that afternoon was a Hammond’s Flycatcher–one bird called once. We birded the rest of the afternoon and finally hit the sleeping bags around 11 PM. At 2:16 AM we awoke to the whine of mosquitoes and the distinctive song of the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher! Despite the very encouraging start to the early morning we did not get satisfactory views of the bird until around 7:30 AM when I managed these photos.

The bird spent much of the morning calling from dense trees for about 10-15 minutes at a time before going completely silent. After about 20-30 minutes of silence we would again hear it from an entirely different locations some distance away. So went the morning until after about five hours with only brief views of the bird we began to discern a pattern to its circuit. We finally parked ourselves on a patch of mossy slope and waited near one the stands. After about 30 minutes (I fell asleep) Bob spotted the bird in the open and its distinctive song jarred me from my sleep. We watched the birds until around 9 AM and enjoyed great views. We were able to snap a few photos and get comparison looks of Hammond’s Flycatcher as well.

In contrast, reports from birders who had visited the site earlier in the season reported having the birds singing and showing well at the pull-out where looks were easily obtained from the parking area. What a difference a week makes a to a flycatcher in July!

Sunrise circa 2:45 AM on the ridge. The Yell0w-bellied Flycatcher began singing at 2:16 AM.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Empidonax flaviventris, Eureka Road, 4 July 2010.

Note the bold eye-ring, bic0lored bill, and yellowish wash to the belly and throat. The song is diagnostic and this individual gave it’s clear “chebunk” call throughout much of the morning.

There was at least one other calling Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in the area as well as a Hammond’s Flycatcher E. hammondii and several Alder Flycatchers E. alnorum. The Alder Flycatchers were in thicker shrub on the other side of the ridge, but the Hammond’s was in the same area as this Yellow-bellied and when the two would come into contact the Yell0w-bellied would aggressively chase the Hammond’s away. The Hammond’s was noticeably grayer overall with less contrast between the wing coverts and the back and lacked yellow on the underparts. The bill of the Hammond’s Flycatcher was distinctly shorter and narrower, looking dainty when compared to that of the Yellow-bellied. The distal half of the lower mandible was dark. We heard the Hammond’s call only a few times throughout the morning, but whenever it was near the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher’s favorite stand of trees it was silent and in all interactions between the two the Yell0w-bellied aggressively drove the silent Hammond’s away.

White Admiral Limenitis arthemis, Eureka Road, 4 July 2010.

By 8 AM the sun was out and this beautiful White Admiral was sunning itself in the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher habitat.

• Click here for a report and photo of a “new” Yellow-bellied Flycatcher site discovered on the Steese Highway near Fairbanks in June 2010.
• Click here for detailed directions to the Eureka Road as well as more information on the Steese Highway Yellow-bellied Flycatchers.

Below are a few pictures of brown bears from Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, on the Alaska Peninsula. I had the great fortune of going to Brooks Camp on 23 July while leading a birding and natural history trip for Wilderness Birding Adventures, in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy.  At least 14 bears were fishing for sockeye salmon while we were there and we saw another seven or eight on the walk to and from the falls. Click on any of the photos to enlarge.

I’ve just returned from three weeks (June 13-July 2) in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where I led two birding trips for Wilderness Birding Adventures.  Below is a brief photo tour through some of the many highlights.

Fledgling Gray-headed Chickadee Poecile cincta, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 16 June 2010.

The large white cheek patch, gray crown and contrasting sooty mask help identify North America’s rarest chickadee. This year we found a family group that included four fledged young.

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I just returned from leading two birding tours in Nome for Wilderness Birding Adventures. The two days that I get to spend each spring looking for Bristle-thighed Curlews are two of the best of the entire year. Here are a few shots of North America’s most beautiful shorebird.

Bristle-thighed Curlew Numenius tahitiensis, north of Nome, 8 June 2010.

Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus (left) chasing a Bristle-thighed Curlew, north of Nome, 8 June 2010.

Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia, Safety Lagoon, near Nome, 1 June 2010.

Caspian Terns have been expanding their range in recent decades and have now colonized several areas in southcoastal, southeast, and western Alaska.  There are a very few records for the Seward Peninsula, all of which come from Safety Sound/Lagoon near Nome and represent the northernmost records of the species in Alaska.  These two Caspian Terns were resting on an island in Safety Lagoon near milepost 18.5 on the Council Road on June 1st.