Birding Alaska

I just got back from Saint Paul Island and was craving some sunshine and a new bird, so I drove over to Kenny Lake and relocated the Eared Grebe that was reported last weekend by Paul Lehman. This makes three years in a row for Eared Grebe on Kenny Lake! The species is listed as casual on the Alaska Checklist. Kenny Lake is an ornithological oddity–an island of hay fields and pasture in a sea of boreal forest. Some really incredible birds have appeared at or near the lake over the years and an assortment of otherwise rare birds regularly nest there–Ruddy Duck, Blue-winged Teal and Chipping Sparrow.  Its one of my favorite birding spots in Alaska.

Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis, Kenny Lake, 25 May 2011.

It was no problem to see the Eared Grebe. I spent two hours at the lake and the entire time the grebe was out in the open and called for much of this time. The call reminded me of the deflected two-note call of a Sora. Several times when the Eared Grebe got too close to a pair of courting Horned Grebes the Horned Grebes would chase it away. Also on the lake were 9 Ruddy Ducks (5 male, 4 female).

Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina, Kenny Lake, 25 May 2011.

This Chipping Sparrow was singing right at the Kenny Lake pull-out. Later in the morning I found two more Chipping Sparrows singing on private properties a few miles down the road. I wouldn’t be surprise to find even more Chipping Sparrows if I had time and permission to search all of the open grassy habitats in Kenny Lake. In at least 2006 and 2009 Chipping Sparrows nested at the lake.

Western Tailed-Blue Everes amynthula, mile 173.6 Glenn Highway, 25 May 2011.

Persius Duskywing Erynnis persius, mile 173.6 Glenn Highway, 25 May 2011.

Sunny and warm today so the butterflies were out. This is the first Persius Duskywing that I’ve seen and there were a few out today.

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.

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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Milbert’s Toroiseshell, Aglais milberti, Homer, 9 April 2010.

Despite the piles of snow still in the yard, the first butterfly of the spring came out today.

Northern Blue Lycaeides idas resting on last year’s Yarrow Achillea millefolium at Kenny Lake, 15 July 2009.

A flashy little dude.

I thought I should post another butterfly photo since I’m now on board the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson and will be in the Bering Sea for the next 18 days.  I probably won’t see any butterflies out here.

Dorcas Copper Lycaena dorcas, Tern Lake, Kenai Peninsula, 8 July 2009.

The birding was a bit slow today, but the butterflies picked up the slack.  I photographed these Dorcas Coppers at Tern Lake on the Kenai Peninsula this evening.  There were several cavorting along the lake edge at the main pull-out on the Sterling Highway.

Update 24 July 2009. I’ve edited the information here since the original post on July 5th based on feedback that I received from members of the Western Canada Butterflies List-serve.  Several members, most notably Norbert Kondla, provided expertise and guidance on the identification of many of these butterflies. You can read my original post to WCanButterflies and Norbert’s response here.

Time to post a few butterfly pictures from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska.  I’m a novice at this butterfly business and all of the identifications are open to suggestions from others with more experience.  I would very much appreciate any comments on the identification of any of these butterflies.

Eversmann’s Parnassian Parnassius eversmanni, Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildife Refuge, near Canning River, 2 July 2009.

A real jaw-dropper!  There were at least two males on a small dry hill surrounded by wet tundra. On this windy day at least 8 other species were on this same hill. While I was watching them they only fed on Moss Campion Silene acaulis, despite many other flowers in full bloom on the hill.

Old World Swallowtail Papilio machaon, Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildife Refuge, near Canning River, 2 July 2009.

About a dozen Old World Swallowtails were on the hill with the Eversmann’s Parnassian. Also on this same hill were Northern Marble, Arctic Blue, Disa Alpine, Ross’s Alpine, an unknown Sulphur and at least one unknown Fritillary. I’m sure that I probably missed several more.

Common Ringlet Coenonympha kodiak yukonensis, near Plunge Creek, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 29 June 2009.

This Ringlet was the only one I saw. It looks much different from the one I photographed on the Kongakut last July.  That photo is here.

Greenish Blue Plebejus saepiolus, Fairbanks, 14 June 2009.

This photo was not actually in the Refuge, but it was my first new butterfly of the season and the first of a string of Blues for the summer.

Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus, on Dwarf Fireweed Epilobium latifolium Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 25 June 2009.

Silvery Blue Glaucopsyche lygdamus, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 16 June 2009.

Silvery Blue was the most common Blue that we saw in three weeks.  We found it at most locations along the river and on most days that butterflies were out.  Last year during a 18 day stretch on the Kongakut River the only Blue that we found was Northern Blue, which was very common.  We did not see Northern Blue this summer in the Refuge.

Western Tailed-Blue Everes amyntula, Wagtail Island, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 30 June 2009.

This was the only Western Tailed-Blue that we found.

Booth’s Sulphur Colias (tyche) thula, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 2 July 2009.

I had originally identified this butterfly as Labrador Sulphur Colias nastes. Norbert Kondla suggested that Booth’s Sulphur might be a better fit.  He writes, “Colias: the nastes could be nastes although I suspect it is a thula due to the yellowish nature of the venter. The Alaska north slope has both species and even when one has specimens in hand the identification of some individuals can be tricky/open to different ident opinions.”

Northern Marble Euchloe creusa on Mountain Avens Dryas octopetela, Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildife Refuge, near Canning River, 2 July 2009.

Mt. McKinley Alpine Erebia mackinleyensis, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 17 June 2009.

Alpines were well represented in the Arctic and we probably saw more alpines than any other type of butterfly.  All black with a splash of red, this one is high in the running for coolest butterfly of the summer.

Banded Alpine Disa fasciata, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 17 June 2009.

Ross’s Alpine Erebia rossii on Moss Campion Silene acaulis, Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildife Refuge, near Canning River, 2 July 2009.

Disa Alpine Erebia disa on Arctic Bell Heather Cassiope tetragona, Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, near Canning River, 2 July 2009.

Reddish Alpine Erebia lafontainei, Canning River, 17 June 2009.

Is this butterfly just emerging and “inflating” its hind wings?

White-veined Arctic Oeneis taygete, near Plunge Creek, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 21 June 2009.

Melissa Arctic Oeneis melissa gibsoni, near Plunge Creek, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 21 June 2009.

I thought I was photographing another White-veined Arctic when I took this photo, but after seeing it on the computer I wondered if it could be another Arctic, possibly Melissa.  This is from Norbert, “Oeneis: The Plunge Creek arctic looks suspiciously like an Oeneis ‘melissa’ gibsoni. Not all arctics with white veins are white-veined arctics and not even all white-veined arctics have white veins ”

Dingy Fritillary Boloria improba, Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildife Refuge, near Canning River, 2 July 2009.

This butterfly really stumped me as it didn’t quite match anything in my books.  Thanks very much to Norbert who pointed me towards Dingy Frittilary.  He advised, “the nominate subspecies [of Dingy Fritillary] is normally highly melanic on the upperside; in contrast to the more southerly subspecies which is mostly brighter/more orange on the upperside.”

Mountain Fritillary Boloria alaskensis, Canning River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1 July 2009.

Freija Fritillary Boloria freija, Salisbury Creek, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 27 June 2009.

Frittilaries were also very common and are very frustrating for me.  To my novice eye it looks like a good shot of the underwing is necessary for identification of most species, but it was very difficult to get a look at the underwing. With help from others I was able to identify these two fritillaries.

Thanks to all who provided information on these butterflies!