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.

From May 13-20 I was on Adak Island in the central Aleutians leading a birding trip for Wilderness Birding Adventures. The Asian rarity highlights from the trip were a female Smew and a Hawfinch. Least Sandpiper and Northern Wheatear were very good finds from an island perspective. Rarities aside, Adak has an interesting list of subspecies endemic to the central Aleutians, a diversity of seabirds and the ever present feeling of anticipation that something truly rare might blow in.  Below are some photos from the trip.

Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe, Adak, 15 May 2010.

Casual in the spring in the central Aleutians, this male is only the third spring record for Adak Island.

Smew Mergellus albellus (foreground) with female Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula, Shotgun Lake, Adak, 16 May 2010.

Gray-crowned Rosy-finch Leucosticte tephrocotis griseonucha, Adak National Forest, 14 May 2010.

The Aleutian Gray-crowned Rosy-finch, griseonucha, is larger than littoralis, the breeding race from south coastal and southeast Alaska and approaches umbrina (from the Pribilofs) in size. It is slightly browner overall than umbrina. These three races of Gray-crowned Rosy-finch share the gray crown and completely gray cheek of coastal varieties of the species.

Turner’s Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus atkhensis, Adak, 18 May 2010.

Turner’s Rock Ptarmigan is endemic to the islands of the Central Aleutians.

Pacific Golden-Plover Pluvialis fulva, Contractor’s Camp, Adak, 17 May 2010.

A flock of six at Contractor’s Camp were the only that we saw. The species is a regular migrant at Adak.

Wandering Tattler Tringa incana, Finger Cove, Adak, 17 May 2010.

Wandering Tattler is a regular migrant on Adak in small numbers. This individual is separated from the similar Gray-tailed Tattler by it’s darker gray upperparts, coarse barring on the lower belly, dark forehead, and nasal groove (not nostril) which extends for greater than half the length of the bill. The call is also diagnostic.

Hoary Redpoll Acanthis hornemanni, Adak National Forest, 16 May 2010.

A rare visitor to Adak, this species has nested in the central and western Aleutians. Up to four Common Redpolls were also present on Adak during our stay.

Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla, Sweeper Creek, Adak, 20 May 2010.

When Birds of the Aleutian Islands, by Gibson and Byrd was published in 2007 there were no records of this species from the central Aleutians. It has since been recorded at least 5 times at Adak.  We had a flyby at Clam Lagoon on 13 May and this bird at Sweeper Creek on 20 May. The overall dark plumage, compact build, all black lower mandible and white forehead separate it from the similar Long-toed Stint C. subminuta.
For photos of the elusive Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes, probably the “best bird” of our trip see Isaac Helmrick’s blog.

Back in the Bering Sea on the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson.  We left Kodiak on April 23rd and we’ll finish this cruise in Dutch Harbor on May 3rd. The mission of the cruise is to service oceanographic moorings in the eastern Bering Sea.

Young Spotted Seal Phoca largha, Bering Sea, 28 April 2010.

Thayer’s Gull Larus thayeri and third-cycle Glaucous Gull L. hyperboreus, Bering Sea, 28 April 2010.

While watching seals on a small flow of brash ice about 60 miles north of Unimak Island today I noticed this adult Thayer’s Gull in a group of Glaucous and Glaucous-winged Gulls. Thayer’s Gulls are probably casual in the Bering Sea. This adult is separated from Herring, Vega, and Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull hybrids by outer primary pattern, its smallish bill and rounded head, and relatively long primary projection.

First cycle Thayer’s Gull Larus thayeri, Homer Spit, 25 February 2010.

Thayer’s Gull is a good find in Homer in the winter.  This first cycle bird was in a flock of 4,000 gulls at the offal discharge site on the end of the Homer Spit.  It was first reported by Martin Renner on 21 February.  Rich MacIntosh and I found the bird again on 25 February and got these photos.  Most of the gulls were Glaucous-winged L. glaucescens, and Mew Gulls L. canus brachyrhynchus.  Also present in the flock was one first cycle Glaucous Gull L. hyperboreus and an adult Herring Gull L. argentatus smithsonianus.

Structurally this Thayer’s Gull is identified by it’s smaller size, more rounded head, smaller and narrower bill, and wings that are proportionately longer than the abundant Glaucous-winged Gull.  Also, on this Thayer’s Gull the outer primaries, tail and tertials are darker than the rest of the upper parts–this is evident on both the sitting an the flying bird.  Note that the primaries of this Thayer’s Gull are dark brownish with pale fringes.  A first cycle Herring Gull would have more blackish primary tips lacking the pale fringes.  The upperparts of a first cycle Glaucous-winged Gull is very uniform in tone and the primaries, tail and tertials do not contrast with the rest of the upperparts.  See the next two photos for comparison with Glaucous-winged Gull.

First cycle Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens, Cordova, 30 December 2005.

First cycle Glaucous-winged Gull, southern Bering Sea, 26 February 2009.

On both of these Glaucous-winged Gulls note the completely uniform tone of the upper parts.  There is no contrast between the tail, outer primaries, tertials and the rest of the upper parts.

Often when a species has an obvious and diagnostic field mark the tendency is to quickly identify the bird, ignore its other marks, and move on.  Identifying a Red-legged Kittiwake is easy if you see the field mark for which the bird is named, and if you travel to the Pribilof Islands during the breeding season you’ll have that opportunity.  However, on a flying bird or a bird seen at sea the red legs are difficult to see, so to pick out an out of range Red-legged Kittiwake you’ll need to focus on other identifying marks.  Once learned, these marks help to make the identification of a flying Red-legged Kittiwake straight forward even at a distance.

Red-legged Kittiwake and the similar and more widespread Black-legged Kittiwake are the only gulls in the genus Rissa. Both are small, cliff-nesting gulls that spend the non-breeding season primarily at sea.  Unlike the Black-legged Kittiwake which is circumpolar in distribution the Red-legged is endemic to the Bering Sea region, nesting at the Pribilof Islands and a few islands in the Aleutians, most notably Bogoslof and Buldir Island.  The species also breeds at the Commander Islands, in the waters of the Russian Bering Sea (Gibson and Byrd 2007).  Red-legged Kittiwake is rarely seen at sea away from its colonies and its winter distribution is poorly studied.  There are records of Red-legged Kittiwake for the Gulf of Alaska (Iseib and Kessel 1973) and even as far south as southern California (Cambell et al. 2008).

Red-legged Kittiwake Rissa brevirostris, St. Paul Island, Pribilofs, 5 July 2006.

Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa trydactyla, Eastern Bering Sea, 25 July 2009.

On the above pictures you can see that Red-legged Kittiwake is smaller, more compact, and slightly shorter legged than Black-legged.  On this bird note the short bill–for which it’s named brevirostris–and the large, round eye.  This imparts a gentle dove-like and “cute” expression that is lacking on the longer-billed Black-legged Kittiwake.

Red-legged Kittiwake (top) and Black-legged Kittiwake (bottom) in flight, Bering Sea, 4 October 2009.

These next two photos show the upperwing of both species in flight.  On the Red-legged Kittiwake the upperwing is uniformly slaty gray.  On the Black-legged Kittiwake the upperwing is light gray, especially on the outer wing, or “hand”, which is paler gray than the inner wing.  Even at a distance this two-toned appearance to the wing is evident.  Because of the paler wing on the Black-legged Kittiwake, the white trailing edge to the secondaries contrasts less with the upperwing coverts and there is no striking trailing edge to the primaries.  On the Red-legged Kittiwake upperwing note the strong contrast between the trailing edge and the upperwing coverts.  This contrast is evident on both the secondaries and the primaries.  Red-legged Kittiwake also appears more compact in flight with smoother wingbeats.  The small bill and large eye of the Red-legged Kittiwake are also evident in these flight shots.

Red-legged Kittiwake (top) and Black-legged Kittiwake (bottom) in flight, Bering Sea, 4 October 2009.

The underwing pattern of the two species differs as well.  On the Black-legged the underwing is gleaming white.  On the Red-legged the underwing is grayish on the innerwing and darker gray on the outerwing.  This makes for much less contrast between the primary tips and the rest of the primaries on the underwing of the Red-legged Kittiwake.

Red-legged Kittiwake, Bering Sea, 4 October 2009.

This shot shows all the features of the Red-legged Kittiwake: uniform slaty upperwing with contrasting white trailing edge; grayish underwing; the small billed, large-eyed, “cute” face; and the red legs (barely visible underwater). See Howell and Dunn (2007) for more information and photos of Red-legged and Black-legged Kittiwakes.

• Cambell, W. R., Sealy, S. G., Wahl, T. R., and Walker, R. P. 2008. Status of Red-legged Kittiwake (Rissa Brevirostris) in British Columbia with notes on its occurrence in Canada and the Continental United States. Wildlife Afield 5: 3-11.
• Gibson, D. D., and Byrd, G. V. 2007. Birds of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Nuttall Ornithological Club and the American Ornithologists’ Union. Series in Ornithology 1.
• Howell, Steven N.G., and Dunn, J. 2007. Gulls of the Americas. Houghton Mifflin.
• Isleib, M. E., and Kessel, B. 1973. Birds of the North Gulf Coast-Prince William Sound region, Alaska. Biol. Papers Univ. Alaska 14.