Birding Alaska

Homer birder Michelle Michaud discovered this Buff-breasted Sandpiper at the mouth of the Anchor River yesterday and it was still present today, 22 August 2011. Buff-breasted Sandpiper breeds on the Arctic coastal plain and migrates primarily through the interior of the continent. In southcoastal Alaska they occur only as casual fall migrants primarily in August and September. This is one of only a few records for the Kenai Peninsula and only the second record for the Homer/Kachemak Bay checklist area. The first was of a bird found in Homer on 11 September 2000 (North American Birds 55:(1)90.)

Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tringites subruficollis, Anchor River mouth, 21 August 2011. Photo by Michelle Michaud.

Long-billed Murrelet Brachyramphus perdix, near Aurora Lagoon, Kachemak Bay, 6 August 2011.

Dave Sonneborn, Rich MacIntosh and I finally relocated one of the Long-billed Murrelets in Kachemak Bay that had been found on 4 June and 23 July 2011.  We found the bird about 1/2 mile offshore of Aurora Lagoon in Kachemak Bay. More details of this morning’s outing can be found here. This is generally the same location of this summer’s other two sightings.

Karl Stolzfus of Bay Excursions tells me that brachyramphus murrelet numbers in this area typically remain high until late August. Since at least one bird has been present since 4 June, I don’t see any reason why one wouldn’t stick around as long as the big numbers of Kittlitz’s and Marbled Murrelets do.  Good luck to anyone else giving it a try and let me know if you want company!

Passerines are starting to flock up and move around in Homer. This afternoon a mixed flock of at least 75 birds moved through my backyard. The deck made a perfect canopy tower for photography as the birds foraged in a nearby elderberry. The flock contained six species of warblers–not too bad for an Alaskan mixed flock. Northern Waterthrush is the only warbler regular to the area that wasn’t in today’s flock. I thought I’d make a warbler post to practice typing the “new” scientific names of these species. Click here to get up to speed on the latest taxonomic changes to the AOU list.

Wilson’s Warblers Cardellina pusilla, Homer, 3 August 2011.

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On 23 July 2011, while conducting murrelet surveys in Kachemak Bay, Kathy Kuletz, Liz Labunski, and Tamara Zeller of the US Fish and Wildlife Service found and photographed THREE Long-billed Murrelets. The birds were in the same area where Karl Stoltzfus photographed the Kenai Peninsula’s first record of Long-billed Murrelet on 4 June 2011.

Long-billed Murrelets Brachyramphus perdix, Kachemak Bay, 23 July 2011. In addition to the long bill, the dark nape which lacks a white collar, white throat, and white eye-ring separate these birds from the similar Marbled Murrlet B. marmoratus. Karl Stoltzfus also commented that the color of the bird he saw struck him as “charcoal, closer to black than to brown.” Click any photo to enlarge. Photos taken by Liz Labunski.

Long-billed Murrelet is a close relative of Marbled Murrelet and was formerly considered a subspecies of Marbled Murrelet, but was elevated to full species status in 1998. Prior to this summer there were only five confirmed records for Alaska. All of the previous Alaska records involved one day occurrences of single birds.

On 29 July 2011, Karl Stoltzfus of Bay Excursions, Homer, took a group of local birders out to try to relocate the Long-billed Murrelets–or at least one of them! In perfect glassy conditions we spent the morning slowly cruising and scanning the area. We didn’t conduct any sort of formal count, but by the most conservative estimates there were at least 400-500 brachyramphus murrelets near shore between Glacier Spit and Aurora Lagoon in Kachemak Bay. At least 100 of these were Kittlitz’s Murrelets. Our search did not produce a Long-billed Murrelet, but there were likely many more murrelets out there than the birds we were able to study. We also turned up Pigeon Guillemot, Common Murre, three Ancient Murrelets, one Thick-billed Murre (very rare in Kachemak Bay), four Arctic Terns, one Aleutian Tern, and one Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel.

It was a great morning of murrelet study and comparison and probably the best photographic opportunities that I’ve ever had for murrelets. As far as the Long-billed goes, with all the murrelets around and all the food in the water I don’t see any reason why there isn’t at least one still around. I’ll be trying to get back out there again soon and give it another try.

Long-billed Murrelet Brachyramphus perdix, near Glacier Spit, Kachemak Bay, 2 June 2011. Photo by Karl Stolzfus of Bay Excursions.

Long-billed Murrelet Brachyramphus perdix, near Glacier Spit, Kachemak Bay, 2 June 2011. Photo by Karl Stolzfus of Bay Excursions.

On Saturday, 2 June 2011, Homer birder Karl Stozfus found and beautifully photographed this Long-billed Murrelet in Kachemak Bay. This fantastic find is the first documentation of the species on the Kenai Peninsula. There are about five previous documented sightings for the state. More information can be found here. If the bird sticks around and is relocated information will be posted on the discussion site AK Birding.

The Kenai Peninsula list continues to grow. In addition to this find, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Jack Snipe, Turkey Vulture and Western Meadowlark have all been addded to the Kenai Peninsula list since July 2009, and all of them from south of the Anchor River (Homer area)!

Here are a few photos of interesting birds from our May 12-19  Wilderness Birding Adventures trip to Adak Island in the central Aleutians.

Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes, Adak “National Forest”, Adak Island, 13 May 2011.

The Hawg was the bird of the trip. This bird was found by Adak’s lone resident birder, Isaac Helmericks, and was on island for the entire week we were there.

Smew Mergellus albellus, Shotgun Lake, Adak Island, 12 May 2011.

Smew Mergellus albellus (right) and Bufflehead Bucephala albeola Shotgun Lake, Adak Island, 12 May 2011.

Smew regularly winter on Adak and this bird likely is left over from the winter season. While watching three Buffleheads on Shotgun Lake on our first evening birding on the island this Smew flew in and landed in front of us. Despite the efforts of all the birders on the island it was never seen again.

Green-winged Teal Anas crecca carolinensis (right) with Aleutian Green-winged Teal A. c. crecca, Clam Lagoon, 15 May 2011.

Green-winged Teal? Yes, on Adak a carolinensis Green-winged Teal is an interesting bird! The tables are turned…just a few weeks ago I was at home in Homer trying to pick out a lone crecca from the flocks of carolinensis.

The largely underrated, ignored, and unappreciated smallest shorebird in the world–the Least Sandpiper. A flock of 13 Least Sandpipers arrived in Beluga Slough, Homer yesterday–the first report of the spring.

The small size, yellow legs, neatly contained bib, uniformly marked upperparts and short bill that narrows to a point and slightly droops identify this bird as a Least Sandpiper.

The out of focus bird is slightly warmer and more orangey-brown in tone.

Least Sandpipers often feed by creeping along in a hunched posture.

A nice scapular “V”.

Note the variation in color in this group. The bird on the right is a slightly brighter bird with warmer orangey-brown fringes to the scapulars, wing coverts and tertials.

Just how big is a Least Sandpiper?

Least Sandpipers Calidris minutilla, Beluga Slough, Homer, 29 April 2011. Click on any photo to enlarge.

Eurasian Teal Anas crecca crecca, Mud Bay, Homer, 28 April 2011.

A drake Eurasian Teal (aka Eurasian Green-winged Teal, aka Common Teal, aka Aleutian Green-winged Teal) Anas crecca crecca was in Mud Bay, Homer today with a flock of about 150 (American) Green-winged Teal A. c. carolinensis. The drake is identified by the lack of the vertical white bar behind the breast and the strong white horizontal bar on the secondary coverts. Also, the green eye-stripe is very neatly outlined in fine gold trim. Females are not safely identifiable in the field. Another Eurasian Teal is currently being reported in Kenai. That’s a pretty good showing for the Kenai Peninsula.

The American Ornithologists’ Union currently recognizes crecca and carolinensis as subspecies of Green-winged Teal. The British Ornithologists’ Union and other authorities have split the taxa into two species.

Eurasian Teal Anas crecca crecca (left), with two Green-winged Teal A. c. carolinensis, Mud Bay, Homer, 28 April 2011. Click any photo to enlarge.

In flight note the stronger white secondary covert bar of the Eurasian Teal.