Birding Alaska

A tribute to the Golden-crowned Kinglet–the smallest bird that regularly makes it through an Alaskan winter (you could send four of them through the United States mail for the price of a single stamp).

Spring is finally here and this Golden-crowned Kinglet was busy defending his territory and his honor from himself today at the Two Sisters Bakery in Homer.

Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa, Two Sisters Bakery, Homer, 30 March 2010.

Originally found in Homer on 4 February 2011 by Jackie McDonough, and found later that day by only a few others, this Western Meadowlark then disappeared and was not seen again until Jackie spotted it in her neighborhood again last week on 8 March. The third sighting of this bird came today (15 March) when Toby and Laura Burke and family spotted it feeding on the lawn south of the Ocean Shores motel around 11:30 AM. They called me up and I was able to find it in the same area and watch it from about 4:45 to 6:00 PM today with Trae Lohse and Mossy Kilcher.  All of the sightings of this bird have thus far occurred within a few blocks of today’s sighting.

Western Meadowlark is casual in Alaska (nearly 20 records), with almost all of the records coming from Southeast Alaska in fall or winter (about half of these are from Ketchikan). The only records for the state away from the fall and winter seasons are two records of Western Meadowlark, and one of an unidentified Meadowlark, from interior Alaska that occurred during the summer months. This is the first record of Western Meadowlark from the Kenai Peninsula!

Photo 1. Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta, the lawn of the Ocean Shores Motel, Homer, 15 March 2011. Click on any photo for a larger image.

Identifying meadowlarks out of range is very difficult and before today this meadowlark was probably best left identified only as a meadowlark species. However, today it showed well on the lawn and gave prolonged views of several key marks. Also, the bird called! While it was perched in this birch tree Mossy Kilcher, Trae Lohse and I heard it call four times. It’s call was a loud, clear and rich “Tuke” or “Tchuke”.The call of an Eastern Meadowlark is described as a metalic and buzzy “dzrrt” in the 5th edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. On all recordings that I’ve been able to listen to, the calls of the two species are very easily distinguished from one another. For examples of the calls of both species, check out the excellent Macaulay Library website.

Interestingly, when this bird perched in the tree a flock of Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Pine Siskins began to mob it as they would a small owl. It was during this mobbing that the meadowlark called.

In photos 1-3 the features that help identify this as a Western Meadowlark are the yellow feathers intruding into the lower malar region. An Eastern Meadowlark would have no yellow in the malar region. Also note the tannish, low contrast eye-stripe and crown stripes and spotted (not streaked) flanks.

Photo 2.

Photo 3.

Photo 4. In addition to the yellow in the lower malar region, note the finely barred (not dark centered) secondary coverts, tertials and lower scapulars. Overall, the upperparts are uniformly pale, lacking any rich tones shown in the northern races of Eastern Meadowlark.

Photo 5. On this photo note the barred (not dark centered) central tail feathers, with the tannish bars continuing all the way to the feather shaft. It also appeared that the white in the tail feathers was limited to only the outer three tail feathers (R4-R6). On R4 (the third tail feather counting inward) the white appeared to be mostly limited to the outer web. Photos 5-8 show the tail and the relatively limited white. Unfortunately, on all of them the shutter clicked a nanosecond too early or too late and the none of the photos capture the tail spread to its full extent.

Photo 6. The uppertail coverts are also finely barred, not dark centered.

Photo 7.

Photo 8.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula, Homer, 1 March 2011.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are notoriously hardy birds and a few attempt to winter in Homer each year. Most of these typically disappear during the short days and hard cold snaps of late December and January, but this little guy has been attending my suet feeders since November and to my knowledge is the only Ruby-crowned Kinglet to have made it this long in Southcoastal Alaska this winter. The sighting of the kinglet in the yard this afternoon marks the first time I’ve seen a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in Alaska in March. Early arrivals to the Kenai Peninsula typically show up during the third week in April. It will be interesting to see how long this guy will stick around before something internal says “migrate!”

March: In like a Kinglet, out like a …? Well, a Fieldfare would be nice!

Meadowlark (probably Western) Sturnella (neglecta), Homer, 4 February 2011. Click on a photo to enlarge.

Jackie McDonough today reported a Meadowlark foraging under her neighbor’s deck at 1:10 pm in the neighborhood behind the Best Western in Homer. When I eventually relocated the bird late this afternoon, around 5:15 pm, it was sitting under a different deck in the same neighborhood. The bird is probably a Western Meadowlark based on what I could see of the yellow extending into the lower half of the malar region, however, I had only very brief views of the bird at close range before it flew farther away into some dense spruce, so I could not study this feature for more than two or three seconds.  I waited near the stand of spruce for about 30 minutes before the bird flew out to an exposed branch and I was able to get these distant photos. Unfortunately, the photos that I took do not clearly show the facial pattern. At 5:50 pm the bird flew down to Bishop’s Beach and appeared to land in an alder thicket on the bluff just below the Ocean Shores Motel. The sun had just set, so I decided to call it a day and look again tomorrow.

Western Meadowlark is casual in Alaska (nearly 20 records), with almost all of the records coming from Southeast Alaska in fall or winter (about half of these are from Ketchikan). The only records for the state away from the fall and winter seasons are two records of Western Meadowlark, and one of an unidentified Meadowlark, from interior Alaska that occurred during the summer months. This is the first record of a Meadowlark from the Kenai Peninsula! There are no records of Eastern Meadowlark for Alaska.

Thank you, Jackie, for getting the word out so quickly! I’ll be looking again tomorrow (4/5) and if it’s still around will hopefully get some better photos.

UPDATE 5 February 2010: I and a number of other people looked for the bird throughout the morning today and into the afternoon but could not relocate the bird.

This winter’s Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches flock on the Homer Spit has numbered about 40-50 since they first arrived in November. If you look carefully through the flock you might pick out one bird that is a bit different from the rest. The race of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch that regularly winters on the Homer Spit is the Kenai Peninsula breeding littoralis, however, this winter there is also one finch of the interior Alaska breeding race tephrocotis in the flock. Last winter there were no reports of tephrocotis on the Spit. While during the winter of 2008-2009 there were at least 15 tephrocotis in the flock.

Four subspecies of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Leucosticte tephrocotis occur in Alaska (Gibson and Kessel 1997). These four subspecies can be grouped into two easily identifiable forms or types–coastal “gray-cheeked” and interior “brown-cheeked” forms. Two of the four subspecies, littoralis and tephrocotis are regularly found in Homer in the winter, and we should be on the lookout for the Aleutian Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, griseonucha, which might rarely occur.

Interior form:

L. t. tephrocotis: In Alaska the interior form is comprised of just one subspecies, nominate tephrocotis. It is known as the “Interior” Gray-Crowned Rosy-Finch or “Cassin’s” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. In Alaska it breeds in the Brooks Range, in the mountains between the Yukon and the Tanana Rivers, and in the White Mountains (Gabrielson and Lincoln 1959). It winters from southern British Columbia, central Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, and southwestern Manitoba south through the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin (AOU 1957). It is sometimes found wintering in small numbers in coastal Alaska, where small numbers are usually mixed in the larger flocks of littoralis Rosy-Finches.

Coastal form:

The Coastal form is comprised of three subspecies in Alaska, all of which have an entirely gray crown and cheek.

L. t. littoralis: Is variably called the “Coastal,” “Hepburn’s,” or “Gray-cheeked” Rosy-Finch. In Alaska it breeds in the mountains of Central, Southcoastal, and Southeast Alaska. Wintering flocks can be encountered at feeders and beaches throughout coastal Alaska from the Kenai Peninsula south through Southeast Alaska. The Homer spit usually hosts a winter flock of 100+ birds.

L. t. griseonucha: Is known as the “Aleutian” Rosy-Finch. It occurs from the Kodiak Archipelago and the outer end of the Alaskan Peninsula west through the Aleutian Islands. The Aleutian Rosy-Finch is primarily non-migratory, but winter movements to lower elevations occur as well as occasional wanderings further east, possibly the Kenai Peninsula where it should be looked for in winter (especially on the Homer Spit). Gibson and Kessel (1997) include ‘kadiaka’ in the subspecies griseonucha. ‘Kadiaka’ is resident on Kodiak Island and is intermediate in size between littoralis and griseonucha. Gabrielson and Lincoln (1959) considered it a separate race.

L. t. umbrina: Is known as the “Pribilofs” Rosy-Finch and is a year-round resident on the Pribilof Islands and St. Matthew Island. It is the largest and darkest of all of the subspecies.

Distinguishing the three subspecies from each other is less straight forward than telling an interior bird from a coastal bird. The main differences between the three coastal subspecies include: size, darkness of brown breast, amount of contrast between the breast and the throat, extent of black streaking on the back, and bill shape. Distinguishing littoralis from griseonucha where their winter ranges come together may not be possible in the field.

See the photos below for information on how to identify the races of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. Click on any photo to enlarge.

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. t. littoralis and tephrocotis (center), Homer Spit, Homer, 20 December 2010.

The bird in the center of the flock (looking straight at the camera) is an interior tephrocotis. It is identified primarily by its brown cheeks; the gray on the head is limited to a broad supercilia that reaches around to the back of the head. Also, the brown breast is slightly paler brown than that of the littoralis finches which surround it.

“Hepburn’s” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. t. littoralis, Homer Spit, Homer, 20 December 2010.

On all three subspecies that comprise the coastal form the entire sides of the face, including the cheek, is gray. The breast on these littoralis Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches is dark brown which contrasts with the black throat. Since Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches nest in extremely cold and rugged environments we can’t assume from the snow that it’s winter. However, the yellow bills give the season away. Breeding plumaged birds of all subspecies have black bills.

“Interior” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. t. tephrocotis, Homer Spit, Homer, 20 December 2010.

Note the brown cheeks, lighter brown breast than a littoralis, and stout bill.

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. t. littoralis and tephrocotis, Homer Spit, Homer, 20 December 2010.

The flash of their silvery underwings as a flock takes flight is one of my favorite field marks of a Rosy-Finch.

“Aleutian” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. t. griseonucha, Adak Island, 14 May 2010.

Aleutian breeding Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches are larger, darker breasted and longer billed than littoralis. The bills of all Rosy-Finches are black during the breeding season.

“Aleutian” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. t. griseonucha, Adak Island, 17 May 2010.

The very dark brown breast of this griseonucha only slightly contrasts with its black throat. Compare the photos of littoralis above.

“Aleutian” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. t. griseonucha, Unalaska, 10 October 2009.

If an Aleutian griseonucha were to find itself in a flock of littoralis and tephrocotis on the Homer Spit or elsewhere in Southcoastal Alaska it might be separated by its larger size, darker brown breast contrasting less with the black throat, and slightly longer more slender bill. This would be a subtle and difficult identification for sure, especially since the resident griseonucha on Kodiak appear to be intermediate in size and plumage between griseonucha farther west and littoralis. In this case an unequivocal identification to subspecies in the field may not be possible.

Sources:

• American Ornithologists’ Union. 1957. Check-list of North American Birds, 5th ed. Lord Baltimore Press, Baltimore, MD.
• Gabrielson, I. N., and Lincoln, F. C. 1959. The Birds of Alaska. Stackpole, Harrisburg, PA.
• Gibson, D. D., and Kessel, B. 1997. Inventory of the species and subspecies of Alaska birds. Western Birds 28:45-95.

The highlight of the Homer Christmas Bird Count (18 December 2010) was a yellow-faced Horned Lark of the Asian breeding race flava found by Lisa Matlock, Kathy Eagle, Dave Rosseneau and Vernon Byrd. It was with a group of three Alaskan breeding arcticola Horned Larks. I believe this is the first mid-winter record of Horned Lark for Homer (there are several records in recent years from the Kenai River flats and at least one from Seward). Also, this is the first record of a yellow-faced flava for the Kenai Peninsula. With help from Gary Lyon I relocated the flock on 19 December and got a few photos.

Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris flava, Fishing Lagoon, Homer Spit, 19 December 2010.

The yellow supercilium, throat and sides of face identify this individual as the Asian breeding race flava.

Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris arcticola, Fishing Lagoon, Homer Spit, 19 December 2010.

A typical Alaskan breeding arcticola lacking any color to the face.

The Asian form flava is a rare fall migrant to western Alaska, including the islands of the Bering Sea. In Southcoastal Alaska, there are two specimen records for Middleton Island and a sight record from Middleton Island on 25-27 September 1991. In Southeast Alaska a flava was photographed at Juneau, 6 December 2007 and this year at Gustavus on 31 October 2010. Thanks to Steve Heinl and Gus van Vliet for information on other Southcoastal and Southeast Alaska records.

Click here for photos of a flava from the Bering Sea earlier this year.

Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola, Homer Spit, 5 December 2010.

It’s turning into a very interesting fall and winter birding season in Homer! Martin Renner and I were birding the Homer Spit on Sunday when this Black-bellied Plover flew in and landed on the beach in front of us. This is the first winter record of Black-bellied Plover for Homer and one of only a few late November-December records for Southcoastal Alaska. The bird was still on the spit as of 7 December.

Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus, Homer Boat Harbor, 5 December 2010.

This is probably the same Northern Harrier that Lani Raymond reported from the spit on 27 November.  There are a few other mid-winter records for the Homer area. These two birds added to a very interesting weekend of birding in Homer. Hopefully some of these birds can be relocated for the Homer Christmas Bird Count on 18 December.

More information on these and other Homer birds can be found here.

Thede Tobish and I beat the bushes in Homer today for passerines and found three interesting birds. We started with a Pacific Wren (formerly known as Winter Wren), which although common on the south side of Kachemak Bay, is a very good find in Homer. Most reports from this side of the bay come from the fall and winter. A sparrow flock in town produced a White-throated Sparrow, making two years in a row for this rare winter visitor in Homer. The bird of the day was an unseasonal Hermit Thrush at Mossy Kilcher’s Seaside Farm. I believe this is the first winter record of Hermit Thrush for Homer. Elsewhere in Southcoastal Alaska there are two previous mid-winter records of Hermit Thrush from Seward (30 December 2000 and 31 December 2004-17 January 2005) and one from Cordova (16 December 2000-11 January 2001).

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicolis, Homer, 4 December 2010.

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus, Seaside Farm, Homer, 4 December 2010.