Birding Alaska

The last five years have been good to birders on the Kenai Peninsula. Since April 2008, 11 species have been added to the peninsula’s list. Five of them are species from the Old World; six of them hail from North America. At least six of them were chaseable to some degree. One, the Redwing, was also a new species for Alaska. Six of these records have been previously mentioned on this website; click on the species name for more details. For four of the species that haven’t been previously mentioned on this site I’ve included the photos here.

The last 11 additions to the Kenai Peninsula’s List listed in reverse chronological order.

#. Species: the details (finder).

1. Skylark: one at Deep Creek, 18-22 October 2012 (Steve Waltz).

2. Willet: one near the mouth of the Kenai River, 22-30 June 2012 (Toby A. Burke).

Willet Tringa semipalmata, Kenai River Flats, 22 June 2012. Photo by Laura K. Burke.

3. Redwing: one at Lowell Point, Seward, 15-26 November 2011 (Jim Herbert).

4. Long-billed Murrelet: one in Kachemak Bay, 2 June 2011 (Karl Stolzfus).

5. Western Meadowlark: one in Homer, 4 February-27 March 2011 (Jackie McDonough).

6. Turkey Vulture: one along the coast near the Anchor River, 19 November 2010 (Lauren Trimble).

7. Jack Snipe: one in Beluga Slough, Homer, 16 October 2010 (Aaron J. Lang)

8. Lesser Black-backed Gull: one at the mouth of the Anchor River, 7 July 2010 (Truls Anderson).

Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus, near the mouth of the Anchor River, 7 July 2010. Photo by Truls Anderson.

9. Eurasian Collared-Dove: one at Peterson Bay (across Kachemak Bay from Homer), 2 July 2009 (William Farr).

Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto, Peterson Bay Field Station, Kachemak Bay 2 July 2009. Photo by William Farr.

10. Western Kingbird: one in Seward, 23-28 July 2008 (Kim ?).

11. Spotted Towhee: one at Seaside Farms, Homer, 13 April 2008 (Mossy Kilcher).

Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus, Seaside Farms, Homer, 13 April 2008. Photo by Mossy Kilcher.

What will the next species for the Kenai Peninsula be? I have a few ideas about that…stay tuned for a future post.

Can you spot the Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula? Eyak Lake, Cordova, 20 October 2005.

Last year I wrote a post on species which have been recorded in Alaska, but are long overdue to reappear. Click here if you’re interested in reading that. Lately I’ve been thinking specifically about the Kenai Peninsula and the birds that have occurred here. Relative to the rest of the state, the Kenai is fairly accessible and is home to a number of good birders. It’s no surprise that the Kenai Peninsula’s bird list contains some remarkable finds: White-winged Tern, Turkey Vulture, Northern Mockingbird, Jack Snipe, Palm Warbler and Rustic Bunting, to name a few.

I’ve also been thinking about the birds that haven’t occurred here and one remarkable omission stands out: Tufted Duck. While I’ve seen mention of Tufted Duck on a couple of checklists for the Kenai, I haven’t been able to find any documentation or even mention of it in North American Birds, Field Notes, American Birds, or anywhere else for that matter. Despite the fact that there are numerous winter records from  Cordova and Kodiak and at least two spring records from Anchorage, no birder that I’ve spoken with has ever commented on seeing one on the Kenai Peninsula. The lack of records for the Kenai probably is due in large part to the general lack of open fresh water during the winter months, when the species is most likely to occur. Unlike the Kenai’s wintering scaup, nearly all of the winter Alaska records of Tufted Duck have occurred on fresh water.  The Kenai River, however, does remain open near Cooper Landing and I think this would be the perfect place to find one. While most records for Kodiak and Cordova are of wintering birds, the dates of these records span from October to May (and the two Anchorage records are from May), so a spring or fall migrant on Beluga Lake in Homer also seems like a good bet.

Good luck out there and call me if you find a Tufted Duck!

Here’s my vote for Alaska’s Bird of the Year 2011.

Redwing Turdus iliacus, Seward, 17 November 2011.

This Redwing was found by Carol Griswold in Seward on 16 November 2011. I was fortunate enough to have time and clear roads to head over there on the morning of the 17th and get a look at this great bird. Alaska is rich in Turdus, but this is the first account of Redwing in the state. (The other Turdus found on the Alaska Checklist are: American Robin, Eyebrowed Thrush, Dusky Thrush, and Fieldfare.)

BREAKING NEWS…Just when I was thinking that no good bird is ever discovered in Alaska in February, Seward birders proved me wrong.  Carol Griswold’s feeder in Seward is currently hosting Alaska’s 5th record of Cassin’s Finch.  Carol found the bird yesterday and was able to get some great photos which aided with this difficult ID.  Carol is a human being extraordinaire and a very welcoming finch-host.  Click here for sighting details and contact information.

Seward has attracted several Purple Finches in recent years, but this is the first Cassin’s.  The main separation points for Cassin’s are: a longer bill with a straighter culmen; white eye-arcs forming a nearly complete, delicate eye-ring; streaked undertail coverts; only a faint supercilium and malar stripe; and finer crisp streaking below, not coarse or blurry as in Purple.  Female House Finch (also extremely rare in Alaska) should also be considered; however, a House Finch would show a stubby bill with a more strongly curved culmen, a plain face, and diffuse blurry streaking below.  Since this is Alaska, I guess we should consider female Common Rosefinch also.  Like the House Finch, a Common Rosefinch would show a stubby bill with a curved culmen, a very plain face, and slightly smudgier streaking below.

I took these photos this morning, February 21st, from Carol’s yard.  The bird was very cooperative and came in to feed regularly all morning.  It tended to avoid the feeder, but fed instead on the spilled seeds near the feeder.  It wasn’t shy and spent a lot of time feeding in the open.  There were 5 other finch species there this morning including both White-winged and Red Crossbills.

This first picture shows a long and nearly straight culmen (except the bill tip) and a delicate eye-ring.  The streaking below is crisp and the face pattern is relatively faint.

This photo shows the streaked undertail coverts, which are lacking in Purple Finch.

This last shot points out two additional field marks of Cassin’s– long primary projection and crisp, black mantle streaks on grayish-tan feathers.  It also shows the long and pointy bill.

Below is a photo I took of a Purple Finch in Seward in 2006.  In it you can see the unstreaked undertail coverts and smudgy streaking on the breast and flanks.  Also the supercilium and malar stripe are more prominent than in the Cassin’s.  This bird also lacks an eye-ring, although the angle of this shot makes that difficult to discern.  While the straightness of the culmen is also difficult to see from this angle, the bill does look shorter than the bill of the Cassin’s Finch and has a proportionately thicker base.

Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus, Seward, 16 March 2006.

The last photo is one I took of a Purple Finch in Cordova in 2005.  Even though the photo quality is low, the supercilium and malar stripe are distinctive and this bird lacks an eye-ring.  Also, the streaking below is smudgy and the mantle streaks are not as sharp as those on the Cassin’s.  It’s too bad there is a stick obscuring the primary spacing–that would be an interesting comparison to make with the Cassin’s.

Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus, Cordova, 17 December 2005.