Originally found on the Homer Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on 19 December 2009, this Emperor Goose was a dandy way to ring in the new year. It is of less than annual occurrence on the Kenai Peninsula.
Other Alaska CBC totals for Emperor Goose this year include: Adak–102; Unalaska/Dutch Harbor–1368; Kodiak–588; Narrow Cape/Kalsin Bay (on Kodiak Island)–114; and Homer–1.
I was in Unalaska (the name of the island and the city where the port of Dutch Harbor is located) for a few days early this week and had some time to get out birding with local birder Suzie Golodoff for a few hours each day. The birding is always good on the island, but this trip had a few very welcome surprises!
Emperors winter in the Unalaska/Dutch Harbor waterfront by the hundreds. We found these two birds on the Dutch Harbor spit; they are the first reported for the season.
Strawberry Hill was the hotspot this week. This Brambling, one of a flock of six, was our first surprise find in the introduced stand of Sitka spruce on the hill. These trees act as magnets for any lost forest loving passerines that find their way to the island and have hosted many past rarities.
This Townsend’s Warbler was probably the best bird the trees had to offer. It’s only the third report of the species from the Aleutians. The first was an immature male on Shemya on 3 October 1977 (Gibson and Byrd 2007). The second was a find that Suzie made last year: 2 birds in Unalaska on 20 October 2008.
Still reeling from the Townsend’s Warbler, we found this Yellow-rumped Warbler about 50 feet farther down the road in the same stand of trees only a few minutes later! It is the first record of Yellow-rumped Warbler for Unalaska.
The one that got away: while we were trying to pin down the Townsend’s Warbler for photos after the brief initial look a Red-throated Pipit flew over the hill, giving it’s distinctive “speee” flight call. Unfortunately we were unable to relocated the pipit, another first for Unalaska.
This Merlin was on the hill both days and on both days we saw it carrying prey. I wonder what rare birds this Merlin has eaten lately.
Thanks Suzie for two great days of birding!
On February 24th and 25th I had the opportunity to bird Dutch Harbor, in the Eastern Aleutian Islands, with Robb Kaler. It was my first trip to Dutch Harbor in the winter.
The wintering waterfowl were impressive and included about 500 Emperor Geese and 40+ Steller’s Eiders along the waterfront in Captain’s Bay and near the grocery store, airport and small boat harbor.
The Emperors here are easy to find and approach. They spent a lot of time feeding on mussels and barnacles at low tide right along the road system.
Only a few passerines are hardy enough to be year-round residents in the Aleutians. The sanaka race of Song Sparrow is resident from the central Aleutians to the Alaska Peninsula. The two races of Song Sparrows from the Aleutians, maxima and sanaka, are large when compared to other races. Sanaka is lighter colored than the very dark maxima (Gibson and Kessel 1997.) Note the long slender bill.
A highlight of the day was a pair of “Oregon” Dark-eyed Juncos that we found in a brushy gully atop a hill behind Amelia’s Restaurant. Gibson and Byrd (2007) write that “in Eastern Aleutians Dark-eyed Juncos were casual in winter.” They note several records of both slate-colored and Oregon races from Unalaska/Dutch Harbor. These two juncos pished in for a photo, but only reluctantly. Perhaps because moments before finding them a Sharp-shinned Hawk cruised through the area! We got good looks at the bird in flight which appeared to be a female based on size, but unfortunately the bird never perched and we were unable to get photos. Sharp-shinned Hawk is only “accidental in the Eastern Aleutians” (Gibson and Byrd 2007). They cite only 3 reports of Sharp-shinned Hawk from the region.
While I failed to get a photo of the Sharp-shinned Hawk, another raptor caught our attention on the hill. This Golden Eagle was soaring overhead with a few dozen Bald Eagles. It is considered a rare resident and probable breeder in the area (Gibson and Byrd 2007).
Our last stop of the day was at the small lagoon behind the Grand Aleutian hotel. Here the flock of 130 Greater Scaup held a few surprises!
This photo provides what is possibly the first documented record of Canvasback for the Eastern Aleutians. Gibson and Byrd (2007) remark that in the Eastern Aleutians there is only “anecdotal evidence of occurrence.” The species, however, regularly winters in very small numbers in the Central Aleutians, especially at Adak. In addition to the obvious tuft on the female Tufted Duck, note the bird’s small size (compared with Greater Scaup) and dark back. A male Tufted Duck was also present in the flock.
This female Lesser Scaup was another interesting find in the flock. It is separated from the similar Greater Scaup on the right by its smaller overall size, its angular–not rounded–head shape, and its smaller bill. Side-by-side comparison makes for a straight forward ID, but lone birds can be more confusing. Gibson and Byrd (2007) state that the Lesser Scaup is “casual or intermittent in winter” in the Eastern Aleutians.
Our last find in Dutch was this adult Slaty-backed Gull in Captain’s Bay on February 25th.
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.
Gibson, D. D., and Kessel, B. 1997. Inventory of the species and subspecies of Alaska birds. Western Birds 28:45-95.
