The title of this blog post essentially sums up how Heather and I have been completing this Big Year. We aren't rich, don't have tons of time, and haven't really taken much time off of work and school. We just fit birding in when we can.
This was true for most of our Alaska trip. Heather attended the American Ornithological Society conference while I worked remotely, hiked, and explored around Anchorage. I had a rental car and had my own goals, mostly plants and mammals, to achieve. When Heather ended her days at the conference, however, it was time to go birding. Below are a few highlights from our weekday birding excursions.
The first place that really attracted us near Anchorage was the Arctic Valley Ski Area. Supposedly, there was a reasonable shot of seeing all three ptarmigan species, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, American Pipit, and even Northern Goshawk in the area. This high elevation area, well-above the tree line, was only thirty minutes from where we stayed and, on Monday, we made this our destination.
En route to the top, a dark shape lumbered down the road. Black bear! We watched the large bear casually walk along the road for a few seconds before it turned into the surrounding forest. A bird called before we began moving again and, after checking our Merlin app, we realized that this was our first Swainson's Thrush of the year! We reached the top shortly after this find and decided to take a trail that rapidly ascended a nearby mountain. Right off the bat, a number of Golden-crowned Sparrows gave their pretty little songs nearby. An Orange-crowned Warbler gave a little chip from a nearby bush and we got excellent looks of this gorgeous (and new-for-us) bird.
The trail to the top of the ridge was a challenge, to say the least, and very lacking in the bird department. As we ascended the ridge, we fully expected for a Willow or Rock Ptarmigan to be there waiting for us. Nope. Our only excitement for the rest of our hike was the many, many times Heather tripped and fell on the way down the trail. To be fair, I did too because it was eroding like crazy and had almost no stabilization.
We gave up on Arctic Valley and decided to check out some hotspots near downtown Anchorage. Westchester Lagoon, our first stop in town, consisted of a large inland lagoon not far from the ocean. As soon as we reached the edge of the beautiful park surrounding it, we began to notice lots of birds in and around the lagoon. Most notable to us were several of our first Red-necked Grebes, including one that had a little baby riding on its back! I thought Heather was going to collapse from the cuteness we were seeing through our scope.
A short walk down the bike trail from the lagoon brought us to the edge of the ocean that Anchorage sits against. It was low tide, and so an extensive patch of sand stretched far in front of us. However, we could just see a large group of birds resting on the edge of the water. A few of these were godwits and, although we could barely make out diagnostic features, we both agreed that they were Hudsonian Godwits...our first! Other, smaller shorebirds were impossible to identify but the red-hued Sandhill Cranes in front of us more than made up for any birds we couldn't see further away.
Because it doesn't get dark until about 2:00 AM in late June there, we had all kinds of time to keep going. Our next stop was Potter Marsh, yet again, to see if anything else would turn up. Good thing we revisited. Off the corner of the well-constructed boardwalk where few other people were, a large crashing caught our attention. We both turned quickly to see a huge female moose pushing through the brush and across an open marsh. This was Heather's first moose! Then, a call caught our attention. Without even needing to move, we tracked the call to a singing sparrow. I immediately said, "Lincoln's" and Heather confirmed this by playing its call. Woohoo! Another new bird!
eBird got my hopes up for the next stop, Kincaid Park. Supposedly, American Three-toed Woodpeckers weren't difficult to see there and this was one I really, really wanted to see. We arrived with high expectations but were immediately met with the sound of kids screaming and the sight of numerous dogs off leash. Why don't people simply use a leash when numerous signs nearby describe that it's required? I'll never figure that out.
We hiked down into the spruce-dominated forest and saw some usual suspects like Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Alder Flycatcher, and Yellow Warbler. An exciting find came in the form of a group of Boreal Chickadees that were hopping around in the canopy of a nearby tree. We hiked further into the park, fully expecting something crazy to appear at any second. The only thing that appeared, however, were literally clouds of mosquitoes. They were TERRIBLE. They seemed to move slower than those back in Florida but they didn't itch any less. We picked up our pace and, with the exception of our first Western Wood-Pewee calling from the top of a trailside tree, we booked it out of there. Sigh.
One of the strangest bird/general experiences we had came a couple days later while Heather, her friend Mary Mack, and I were exploring some nearby parks. We struck out on new things at Westchester Lagoon and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and, so, we decided to check a place that supposedly harbored a nesting Pacific Loon. We arrived to find 20 or so dogs running free around a dog park. How could this possibly have any good birds?
The three of us walked down the trail, unsure of where we should even go. Just then, a huge shape appeared in front of us. There, only thirty or so feet away, was a massive female moose...probably the largest moose I've ever seen. It munched, without care, on some willow before it moved across the path. All of the running dogs stopped in their tracks and didn't even consider barking. Clearly, they had been conditioned to not mess with moose. We all got excellent photos and stood there with our dropped jaws until we couldn't see it anymore.
A short walk down the trail brought us to a good-sized lake. Dogs were running around everywhere and most of the surrounding vegetation on one side of the lake had been trampled. We could see a nesting structure in the center of the lake, but it appeared to be vacant. Just our luck. But, then, Heather yelled that she saw something. Apparently, Mary Mack and I had missed it because there, on the platform, was a breeding-plumaged Pacific Loon! I had seen the winter version of this species before in California and Oregon, but to see one in all of its colors was incredible. They are a very elegant bird.
On our last day before we departed from Anchorage, Heather presented her talk about her research. She crushed it and I was so proud of her! To celebrate this accomplishment, we just had to do more birding. Heather, Mary Mack, and I decided that today would be dipper day! We drove to the Elmendorf Fish Hatchery, where American Dipper had been reliably seen, and walked along the creek. Massive salmon swam in the pools and the habitat looked prime for dippers. We looked, and looked, and looked. Nothing. Yet again, we missed our target. A singing Northern Waterthrush made the stop worth it, but we were all bummed to miss a species we all desperately wanted to see.
We checked the Campbell Creek Science Center and even revisited Arctic Valley. However, luck was not on our side. Maybe it was too hot? Maybe we weren't in the right places? Maybe we just weren't meant to see some of these species? Whatever the case was, we struck out. That being said, we were able to go out drinking at a local Irish bar to watch Heather's advisor, Jim Cox, play flute with a local band. Our adventures and good times like these made the week an incredible one, but we were definitely ready to begin our next stage of the trip...a drive across the Denali Highway.
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