Species List

Stuart Healy Journal - June, 2003 If you use the contents of my journal for commercial purposes, please acknowledge the source to your clients - thanks.

Bottom of Page

This log is in chronological order and the most recent entries are at the bottom of the page.
The last update was on Thursday, June 26, 2003.

Sunday, June 1, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 4: Homer. Day List: 44, Trip List: 72, Total Targets Seen: 2.
Today was the best weather day so far with less clouds (especially in the late afternoon), less wind, and just a few sprinkles. It was still fairly cool with temperatures ranging from 44 to 57 degrees, staying mostly around 50 for much for the day. I birded on Homer Spit again with morning and afternoon sessions (low and high tides); and spent some time in the higher elevations (1000+ feet!) above Homer.

Today I tried Sourdough Express for breakfast, somewhat of a health food place. I didn't care much for sourdough pancakes, perhaps they are an acquired taste. The place is also a bakery and I had trouble staying away from all the delicious looking stuff.

Birding on the spit was a little more productive today and certainly not as crowded. I saw all of the same birds as yesterday and added a few more including about 10 COMMON EIDERS, lots of COMMON LOONS and a few scattered MARBLED MURRELETS. I photographed this particularly incongruous BALD EAGLE, one of many present. 

In the "high country" on Diamond Ridge Road I picked up the first WILSON'S SNIPE and GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH of the trip. FOX and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS and VARIED THRUSH were all common. I was all set to photograph a nicely perched thrush when a large truck barreled past and spoiled my fun -- bye bye thrush (expletive deleted). I saw 4 of the five possible thrushes today (Varied, Gray-cheeked, Hermit and Robin; missed Swainson's).

At Homer Reservoir I saw my first SPOTTED SANDPIPER of the trip. Lots of BANK and TREE SWALLOWS were working over the water and occasionally perching (but never in the same place twice to allow me to set up for a photo!). I've decided that photographing swallows is tough, they just don't sit still long enough. Even when they do they are always "wobbling".

While trying unsuccessfully to photograph RED-NECKED GREBES at Beluga Lake (too much float plane activity), a group of 5 SANDHILL CRANES drifted by. 

A small flock of 8 RED CROSSBILLS on Bay View Inn property were new for the trip -- they had a different voice than Arizona birds (softer).

Day list (44 species recorded; 6 new for trip in italics):
Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bald Eagle, Sandhill Crane, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Mew & Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Common Loon, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied, Gray-cheeked & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Tree, Violet-green, Bank & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-capped Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Red Crossbill, Orange-crowned Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco and Fox, Song, Golden-crowned & Savannah Sparrows.

Monday, June 2, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 5: Homer. Day List: 50, Trip List: 78, Total Targets Seen: 4.
News Flash, alert the media -- Healy takes boat trip and does not puke. Although, I don't do pelagic trips because of sea-sickness, I realized that to have a chance to see some of the birds I wanted to see that I would have to get out on the bay. Today I had arranged to go out for a few hours with Bay Excursions Water Taxi & Tours (www.bayexcursions.com), owned and operated by Captain Karl Stoltzfus, who is also a birder. The good news is that it was a very calm morning and I never felt sick at any time and (after skipping breakfast) I was sure well enough and  hungry enough to eat enchilada style burritos at the Cosmic Kitchen when we returned to Homer at 1:00pm. The bad news is that I only saw one of the three birds that I was looking for, although thanks to Karl we did pick up a bonus bird and I ended up with two lifers.

Today was the least cloudy day so far and there was plenty of on and off sunshine throughout much of the day. Temperatures ranged from 49 to 57 degrees (the latter around 8:00pm) and it was close to 53 for much of the afternoon. We left Homer Spit shortly before 10:00am and sped immediately across the bay to drop off several Kachemak Bay State Park workers. After that it was just myself and four others on board, two of whom were birders. We cruised past Cohen Island and Sixty Foot Rock, then moved on to Gull Island; and finished up at Glacier Spit. Open water areas were generally devoid of birds (just the odd COMMON LOON and COMMON MURRE), and only the locations mentioned above had any significant concentrations. All of the photos below were taken from a slowly moving boat with a 3X Teleconverter fitted to my Coolpix 4500.

Cohen Island had a pair of nesting BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS, a few PIGEON GUILLEMOTS and lots of HARLEQUIN DUCKS. The highlight of the trip was perhaps Gull Island that has over 15,000 nesting birds (a spectacular sight), the majority of which are BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, a smattering of them are shown in photo #2. COMMON MURRES were abundant, most of them using the higher parts of the rocks. My first lifer of the day came here in the form of a handful of RED-FACED CORMORANTS. Unfortunately, the birds were in sort of a "black hole" but Adobe Photoshop saved the day in terms of getting a usable photo. PELAGIC CORMORANTS were very close for comparison; even so, I tried to make them into more Red-faced. TUFTED PUFFINS were fairly numerous and easy to see (although not to photograph), but Karl had not seen any Horned Puffins so far this season (bummer!).

Kittlitz's Murrelets hang out near Glacier Spit so we headed over there next. Unfortunately, Karl had only see a few so far this season (still in winter plumage) and we did not find one. MARBLED MURRELETS were common here. Karl knew about a lingering male STELLER'S EIDER (also at Glacier Spit) and we located the bird hanging out with HARLEQUIN DUCKS. My second lifer of the day was surprising difficult to pick out in the flock despite its white color. We had some medium distance looks at the bird swimming and a very close look as the bird flew by us. A handful of BALD EAGLES were at the spit along with a couple of male BARROW'S GOLDENEYES.  By the way, the view of the Glacier was good too! (Oh, there's scenery here?)

I ventured out again in the late afternoon and early evening starting with a drive along the Old Sterling Highway, a location not mentioned in the Birders Guide to Alaska and perhaps with good reason. There's lots of great habitat along the road and zero pullouts. There are dozens of very inviting clearings in the trees, each with a small lake, and all on private property. Very frustrating! Driving slowly along this relatively quiet road, I saw or heard the typical birds that I've been seeing regularly and added my first OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER of the trip.

Next, I drove along Diamond Ridge Road (here's a view of Homer Spit from the ridge) then checked Homer Reservoir where I found another trip bird in GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. Now that I've learned their flight call, COMMON REDPOLLS were easy to pick out at the reservoir. VARIED THRUSH and TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS were both singing. RED-NECKED GREBES and SPOTTED SANDPIPER were on the water.

Back in town I checked Homer Spit where two male OLDSQUAWS greeted me as I started scanning on a fairly high tide (another trip bird). I also relocated the small COMMON EIDER flock in the same spot as yesterday, and there was a few WHITE-WINGED and SURF SCOTERS.

I finished the day by checking Beluga Lake at Ben Walters Park. A very cooperative OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER remained perched (and silent) as first my battery died then the memory card filled up. No matter, I changed both and the bird still sat there! It was a backlit situation but Photoshop saved the day again. Other species from a dozen seen here included BANK SWALLOW and LINCOLN'S SPARROW.

Day list (50 species recorded; 6 new for trip in italics):
Red-necked Grebe, Red-faced & Pelagic Cormorants, Am. Wigeon, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Common & Steller's Eiders, Harlequin Duck, Oldsquaw, Surf & White-winged Scoters, Barrow's Goldeneye, Bald Eagle, Spotted Sandpiper, Black Oystercatcher, Mew & Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Tufted Puffin, Common Loon, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Steller's Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Tree, Bank & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco and Fox, Lincoln's, Golden-crowned & Savannah Sparrows.

Tuesday, June 3, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 6: Homer. Day List: 37, Trip List: 78, Total Targets Seen: 4.
My last day in Homer was clear and sunny over Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Range; somewhat cloudy over the hills overlooking town. Although it was a warmer day and the temperature reached 60 degrees by early evening, it actually felt quite chilly on the spit because of a fairly strong breeze. In the morning, after a quick check of the spit at low tide, I birded the east end of Skyline Drive and Ohlson Mountain Road for the first time; and followed that with another visit to Homer Reservoir. In late afternoon, I checked Homer Spit on an incoming (almost high) tide.

The highlight of my day was finally tracking down  a perched GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW on Ohlson Mountain Road -- although they are extremely common everywhere, this is the first one that I have been able to photograph. Here's another shot of the bird singing its heart out -- "three blind mice". Diversity here was quite low and I saw only a dozen species including WILSON'S SNIPE and COMMON REDPOLL.

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS were singing at the reservoir (first time that I've heard them here in four visits) and with yesterday's sightings in two locations, I assume they have just arrived in the Homer area.

During a brief stop in town to pick up a checklist at the Pratt Museum (I guess I should have done that days ago!), WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were perched atop the nearby trees and calling loudly (until I setup my scope, that is). 

Given the sunny skies and excellent viewing conditions, it was somewhat ironic that birds were hard to find on the spit this evening. However, this excellent photo opportunity of a BALD EAGLE made up for the lack of birds. I haven't been seeing any shorebirds here so a couple that flew by quickly were a source of frustration -- my best guess was Semipalmated Plover, but the birds never landed for me to get a decent look. Regulars included COMMON EIDER, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER and COMMON MURRE.

Day list (37 species recorded, 0 new for trip):
Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Common Eider, Surf & White-winged Scoters, Bald Eagle, Wilson's Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Mew & Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Murre, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Tree, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, White-winged Crossbill, Orange-crowned, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, Fox, Song, Golden-crowned & Savannah Sparrows.

Wednesday, June 4, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 7: Homer-Cooper Landing. Day List: 40, Trip List: 83, Total Targets Seen: 4.
Although my original plan had been to stay another day in Homer, I moved on today so I could spend two days making the trip back to Anchorage. I enjoyed birding at Quartz Creek campground in Cooper Landing on the trip down so I decided to stay a night at the Sunrise Inn in Cooper Landing. The day started bright and sunny in Homer and became cloudier as the day wore on due to a storm moving in from the south. Temperatures ranged from 40 degrees in Homer at 6:00am to a high of 62 near Skilak Lake in mid afternoon. Early evening brought a few sprinkles and a fair drop in temperature.

Among the birds at Bay View Inn as I loaded the vehicle early this morning were HERMIT & VARIED THRUSHES, WILSON'S & ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS & FOX SPARROW (all singing); and small groups of PINE SISKINS, COMMON REDPOLLS & WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS flitting around. I'll miss the view of the bay and Kenai range from this location.

Before leaving town, I made a farewell visit to the spit on an outgoing tide (about 2 hours after high tide). There was a strong onshore breeze as I scanned the bay. The only new species that I noted was a HORNED LARK. Species that I've been seeing regularly included a few RED-NECKED GREBES, many PELAGIC CORMORANTS, a small group of GREATER SCAUP, 20+ COMMON LOONS, scads of WHITE-WINGED and several SURF SCOTERS; tons of GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS & BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES; a few COMMON MURRES, PIGEON GUILLEMOTS and MARBLED MURRELETS; and of course, many BALD EAGLES (almost a trash bird!).

A short coffee recycling stop at Stariski State Recreation Area yielded many common species including singing GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW and a few COMMON REDPOLLS hanging upside down as they fed. A calling GREATER YELLOWLEGS flew right over my head at great speed. Here's a partial view across Cook Inlet from this location. Further north on the Sterling Highway at Ninilchik, I saw at least a dozen BALD EAGLES in the air.

My next two planned birding spots didn't pan out due to road closures -- Johnson Lake and Skilak Lake. The road that I took instead, Swanson River Road, was totally unproductive, although I did add WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE and several "free-beeo-ing" ALDER FLYCATCHERS to my slowly growing Alaska list that now stands at 83. The Birder's Guide To Alaska states that this road is best driven in the early morning in early June. After driving 35 miles round trip on this dusty, gravel road (part of the Kenai NWR), I would suggest that unless you have a canoe and a burning desire to put in on the Swanson River, the best time to drive it is never. Lots of vehicles driving to the Unocal plant made this a very unpleasant trip.

In mid afternoon, I spent a pleasant two hours at Quartz Creek campground as the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. Most of that time I spent swatting mosquitoes and following an adult and three juvenile GRAY JAYS. The juveniles were mostly fending for themselves but would occasionally beg from the adult. Despite generally gloomy conditions, I managed a decent image of one juvenile. Other species included BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, great close up looks at a GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, a few COMMON REDPOLLS and the usual warblers.

As I checked in at the Sunrise Inn, BOREAL CHICKADEES were in the trees outside my room. I headed out later with the intention of checking Tern Lake, however, the cold wind and sprinkles quickly enticed me inside to eat. The restaurant was pretty good for a burger and sandwich place, with real fries that were really brown and tasty (the kind that you can only get by not changing the fat!). The chicken rice soup and mushroom swiss burger were both tasty. The caramel cheesecake was fantastic. 

Day list (40 species recorded, 5 new for trip in italics):
Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Greater Scaup, Surf & White-winged Scoters, Bald Eagle, Greater Yellowlegs, Mew & Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Common Loon, Western Wood-Pewee, Alder Flycatcher, Gray Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped & Boreal Chickadees, Horned Lark, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, White-winged Crossbill, Orange-crowned, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) & Wilson's Warblers, Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco, Fox, Song & Golden-crowned Sparrows.

Thursday, June 5, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Alaska Day 8: Cooper Landing-Seward-Anchorage. Day List: 39, Trip List: 84, Total Targets Seen: 4.
It had to happen sooner or later -- the weather really spoiled my plans today and I guess that on a three week trip to Alaska it would be totally unrealistic to expect good weather everyday. My plan for the day was to take an all day cruise to Kenai Fjords National Park out of Seward. When that was foiled, my secondary plan was to look for Ptarmigan in the Alpine, but again, that didn't work out either. I ended up fighting rainy conditions until I gave up in mid afternoon to prepare for a flight tomorrow. 

Cooper Landing was at 53 degrees under cloudy skies with a few sprinkles when I left at 5:30am this morning. After a brief check of Tern Lake in passing (COMMON LOON, MEW GULL, ARCTIC TERN and SAVANNAH SPARROW), I drove south 34 miles to Seward. With each passing mile it became more and more apparent that I wouldn't be taking any boat trips today. The clouds closed in, obscuring the mountains, and the wind and rain picked up. I figured there was absolutely no point trying to appreciate the grandeur of Kenai Fjords and look for Horned Puffin and Kittlitz's Murrelet on a day like this, not to mention the severity of the puke factor. 

When I reached Seward, I headed out to Lowell Point where I could hardly see across Resurrection Bay because of low swirling clouds and light rain. The tide was fairly high and many birds were close to shore at Miller's Landing, including over 50 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, a few BARROW'S GOLDENEYES, WANDERING TATTLER and MARBLED MURRELET. A panhandling BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE was very close to my vehicle but the light was so bad I couldn't even manage a photo. I retreated back into town and enjoyed breakfast at the Breeze Inn now that I didn't have to worry about being out on a boat all day. I checked out a few boat tour options in case I can modify my schedule and try again next week.

I headed north to Hope where I was hoping to drive up into the Alpine to look for Ptarmigan even though I have better chances later in my trip. I briefly checked Tern Lake again adding RED-NECKED GREBE and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW.

There was a light drizzle as I drove along the road to Hope and I only noted a few COMMON MERGANSERS on Sixmile Creek. I headed into the mountains on Palmer Creek Road, a gravel road in excellent condition. In fact, it's much smoother than the road from Seward Highway to Hope which is full of potholes. After I climbed above the taller timber into the low willow zone, the wind really picked up. The view here of snow-capped mountains was quite impressive. Habitat along the road is very good and would probably offer good birding under better conditions. Birds today included COMMON SNIPE, VARIED THRUSH, and TOWNSEND'S WARBLER. Despite the weather, I was feeling good about my chances for Ptarmigan higher up the mountain. My expectations took a serious nose dive when I reached Coeur D'Alene campground and found that the road into the Alpine above the campground was closed by a barrier. Drat, or words to that effect.

I headed back down the mountain and took the Hope road to where it ends at a campground on Turnagain Arm. When you reach this point, all hope is gone (sorry, couldn't resist). I checked old town Hope seeing only YELLOW WARBLER and a few TREE & CLIFF SWALLOWS flying over the water, trying to eke out a living in the wind and rain. 

I returned to the Seward Highway where the rain became heavy and stayed that way until just south of Anchorage at Potter Marsh, a distance of some 60 miles in fairly heavy truck traffic at times. Oh joy. I stopped at Upper and Lower Summit Lakes seeing several COMMON LOONS calling and displaying very close to shore. It was disappointing not to have the chance to try for a photograph because of the conditions.

The only new bird of the day came at Potter Marsh where, miraculously, the rain had quit and I heard a singing WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. Other species here included CANVASBACK, ARCTIC TERN and COMMON REDPOLL. 

Around 3:00pm I put an end to this miserable day when I checked in at the Hillside Motel in Anchorage. Thankfully, it wasn't raining here and Anchorage received only a few showers today. Temperature was 60 degrees -- the first 70 of the year is forecast for next week! Now it was time for me to consolidate 3 weeks worth of luggage into a single bag of basics for a three day trip north.

Day list (39 species recorded, 1 new for trip in italics):
Red-necked Grebe, Canada Goose, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Canvasback, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Bald Eagle, Wilson's Snipe, Wandering Tattler, Mew & Herring Gulls, Arctic Tern, Marbled Murrelet, Common Loon, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Tree, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, Fox, White-crowned, Golden-crowned & Savannah Sparrows.

Friday, June 6, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 9: Barrow. Day List: 24, Trip List: 102, Total Targets Seen: 7.
This morning I traveled to Barrow for the most expensive 3 days of my trip. The 737 aircraft used for this trip doesn't allow standard sized carry on bags and I had no choice but to check it with my other bag and pray that my optics, camera, etc., would survive. Thankfully, they did and the only item broken was sunglasses. The Alaska Airlines flight left Anchorage on time at 6:30am, touched down in Fairbanks at 7:20am, departed again at 8:20am and arrived in Barrow at 9:20am. The on time arrival bullshit touted by the airline was rendered meaningless when the baggage wasn't delivered until 10:00am, without explanation or apology. When I figured out how close my hotel was (King Eider Inn, very expensive but excellent), I walked over to check in and pick up my vehicle. Apparently, the baggage delay is standard procedure because priority is given to the outgoing flight. Had this been made known to me with an announcement by the airline, I could have used that time which is so valuable on such a short trip. At this point, Alaska Airlines has lost a few points.

Things are different in Barrow -- the streets are unpaved, most of the buildings are very austere; and together with lots of debris and abandoned cars it makes for a very unsightly place. Fortunately, I only spent just a few minutes "exploring" the town. It seemed incongruous that great looking birds like breeding plumaged LAPLAND LONGSPURS, SNOW BUNTINGS and COMMON REDPOLLS would grace the streets here, giving a whole new meaning to "trash birds".  All the above notwithstanding, I thoroughly enjoyed my first day in the arctic -- "top of the world", "land of the midnight sun", call it what you will. I didn't record many species today, 24 in all including a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE as I left Anchorage, but the quality and number of individuals was a sight to behold. 

Since I first decided to visit here, I've been checking the weather conditions regularly starting when the high temperatures had negative numbers. They have risen considerable since then, notably in the past week. Arrival time temperature was 34 degrees, although it actually felt much warmer than that. The forecast high for today was over 40 degrees and I was wondering why I had brought so much cold weather stuff. However, I needed it all out on the tundra -- even though it was a bright sunny day, it doesn't take much of a wind to make it feel really cold. The temperature actually reached 43 degrees in town at 4:00pm -- at that time I was out on Cake Eater Road as a freezing fog rolled in! Generally, the thaw seems well advanced (one local informed me) -- here are a couple of landscape views showing the Chukchi Sea from Stevenson Road and a Tundra melt area from Cake Eater Road.

I only had two main objectives from the Barrow segment of my trip -- to see Spectacled Eider (a lifer) and to see Red Phalarope in breeding plumage. I achieved both objectives fairly quickly and picked up a couple more target birds (LONG-TAILED JAEGER and HOARY REDPOLL) that I didn't expect until next week. I spent all of my time birding along Cake Eater road and made only 6 miles of progress. Actually, "observing" would be a better word to describe what I did -- simply watching the common shorebirds going about their breeding business and learning the songs of species that I only see in migration in the lower 48. I took lots of photographs and some of them turned out quite well.

LAPLAND LONGSPURS were common everywhere on the tundra, SNOW BUNTINGS were mostly near the scattered buildings and homes. The most common (actually, abundant) shorebirds were SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER and RED PHALAROPE.  Not far behind were PECTORAL SANDPIPERS -- their "song" is unbelievable and it's hard to comprehend how such a deep note can be emitted by such a small bird. LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS were patchily common and I saw a few RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and one lone DUNLIN.  

The only gull that I saw was the abundant GLAUCOUS GULL, although I certainly didn't spend any time sorting through them for rarities. Jaegers were represented by a couple of POMARINE JAEGERS and the aforementioned lone LONG-TAILED JAEGER.

LONG-TAILED DUCKS or OLDSQUAW (what the hell is the current official name?) were very close to abundant. I noted only a few geese of two species -- GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and BRANT.  Highlights of the day were this sleeping male SPECTACLED EIDER and 3 pairs of  STELLER'S EIDERS.  I donned my wellies, bundled up and trudged across the tundra to get these shots -- they are not great because of the distance, but certainly good enough to record the occasion.

The most unexpected bird of the day was a RUSTY BLACKBIRD, listed as a vary rare spring migrant and summer/fall visitant to Barrow.

There are plenty of places to eat in town and I selected Arctic Pizza (more than just a pizza place). I had Mexican food that was very good. It was now 9:00pm and by the time that I'd done my record keeping and processed my photos for the day it was after midnight (of course, the bright sunshine outside gives the feeling of being much earlier!). The journal will have to wait until morning.

Day list (24 species recorded, 18 new for trip in italics):
Greater White-fronted Goose, Brant, Am. Wigeon, N. Pintail, Spectacled & Steller's Eiders, Oldsquaw, Long-billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated, Baird's & Pectoral Sandpipers, Dunlin, Red-necked & Red Phalaropes, American Golden-Plover, Glaucous Gull, Pomarine & Long-tailed Jaegers, Black-billed Magpie, Hoary & Common Redpolls, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting and Rusty Blackbird.

Saturday, June 7, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 10: Barrow. Day List: 19, Trip List: 104, Total Targets Seen: 7.
I spent much of the day out on Cake Eater road in two sessions without looking for anything in particular. My goal for the day was to photograph some of the species not photographed yesterday. Although the high temperature in town was 43 degrees again today, it was certainly much colder than that out on the tundra, especially when the wind was factored in. A freezing fog made for very cold and difficult viewing conditions in the early evening.

LAPLAND LONGSPUR and SNOW BUNTING are both exceedingly common, yet it took me forever to get photographs. Both species have a habit of coming very close but they're constantly on the move and I'm still not happy with what I got (but better than nothing!). HOARY REDPOLLS just skipped along in front of me and never presented a photo opportunity. I also managed a shot of PECTORAL SANDPIPER, another bird that always seems to be on the move. Constantly spinning RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were a challenge, but a stationary RED PHALAROPE was much easier to shoot.

I noted 3 species today that I didn't see yesterday. Several pairs of TUNDRA SWANS in scattered locations were way too skittish for me to get a photo. While scanning a distant loon through the fog that turned out to be a RED-THROATED LOON, I heard a familiar song and couldn't believe the bird would be here so I tracked down a SAVANNAH SPARROW just to be sure.

Day list (19 species recorded, 2 new for trip in italics):
Tundra Swan, Greater White-fronted Goose, Am. Wigeon, N. Pintail, Oldsquaw, Semipalmated & Pectoral Sandpipers, Dunlin, Red-necked & Red Phalaropes, Am, Golden-Plover, Glaucous Gull, Pomarine Jaeger, Red-throated Loon, Hoary & Common Redpolls, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting and Savannah Sparrow.

Sunday, June 8, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 11: Barrow. Day List: 25, Trip List: 106, Total Targets Seen: 8.
My last day in Barrow was certainly the worst from a weather standpoint. The cold fog/low cloud that rolled in during the afternoon of the two previous days was present all day today. It was very cold away from town with a stiff breeze at times and visibility was poor. I used all my cold weather gear today. To make matters worse, I developed a nasty cold overnight. However, from a birding standpoint it was probably the best day of the three. I recorded 25 species (a high proportion of the 30 seen in Barrow for the 3 days) and I picked up two new trip birds, including a lifer that I didn't expect until later in the trip. Best of all, I enjoyed close up looks of most of the birds.

I spent 3 hours this morning at Emaiksoun (fresh water) Lake south of town. The main lake is still frozen but there was some melt water in the north west corner that had lots of birds. Driving in from town along the lake road, I was greeted by the gloomy outline of a POMARINE JAEGER on the ground. I was amazed to get any kind of shot in the fog. I spent much of my time at the lake here enjoying the many ARCTIC TERNS (my first seen in the Arctic!). They seemed to find food quite well in the icy water. I took many photographs of them (>100) as they perched on snowbanks, but the poor light rendered them all useless and the published image is the only decent shot that I managed. 

The highlight of my time here was seeing 20 or so SPECTACLED EIDERS, quite a spectacle (pun intended). I saw 12+ fly-bys (mostly males) and 4 males and 3 females that landed, albeit at some distance. A couple of pristine looking SABINE'S GULL'S looked spectacular with a backdrop of snow and fog. RED-PHALAROPES were literally at my feet. Among the 15 or so species that I saw at this location were a lone TUNDRA SWAN, a handful of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and a couple of RED-THROATED LOONS. Just as I was about to leave, a pair of BAR-TAILED GODWITS flew in, a life bird for me. They sat for barely a minute before continuing on. The "summer checklists" in the Birder's Guide to Alaska list them as "not to be expected" for Barrow. However, I've already found numerous mistakes in the data (more on that when I put a summary together at the end of the trip).

I spent most of the afternoon out on Cake Eater Road where the highlight was a pair of STELLER'S EIDERS. By the way, the name of this road is often referred to and spelled as one word -- Cakeater. However, straight from the horse's mouth -- here's the street sign. The origin, I was told, was the code name given to a radar project that was out on the road at one time, not the fact that some guy who liked cake used to live here.

I spent most of my time trying to photograph HOARY REDPOLLS as POMARINE and LONG-TAILED JAEGERS worked the area (a noticeable increase in Poms today). As I mentioned, the redpolls have a habit of staying one (or more!) step ahead of you and I didn't fare too well. This is the best of many attempts. I was also able to photograph LAPLAND LONGSPUR and, despite some diabolical light, I managed a shot of a DUNLIN while crawling past it in the vehicle

It was with some reluctance that I left Barrow this evening. Although it's stark here, the place does have tremendous appeal if you enjoy watching birds (and not just "ticking" birds, since there's a limited diversity here). I've a feeling that someday I will be back. My flight departed at 7:45pm, touched down in Fairbanks at 8:53pm, took off again at 9:32pm and arrived in Anchorage  at10:20pm. My head finally it the hay at 12:30pm and I was sure ready for some sleep!

Day list (25 species recorded, 2 new for trip in italics):
Tundra Swan, Greater White-fronted Goose, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, Spectacled & Steller's Eiders, Oldsquaw, Bar-tailed Godwit, Long-billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated & Pectoral Sandpipers, Dunlin, Red-necked & Red Phalaropes, Glaucous & Sabine's Gulls, Arctic Tern, Pomarine & Long-tailed Jaegers, Red-throated Loon, Hoary & Common Redpolls, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting and Savannah Sparrow.

Monday, June 9, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 12: Anchorage-Paxson; Denali Highway mile 0-20-0. Day list: 30, Trip List: 110, Total Targets Seen: 8.
After a mostly sleepless night on Sunday due to a sore throat and congestion, I slept in this morning and then caught up with my record keeping. I finally left Anchorage at 10:20am under cloudy skies with a few sprinkles and 55 degrees. I traveled to Paxson at the intersection of the Richardson Highway and the east end of the Denali Highway. I'll be staying a couple of nights at Denali Highway Cabins, owned by Audie Bakewell who also guides in this area and wrote some of the chapters in the Birder's Guide to Alaska. Although there are several new birds possible for me here, my main objective for this portion of my trip is sample the scenery of the Interior (especially Denali Highway) and to see what birds I can stumble into. 

This was mainly a travel day and apart from a few evening hours on the Denali, it was a day best forgotten. I traveled east on the Glen Highway and north on the Richardson enjoying miles of narrow winding roads following trucks and RVs, several long road work delays and umpteen loose gravel sections, just to suffer views such as the Matanuska Glacier. Seriously, there was certainly some nice scenery along the way but it really didn't alleviate the hassle of a very unpleasant 260 mile drive.

Birds were generally few and far between as I concentrated on driving and made only a few stops. BALD EAGLES were soaring in Glenallen and an ALDER FLYCATCHER was singing near the airport. I started scanning the tops of mile after mile of Spruce trees where look-alike Northern Hawk-Owls were abundant; as for the birds themselves, I saw nary a one. The one bird that was real atop a Spruce was a GRAY JAY. The pond at mile 151 of  the Richardson is apparently a traditional nesting spot for PACIFIC LOON and I saw a pair of them. An OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER was calling nearby. I encountered the first serious mosquitoes of the trip here as well as the highest temperature of the trip so far -- 68 degrees at 4:30pm.

After checking into my cabin, I headed out on the Denali Highway some 20 miles to the Tangle River Inn (cabins and food) for dinner (the pavement ends just beyond here). This was also a scouting trip for tomorrow to get a feel for the habitat, etc. Dinner was good and I can unequivocally state that it's the best restaurant along the first 20 miles of the Denali!  The scenery along the highway is spectacular and the evening birding was pretty good too -- GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH was an absolutely abundant species, seemingly perched up and singing everywhere around 8:00pm. I managed a pretty decent shot despite some crappy backlighting.  Among the other species along the highway were FOX, SAVANNAH and AM. TREE SWALLOWS (all singing), COMMON LOON on Round Tangle Lake and a few RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and one BUFFLEHEAD on small roadside ponds. 

Day list (30 species recorded, 4 new for trip in italics):
Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Oldsquaw, Bufflehead, Bald Eagle, Lesser Yellowlegs, Wandering Tattler, Red-necked Phalarope, Mew Gull, Arctic Tern, Pacific & Common Loons, N. Flicker, Olive-sided & Alder Flycatchers, Gray Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Am. Robin, Tree & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Orange-crowned & Wilson's Warblers and Fox, White-crowned, Savannah & Am. Tree Sparrows.

Tuesday, June 10, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 13: Denali Highway mile 0-37-0. Day List: 36, Trip List: 116, Total Targets Seen: 10.
Today I put in 12 hours and covered the first 37 miles of the Denali, spending most of my time between miles 13 and 33. It was a mostly sunny day with clouds late in the day. Temperatures ranged from 50 to 68 degrees, mostly at the high end. Mosquitoes were quite prevalent and persistent. Before leaving town, I took the time to photograph this ARCTIC TERN that liked to perch on a road sign next to the river. The birding on the Denali through mile 20 was so interesting early this morning that it took me almost 3 hours to reach Tangle River Inn for breakfast. (I ate dinner there again tonight, the rating still holds).

One of the species I was hoping to see came at mile 4 and again at mile 7 -- WILLOW PTARMIGAN; the bird in the photograph was a very cooperative individual. What a great noise they make! Many common species were singing and I drove along slowly listening for Arctic Warbler (arrives at this location in mid June and I thought that I might be too early). WILSON'S WARBLERS were very common and BLACKPOLL WARBLERS were also quite numerous. This individual was photographed in the willows at Tangle River where a bunch of HARLEQUIN DUCKS were loafing.

I continued on and encountered COMMON REDPOLLS once I reached the talus and snow. I turned around at Maclaren Summit where the view into the valley below was magnificent. More Redpolls and a trip first AMERICAN PIPIT were at this location. Driving back down, I continued to listen for ARCTIC WARBLER and finally found some at a pullout at mile 27.6. Since this was a new bird for me, I had no idea what to expect in terms of behavior. I soon found out when I spent forever trying to get a photograph of  this nasty little bugger. They are obviously not too distant relatives of Juniper Titmouse and Virginia's Warbler. Their loud song immediately tells you where the bird is and it would seem impossible not to see it in the sparse vegetation -- not so! Once sighted, they seemed to know when I had them in focus and was about to pull the trigger, moving just enough so that I had to zoom out, relocate the bird, zoom in and refocus, only to have the bird move again, ad infinitum. Arrgggh! I'll have other chances (I hope). I also improved on yesterday's shot of GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH.

It was now mid afternoon and I decided to look for Smith's Longspur, a bird that I've seen only once and only in winter plumage. What followed was somewhat farcical -- I can laugh about it now but not at the time. I donned my wellies, dosed up with repellent and set off to walk the tundra. It's somewhat of an understatement to say that it was extremely difficult avoiding the melt water puddles and keeping the mosquitoes at bay as I staggered along carrying scope, backpack and camera bag -- not to mention looking and listening for the friggin' birds. As things turned out, there was absolutely no sign of the birds in the location mentioned in the bird finding guide, but after tramping around for over two hours I did find several pairs about 1 mile away, including this very cooperative male SMITH'S LONGSPUR. In addition to several miles of walking, I donated lots of blood to get what I think is a pretty good shot of the bird. In the same habitat I found LONG-TAILED JAEGER, HORNED LARK, SAVANNAH SPARROW, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, COMMON REDPOLL and this very cooperative AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER. 

When I got back to the car I was completely exhausted and really hungry, so I made the short trip to Tangle River Inn, only 8 miles from the longspurs. After dinner, I drove the 20 miles back to Paxson and with views like this I could drive this road every day! Along the way, TUNDRA SWAN and BARROW'S GOLDENEYE were new species for my Denali Highway list. I tried to make the swan into the more common Trumpeter Swan without success. Apparently, a few Tundra Swans summer on the Denali.

All in all, a pretty good day. With the possible exception of Gyrfalcon, I saw most of the "good birds" that might be expected for this location. In fact, I didn't see a single raptor of any species.

Day list (36 species recorded, 6 new for trip in italics):
Tundra Swan, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, Lesser Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Oldsquaw, Barrow's Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Willow Ptarmigan, Lesser Yellowlegs, Red-necked Phalarope, American Golden-Plover, Mew & Bonaparte's Gulls, Arctic Tern, Long-tailed Jaeger, Common Raven, Gray-cheeked & Swainson's Thrushes, Am. Robin, Cliff Swallow, Arctic Warbler, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Blackpoll & Wilson's Warblers, Smith's Longspur, Dark-eyed Junco, and Fox, White-crowned, Savannah & Am. Tree Sparrows.

Wednesday, June 11, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 14: Paxson-Anchorage. Day List: 35, Trip List: 118, Total Targets Seen: 10.
Today I returned to Anchorage in preparation for a flight tomorrow. I traveled the entire length of the Denali Highway from east to west, then south on the Parks Highway and finally on the Glenn Highway into Anchorage, a total distance of almost 350 miles that took 9 hours with a few birding stops. The day began a little cloudy at 54 degrees in Paxson and reached 75 degrees a little north of Anchorage. The scenery on the middle section of the Denali cannot match the eastern section, however, the western end has some spectacular snow covered mountains. 

Birds seen along the way added  9 species to the birds seen on the Denali (49 total) and 2 to the trip list that now stands at 118. A lone GRAY JAY shortly after I left Paxson was a reminder that I hadn't spent any time at all birding the boreal zone. I saw what was presumably the same WILLOW PTARMIGAN that I saw yesterday at mile 4 and another at mile 47. I heard BLACKPOLL and ARCTIC WARBLERS singing in multiple locations. After seeing no raptors at all for two days, today I saw BALD EAGLE and NORTHERN HARRIER. The highlight of the day was this TRUMPETER SWAN.
  
Day list (35 species, 2 new for trip in italics):
Trumpeter Swan, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Oldsquaw, Surf Scoter, Barrow's Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Willow Ptarmigan, Wilson's Snipe, Red-necked Phalarope, Mew Gull, Gray Jay, Common Raven, Gray-cheeked, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Cliff Swallow, Arctic Warbler, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Blackpoll & Wilson's Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco and Fox, White-crowned, Savannah & American Tree Sparrows.

Thursday, June 12, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Alaska Day 15: Nome. Day List: 35, Trip List: 125, Total Targets Seen: 13.
Today I traveled to Nome where I'll be for the next 6 days as I complete the Alaska segment of  my "anywhere but SE Arizona in June" vacation. There's no place like Nome so they say (no apology forthcoming here, you just knew I would use that). I was scheduled on a 6:45am flight out of Anchorage and was up at 4:30am to allow plenty of time to drop off my rental car and check in, etc. Unfortunately, the flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems which was a bummer for two reasons -- I could certainly have used some extra sleep and I lost birding time in Nome. The next flight wasn't until 9:00am and, to add insult to injury, flew first to Kotzebue. In the "be thankful for small mercies" department, I was at least able to get on the flight after initially being told that seats were limited; and I also got to see Kotzebue Sound and cross the Arctic Circle one more time (Kotzebue is 33 miles into the Arctic). The views of Denali (MT. McKinley) were spectacular. 

The flight departed at 9:26, touched down in Kotzebue at 10:42, departed again at 11:20 and arrived in Nome at 11:50.  After a mercifully short baggage retrieval and a short delay in getting a taxi, I checked in at the Aurora Inn (and picked up my vehicle there) and was out again by 1:00pm. Nome had somewhat of an "Arizona Bird Guide Convention" feeling to it. Gary Rosenberg and a Wings group  were on the same flight that I was on, and I met Chris Benesh (Field Guides) and Forrest Davis (High Lonesome) at Subway in town. My plan for the day had been to leisurely bird the Council Road along the coast of the Bering Sea (one of only three major roads in the area), and when I learned from Chris about a couple of Arctic Loons at Safety Sound, that reaffirmed my plan. 

It was a glorious day in Nome with mostly sunny skies and a temperature somewhere in the mid 60s. Folks were picnicking on the "beach" and cycling and jogging along the beach road. I might have been in California except for the type of view, less people and different birds of course. Not quite what I expected when I first planned this trip when the Bering Sea was frozen over! The mosquitoes found the weather to their liking too -- they are certainly larger, more numerous, and more of a problem here than anywhere else that I've visited so far. I may just run out of bug juice.

I birded along the Council Road in an opposite fashion to my original plan by first heading out fairly quickly to around mile 27 where the loons had been seen, and then birding slowly back to Nome. Shortly after leaving town, I saw my first Alaskan OSPREY being attacked by an ARCTIC TERN. I came across PARASITIC (new for trip) and LONG-TAILED JAEGERS, and neither of them liked it when I stopped to get a photo. COMMON EIDERS and TUNDRA SWANS were conspicuous. Landbirds included GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, ORANGE-CROWNED & YELLOW WARBLERS, LAPLAND LONGSPUR and tons of  SAVANNAH SPARROWS.

Although I quickly and easily found both ARCTIC LOONS at mile 26.6, the heat shimmer in the scope made for a very unsatisfactory view. In addition, even though I had used lots of repellant, the mosquitoes were in attack mode. Those of you who read my journal regularly will know that I really hate windy conditions. However, based on my experience today, I'll be hoping for a nice onshore breeze for as long as I am here! I'll bird the road again when the wind and temperature are (hopefully) more conducive to viewing

Before heading back west into town I continued as far as a little beyond Solomon, apparently a good place for Aleutian Tern. I didn't see a single tern in this location, just a lone PACIFIC LOON, lots of  COMMON REDPOLLS and what will probably be the first of many YELLOW WAGTAIL sightings. 

A stop at Cape Nome (tough viewing into the sun) produced RED-THROATED LOON, PELAGIC CORMORANT, a small flock of BRANT and the occasional fly-by COMMON MURRE. 

The Nome River flows into the Bering Sea just east of town and was loaded with birds when I had passed by earlier without stopping. I spent a little time here as I returned to town and saw plenty of ALEUTIAN TERNS along with even more ARCTIC TERNS, SNOW GOOSE, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and a handful of shorebirds, gulls and ducks.

In the late evening I walked a few blocks to eat dinner at Milano's -- so-so food and mediocre service (Arctic Pizza of Barrow where are you now!). It's after 11:30pm as I write these notes (it's been a long day) and there's still bright sunshine and 65 degrees outside. However, I'm encouraged by the forecast for tomorrow -- 57 degrees and winds up to 20 mph.

Day list (35 species recorded, 7 new for trip in italics):
Pelagic Cormorant, Tundra Swan, Snow Goose, Canada Goose, Brant, Am. Wigeon, N. Pintail, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Oldsquaw, Red-breasted Merganser, Osprey, Semipalmated Sandpiper, American Golden-Plover, Mew & Glaucous Gulls, Arctic & Aleutian Terns, Parasitic & Long-tailed Jaegers, Common Murre, Red-throated, Arctic & Pacific Loons, Common Raven, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Tree Swallow, Yellow Wagtail, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned & Yellow Warblers, Lapland Longspur and White-crowned, Savannah & Am. Tree Sparrows.

Friday, June 13, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 16: Nome. Day List: 32, Trip List: 128, Total Targets Seen: 15.
With so many tour groups and other birders in town, I decided to take the road less traveled today and I spent all my time on the Nome-Teller Road. Unfortunately, it wasn't as quiet as I had hoped for. A Siberian Rubythroat was discovered early this morning near mile 13, which of course brought lots of people trying to relocate the bird. As I drove past the area, I saw several parties with faces that tell a story -- a kind of "I haven't seen the bird yet (and I've been looking for all of 5 minutes) and it's a life or death situation" look. It's a look that I know well because, for me, it's an occupational hazard. Looking for rarities is work -- this is vacation and I decided not to look for the bird (it was seen again by several people), opting instead to stick with my plan of birding along the road looking for the regularly occurring species. A fair number of other birders were scattered along the 73 mile long road

I drove the entire length of the road leaving Nome at 9:45am and returning at 8:30pm, a round trip of almost 150 miles. I spent very little time in the village of Teller where there were few birds. The road is (extremely dusty) gravel in mostly excellent condition and supports very high speeds (and the locals drive it that way). I can still taste the dust! The habitat is mostly grassy tundra with low growing willows along watercourses; the higher hills are bald, talus on the mountains. Rivers and creeks flowing into the Bering Sea are quite numerous.  Here's a view along the highway. It was a little cooler today and the wind picked up as the day wore on. Thankfully, as I had hoped, mosquitoes were much less of a problem because of the wind (although I didn't escape completely unscathed).

Bird diversity was not high and most of the activity was to be found in the riparian sections. Perhaps the highlight of the day was seeing a pair of GYRFALCONS at a nest site. However, I think that I enjoyed this ROCK PTARMIGAN even more. The male was still in late spring (courtship) plumage and, at first sight, I thought that the conspicuous and distant white blob was a rock until it moved. The bird eventually allowed close approach (here's a head and shoulders shot) and obviously didn't consider me as a threat. Had the male been in breeding plumage I might not have noticed it. I almost stepped on the female so cryptic was her plumage-- she flushed at the last second as I was maneuvering into a better location to photograph the male.

ARCTIC WARBLERS were very numerous and vocal and I managed to get a usable photo. YELLOW WAGTAILS were fairly easy to find in multiple locations once I latched on to their often given call. LONG-TAILED JAEGERS were common and conspicuous, both in the air and on the ground. However, they were not very approachable. GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH was very common and vocal throughout the length of the road, even in the sparsest of willow growth. COMMON REDPOLLS were abundant (the most common bird along with WILSON'S WARBLER) and I found a few HOARY REDPOLLS.

Although I didn't see a tremendous variety of birds today (and I ate a lot of dust), I had a thoroughly enjoyable day. I just wish that I knew a way not to have to sleep so I could take more advantage of the 24 hour usable daylight! It's 12:30am as I finish up these notes and my wake up call is for 5:00am. Yikes.

Day list (32 species recorded, 3 new for trip in italics):
N. Pintail, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Oldsquaw, Red-breasted Merganser, Gyrfalcon, Rock Ptarmigan, Western Sandpiper, Am. Golden-Plover, Mew & Glaucous Gulls, Arctic Tern, Long-tailed Jaeger, Common Raven, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Am. Robin, Cliff Swallow, Arctic Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Am. Pipit, Hoary & Common Redpolls, Orange-crowned, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting and Fox, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Savannah & Am. Tree Sparrows.

Saturday, June 14, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 17: Nome. Day List: 42, Trip List: 131, Total Targets Seen: 17.
Things didn't quite go according to schedule today but the day worked out well in the end. I had planned on an early start to bird the Kougarok Road but I was delayed too much when I discovered a slow flat on the vehicle this morning. With the late start I decided to bird closer to town to look for 3 species -- Slaty-backed Gull, Pacific-Golden Plover and Northern Wheatear; plus I wanted to get better looks at Arctic Loon. It was a bright and sunny day in Nome with temperatures in the mid 60s and a sporadic 10 mph or so onshore breeze.

I started in Nome Harbor looking for Slaty-backed Gull, fairly scarce at this time of year becoming common in late summer. A passenger on a ship that docked this morning mentioned that he had seen one flying around the harbor. However, I spent an hour scanning from several vantage points (none very good --  the jetty is off limits) without seeing any large dark mantled gulls, just MEW and GLAUCOUS GULLS. Strike 1, the only strikeout of the day.

Next, I headed up Anvil Mountain just a few miles from town. Although the "mountain" is not very high, it has some rocky tundra habitat good for Wheatear and affords a great view of Nome and the Bering Sea.  I worked for about 45 minutes before finding this NORTHERN WHEATEAR. I spent much longer than that as the bird led me a bit of a dance as I tried to get a photo (it even went in the shade under my vehicle).  Here's a side view of the bird on a different perch. Other species here (willow habitat on the lower slopes) included AMERICAN PIPIT, GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, FOX & GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS, COMMON REDPOLL and, possibly HOARY (I didn't look closely).

After a lunch break, I drove east along the coast (Council) road that was much busier on this weekend day (and very dusty as many gravel trucks constantly whizzed by at high speed).  The Nome River estuary was flooded at high tide and birds were quite far away. Among the birds that I noted were RUDDY TURNSTONE, BAR-TAILED GODWIT, lots of AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and a fair number of ALEUTIAN TERNS.

Further down the road, I was able to easily locate a PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER thanks to some directions received yesterday from Arthur Morris. Here's a head and shoulders shot of the bird sitting on the nest (one of the benefits of digiscoping is to get shots like this without disturbing the bird). I like this shot best. While I was photographing the plover, a YELLOW WAGTAIL was constantly flying around and calling. Of course, when I was ready to try my luck at getting a photo it was nowhere to be seen.

I continued east to Safety Lagoon where I was able to relocate an ARCTIC LOON around mile 26.5. The breeze allowed me to brave the mosquitoes and I walked out to the water where I was able to see the white on the flanks and feel good about the sighting. I went back to the road to get my camera only to find the bird was now almost 1/2 mile away! A Yellow-billed Loon was seen in this area recently but I didn't see any other loons. Also here was a "flock" of LONG-TAILED JAEGERS walking around picking bugs off the ground. Other birds included a few TUNDRA SWANS and SANDHILL CRANES, COMMON EIDER, many DUNLIN and a few RED-NECKED PHALAROPES.

A stop at Cape Nome to scan for alcids produced PELAGIC CORMORANT, RED-THROATED LOON and COMMON MURRE.

Day list (42 species recorded, 3 new for trip in italics):
Pelagic Cormorant, Tundra Swan, Am. Wigeon, N. Pintail, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Oldsquaw, Red-breasted Merganser, Sandhill Crane, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated & Western Sandpipers, Dunlin, Red-necked Phalarope, Pacific & Am. Golden-Plovers, Mew & Glaucous Gulls, Arctic & Aleutian Terns, Long-tailed Jaeger, Common Murre, Red-throated & Arctic Loons, Common Raven, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Am. Robin, N. Wheatear, Tree Swallow, Yellow Wagtail, Am. Pipit, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Lapland Longspur and Fox, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Savannah & Am. Tree Sparrows.

Sunday, June 15, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 18: Nome. Day List: 40, Trip List: 134, Total Targets Seen: 19.
I became a little more focused today as my potential targets dwindle and my days in Alaska draw to a close. This morning I got an early start to drive 70+ miles northeast of Nome on the Kougarok Road to the "Bristle-thighed Curlew spot". This was my earliest start for a while (I left town at 5:30am) and it was a little cool under partly cloudy skies. It was generally a cooler and windier day and this afternoon I felt cold for the first time as I scanned the Bering Sea from Cape Nome.

Unless you are really lucky, it's necessary to walk the tundra to see the curlews. However, before reaching the tundra you first have to work your way uphill through thick, low growing willow that is mined with boggy trenches. Once on the tundra there are still grassy tussocks and boggy pools to negotiate, but the going is a little easier than the walk uphill. Even though it's difficult to walk in rubber boots, I was sure glad that I put them on. Today's activities made last week's trek for Smith's Longspur seem easy by comparison. Mosquitoes? Did I mention mosquitoes? Swarms and swarms of them following my every move; thank god for repellant. 

I'm happy to say that those miles of tough walking paid off with several views of BRISTLE-THIGHED CURLEWS flying and calling, and scope views of another bird on the ground. They are remarkably similar to the more common WHIMBREL that are also in the area. In fact, from the neck up they are almost identical, with the streaking on the Curlew perhaps being a little finer. However, the Curlew lacks the flank streaking of the Whimbrel and is overall a paler looking bird. Nevertheless, not an easy call at a distance. There was one other person working the area and I inadvertently flushed a bird that he was looking at. Fortunately, I redeemed myself by finding another bird (sigh of relief). Among the other species in this area (mile 72 of the Kougarok Road) were WILLOW & ROCK PTARMIGANS, SANDHILL CRANE, AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, SAVANNAH SPARROW, COMMON REDPOLL and LAPLAND LONGSPUR. Before starting the hike for the curlew, I photographed this AMERICAN TREE SPARROW that was alternately preening and singing close to where I had parked (the only photo that I took today).

I spent the rest of my time on the Kougarok Road looking and listening for Bluethroat without success. I continued on to the end of the road (mile 84) and then drove slowly back to Nome. I was informed by Forrest Davis that their singing has declined over the past couple of weeks, so I may have trouble finding this bird (since I'm relying on hearing one sing to locate it). I noticed that there are very few recent reports of this species posted at the visitor center in town.  

I didn't record too many species along the road because I was focusing so much on finding Bluethroat. However, WILLOW PTARMIGANS were very common and I saw at least 20 in multiple locations. ROCK PTARMIGANS were harder to find and I saw perhaps 3 or 4. I heard and saw NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH in a couple of locations. RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS were on the river, I saw a pair of SURF SCOTERS on a lake and had one fly-by BAR-TAILED GODWIT. The usual passerines were singing throughout.

After a mid afternoon lunch break at Fat Freddie's back in Nome (obviously, a health food place as the name implies), I headed out again on the Council Road to Cape Nome. There's a good possibility for several more targets at this location and I picked up one of them today in THICK-BILLED MURRE very close to shore. I scanned hundreds of gulls many times over looking for Slaty-backed, again without success. However, I did find a Vega HERRING GULL (has a noticeably darker mantle than "regular" Herring) among the MEW & GLAUCOUS GULLS and BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES. Other species here included RED-THROATED LOON, COMMON MURRE (also close to shore) and a pair of PARASITIC JAEGERS constantly harassing the gulls.

I rounded out the day by checking the harbor and city dump for gulls. The closest to town ARCTIC WARBLER that I have seen was on the Dexter Bypass..

Day list (40 species recorded, 3 new for trip in italics):
N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Oldsquaw, Surf Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Willow & Rock Ptarmigans, Sandhill Crane, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Bristle-thighed Curlew, American Golden-Plover, Mew, Glaucous & Herring Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Arctic & Aleutian Terns, Parasitic & Long-tailed Jaegers, Common & Thick-billed Murres, Red-throated Loon, Common Raven, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Tree & Cliff Swallows, Arctic Warbler, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, N. Waterthrush, Lapland Longspur and Fox, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Savannah & Am. Tree Sparrows.

Monday, June 16, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 19: Nome. Day List: 35, Trip List: 137, Total Targets Seen: 20.
Today I set out to do one thing -- find a Bluethroat. Although not common by any means, this is a species that I expected to see based on all that I had read. When I left the hotel this morning I was greeted by dense, low clouds (a.k.a. fog) and drizzle, and I wondered whether I would see any birds at all. To give the weather a chance to improve I delayed as long as I could by getting gas and supplies, eating a healthy breakfast at Fat Freddie's and checking the sightings and posting my own at the visitor's center.

Although conditions didn't improve, I decided to head out using the premise that I wouldn't find any birds in the hotel room. The Blue Stone River area at mile 58 on the Nome-Teller Road seems to be one of the most reliable spots and there were several sightings there earlier this month. Consequently, this is where I decided to go. I stopped briefly to listen at the Penny River Bridge (mile 13) and heard only AMERICAN DIPPER singing in the rain; and then made good time northwards, finally seeing some clearing at mile 43 where the heavy fog lifted and the rain stopped, leaving mostly cloudy skies with on and off sunshine.

Shortly after I arrived at the river I heard a BLUETHROAT singing but was unable to locate it before it stopped singing (which was almost immediately). I geared up for a long search and soon after I got started the High Lonesome group arrived and started searching. They had seen a bird here on a tour last week and after some time, 30 minutes or so, a furtive individual was located in the same spot. It seemed like a nest was a good possibility and this proved to be the case. A very cautious female made several visits to the nest and eventually I saw the male perched up a couple of times. I was at this spot for about 2 1/2 hours and decided to return later to try for a photograph. Other species in this area included a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (good to see because raptors have been scarce) and SPOTTED SANDPIPER. 

I continued north to Teller to check the harbor where very little was going on -- I saw PELAGIC CORMORANT, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and COMMON MURRE plus the regular gulls. After visiting the native store where I dropped a few dollars and chatted with the owner about bird watching, I returned to the Blue Stone River around 4:45pm. It was quite windy now so I wasn't very hopeful, but what do I know. The male BLUETHROAT was fairly active and even did some singing, and I managed a couple of photos (here's another shot of the bird from a different angle). It seems that everyone that I have spoken to in the past few days is/has been looking for Bluethroat. They are obviously quite elusive at the moment during their nesting activities. I feel fortunate to have seen one -- persistence pays off! It also emphasizes the importance of allowing enough days in the area. On a related note, I also learned today that another tour group did not see the Bristle-thighed Curlews after trying for them two days in a row. I was complaining yesterday about the effort required to see them, however, now I feel really fortunate.

I had intended to head out to Cape Nome when I got back in town but it was very windy so I went to the Nome River instead. I saw all the regular species and this female BAR-TAILED GODWIT, a bird that I thought would be much more common than it has been. Given the conditions early this morning, my penultimate day in Nome turned out pretty well.

Day list (35 species recorded. 3 new for trip in italics):
Pelagic Cormorant, Canada Goose, N. Pintail, Greater Scaup, Oldsquaw, Red-breasted Merganser, Rough-legged Hawk, Willow Ptarmigan, Bar-tailed Godwit, Spotted & Semipalmated Sandpipers, Am. Golden-Plover, Mew & Glaucous Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Arctic & Aleutian Terns, Long-tailed Jaeger, Common Murre, Common Raven, Am. Dipper, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Am. Robin, Bluethroat, Cliff Swallow, Arctic Warbler, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Lapland Longspur and White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Savannah & American Tree Sparrows.

Tuesday, June 17, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Alaska Day 20: Nome. Day List: 41, Trip List: 139, Total Targets Seen: 20.
My last birding day in Alaska was a casual day. I could have spent all day looking at every gull for a Slaty-backed; I could have looked for that Ruby throated thingy from Siberia, however, I decided just to enjoy the day. After yesterday's fog and rain, it was a beautiful day in the Nome area with sunny skies, a nice onshore breeze and temperature in the 60s. I drove the entire length of the Council Road (about 74 miles), just seeing whatever came my way. Until today I'd birded only along the first 35 miles of this road, mostly just the first 27 miles. The forested area that begins after about 63 miles provided a couple of new species not seen in the Nome area. Unfortunately, the Nome chapter of the Birder's Guide to Alaska gives zero information about accessing the forest, otherwise I'm sure that I would have seen many more species.

I stopped first at some of the places that I'd birded regularly, starting at the Nome River estuary where I saw many ALEUTIAN TERNS and the usual suspects. Next, I stopped at Cape Nome where a couple of BLACK SCOTERS were a trip first. Also here were RED-THROATED LOON, lots of BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and a fly-by flock of 10 TUNDRA SWANS. At Safety Sound I added PACIFIC LOONS (no sign of the Arctic Loons today) and more TUNDRA SWANS.

After enjoying an ARCTIC WARBLER along the Solomon River around mile 39, I came across this LONG-TAILED JAEGER on a nest close to the road at mile 41 (here's another shot of the bird). HORNED LARK was in the high elevation section of the road around mile 54. As the road dropped again, the first Spruce (and the first tree that I'd seen in a week!) appeared at mile 63. ARCTIC WARBLERS were now common in the riparian section along the river and abundant between mile 62 and 64. Further along I heard VARIED THRUSH and HERMIT THRUSH calling.

BLACK BEAR, MOOSE, MUSKOX and REINDEER/CARIBOU (can't tell the difference) are the only large mammals that I've seen so far throughout the trip. Imagine my surprise as I rounded a bend to see what I'm assuming is a BROWN BEAR, sitting in the middle of the road in a little traveled section near Council. I didn't know whether to shit, shave or get a haircut. After the panic had subsided, I thought to myself camera, camera, camera! Unfortunately, it was all set up for digiscoping so it took me a minute to change lenses, meanwhile the bear just nonchalantly stared at me. I took the photograph through the car windshield because the location that I was in was loaded with mosquitoes. However, had it been free and clear I'm not so sure that I would have opened the window anyway! While all this was going on, a YELLOW WAGTAIL popped up -- I snapped him through the window too, but it's just a record shot. The bear eventually ran away as I drove towards it. Phew!

On the return journey I saw the first SEMIPALMATED PLOVER of the trip along the Solomon river. Safety Sound held BRANT, more BLACK SCOTERS, COMMON EIDER and the first (and only) RED-NECKED GREBE that I saw in the Nome area. A lone RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was at the Nome River. On the Kougarok Road near its intersection with Council, I tried to photograph a small group of 10 or so ALEUTIAN TERNS without success (they were constantly in flight and simply would not settle). 

After bidding farewell to Fat Freddie's with a mediocre burrito, I took care of final packing, dropped off the car and headed to the airport.  The flight was a little early and departed Nome at 8:38pm, touching down in Anchorage at 9:53pm. I retrieved my baggage fairly quickly and after a short Taxi ride I was at the Hillside Motel in time for a reasonable night's sleep before my flight back to the lower 48 tomorrow morning. Lower 48, I always wanted to work that into a sentence.

Trip Summary    Trip List

Day list  (41 species recorded, 2 new for trip in italics):
Red-necked Grebe, Tundra Swan, Canada Goose, Brant, N. Pintail, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Black Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Semipalmated Plover, Mew & Glaucous Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Arctic & Aleutian Terns, Long-tailed Jaeger, Common Murre, Red-throated & Pacific Loons, Common Raven, Varied, Gray-cheeked & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Tree Swallow, Arctic Warbler, Horned Lark, Yellow Wagtail, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Lapland Longspur and White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Savannah & American Tree Sparrows.

Wednesday, June 18, 2003    Previous Day   Next Day
Anchorage, AK-Moses Lake, WA.
All good things must come to an end, so they say, and the Alaska segment of my vacation finally ended today. My Alaska Airlines flight was late leaving Anchorage (due to aircraft maintenance in Fairbanks) and left the ground at 8:08am, about 30 minutes behind schedule. With some time picked up in the air, the plane touched down at SeaTac at 11:20am, only 10 minutes behind schedule (12:20pm pacific time). Seattle was cloudy with light drizzle and the temperature was in the low 60s. Baggage pickup was timely, I waited too long wait for long term parking shuttle pickup but the good news was that my car started OK and all the tires had air after sitting for three weeks. Everything was going smoothly until I made a wrong turn getting on I-5. Due to traffic and road work, that wrong turn  cost me almost 30 minutes -- unbelievable. 

I was sad to leave Alaska behind but now comes the spontaneous part of my vacation (and it's also the first day of the rest of my life, that's always good). I don't like flying and prefer to travel by road when on vacation -- the driving is part of the lure, not just a means to an end. Also, I don't like to have a rigid schedule and prefer to end up wherever the day takes me. Of course, with the locations that I visited in Alaska, this type of trip wasn't possible. Flying and not leaving any hotel and vehicle rentals to chance were a must. For the rest of my trip I have a general plan with only a few details defined. One of those details is to travel through Glacier National Park in Montana on Going To The Sun Road. I did this many years ago and don't remember much about it. I tried to do it last June but a late season snowfall kept the road closed quite late. However, I checked a couple of days ago and the road is already open. Yeah!

I gave up fighting the traffic south of Seattle and took the back road to Issaquah, only getting as far as North Bend by 2:30pm. I ate a late lunch there and then continued on I-90 hoping to stop in Spokane for the night. However, I was pretty tired and only made it as far as Moses Lake.

As I started to take note of birds again, I realized that I hadn't seen HOUSE SPARROW or STARLING while in Alaska, and I soon put that "problem" to bed. I didn't see too many birds along I-90, just a few CLIFF SWALLOWS and BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES. On the various bodies of water at Moses Lake, I noted WESTERN & CLARK'S GREBES, RING-BILLED GULL and a few FORSTER'S TERNS. 

Thursday, June 19, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Moses Lake, WA-Kalispell, MT.
Today I continued east through the Idaho panhandle and traveled as far as Kalispell, Montana where I spent the night. With a few side trips, I drove 400 miles. Despite managing to do only a small amount of birding, I recorded over 50 species for the day. This emphasized to me the low species diversity that I encountered while in Alaska  -- the highest daily total there was 66 and most days were much less than that.

I checked around Moses Lake then drove to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. After breakfast I traveled north on Hwy 95 where I did some birding on Kelso Lake Road near Athol. This area was very birdy despite temperatures close to 80 degrees around midday. TREE SWALLOWS were abundant and making good use of nest boxes. Among the 30 species that I recorded on a very brief drive were WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE,  EASTERN KINGBIRD, WARBLING VIREO, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, GRAY CATBIRD, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, RED CROSSBILL and WESTERN TANAGER.

I continued north on Hwy 95 to Sandpoint where I had intended to keep going to Bonner's Ferry before heading east on Hwy 2 into Montana. However, traffic was so heavy all the way from Coeur D'Alene (and looked liked continuing that way up to Canada) that I decided to take Hwy 200 along the northeast shore of Lake Pend Oreille into Montana, then north on 56 through the Cabinet Mountains picking up Hwy 2 near Troy and from there east to Kalispell. 

OSPREY was easily seen in a several locations near Lake Pend Oreille. On Sunnyside Road at the north end of the lake I picked up CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER and RED-EYED VIREO. On nearby Hickey Road I added 6 male BOBOLINKS. On the lake near Hope I noted WESTERN GREBE, COMMON MERGANSER and WILLOW FLYCATCHER. Shortly after entering Montana I saw SPOTTED SANDPIPER and WESTERN MEADOWLARK in seemingly less than ideal habitat (lots of conifers). Traveling east on Hwy 2, I heard SWAINSON'S THRUSH singing and a male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER flew across the road in front of me. 

It was a fairly warm day throughout all areas that I traveled today. I apparently missed some thunderstorm activity in Kalispell and it was cloudy, humid and cool (60s) when I arrived at 6:30pm (after losing another hour to Mountain Time).  Missoula was almost 100 yesterday! Cooler temperatures and rain are forecast for the next few days. I hope that the weather doesn't cause any temporary closures of Going To The Sun Road.

Day list (53 species recorded):
Western & Clark's Grebes, Canada Goose, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Spotted Sandpiper, Killdeer, Ring-billed Gull, Rock & Mourning Doves, Williamson's Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Willow & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbird, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Red-eyed & Warbling Vireos, Western Bluebird, Swainson's Thrush, Am. Robin, Gray Catbird, European Starling, House Wren, Tree, Violet-green, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Song, Savannah, Chipping & Vesper Sparrows, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bobolink.

Friday, June 20, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Kalispell, MT-Lewistown, MT.
Even though I finally drove through Glacier National Park on Going To The Sun Road this morning, the experience was completely ruined by miserable weather. I knew I was in trouble when I left the motel in Kalispell -- the area was enveloped in low clouds and fog, darker to the north where I was going, and there was a light drizzle. As I entered West Glacier the rain increased, and the higher I climbed the worse the conditions became. Instead of spectacular views, I mostly saw the rear end of vehicles and oncoming headlights. Driving conditions were actually quite dangerous at times. There were occasional glimpses of snow and mountains during brief periods of clearing -- moments after I photographed Weeping Wall, the view was gone.

The weather was perhaps worst at Logan Pass where the views are at their best, how ironic is that? At the visitor center here, swirling low clouds obscured the views and a close to freezing rain made matters even worse. I wanted to walk the trails to look for Rosy Finches and Ptarmigan but they were still closed by ice and snow. The only obvious birds I noted were a couple of AMERICAN PIPITS foraging on a snow bank, a lone AMERICAN ROBIN and several singing WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. I waited around for over an hour hoping that conditions would improve before I reluctantly headed down the east side. It was less cloudy here but the views are not as impressive on this side. It was also very windy.

When I reached Browning, I didn't much care for the skies to the east so I changed my mind at the last minute and headed south towards Great Falls on highway 89. (I was headed to Eastern Montana and North Dakota where I was last year at this time -- I figured it wouldn't be much fun looking for grassland birds in such crappy conditions).  I finally lost the rain near Choteau, about 100 miles after leaving Glacier National Park east entrance in St. Mary.  I started noticing a few birds at this point in the open fields and ponds-- AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, SWAINSON'S HAWK, WILSON'S SNIPE, CALIFORNIA & RING-BILLED GULLS, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, several MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, VESPER SPARROW and WESTERN MEADOWLARK.

South of Choteau, I spent some time at a roadside pullout overlooking Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area. The area was loaded with FRANKLIN'S GULLS, swarming like insects. Almost as common were YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS -- the light was terrible but I managed a shot of a juvenile bird. You've heard the phrase "one good tern deserves another", well, in quick succession I saw BLACK TERN, COMMON TERN and FORSTER'S TERN. Among the other species present were EARED GREBE, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, REDHEAD, BLACK-NECKED STILT, MARBLED GODWIT and numerous WILSON'S PHALAROPES.

I'd never been in this part of Montana and had planned to stay the night in Great Falls. I arrived there at 5:00pm and spent 20 minutes driving 6 miles. Wonderful, just what I needed at the end of this yucky day. In addition, the place had about as much character as Sierra Vista. Enough of this I said and drove on another 100 miles to Lewistown (not to be confused with Lewiston). I'll do some local birding in the morning (weather permitting) and then figure out where to go next. 

Day list (43 species recorded):
Eared Grebe, Am. White Pelican, Ruddy Duck, Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Swainson's Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Am. Coot, Wilson's Snipe, Marbled Godwit, Wilson's Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Ring-billed, California & Franklin's Gulls, Black, Common & Forster's Terns, Rock & Mourning Doves, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Mountain Bluebird, Am. Robin, Eurasian Starling, Tree & Barn Swallows, Golden-crowned Kinglet, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Pine Siskin, White-crowned & Vesper Sparrows, Yellow-headed & Red-winged Blackbirds, Western Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Saturday, June 21, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Lewistown, MT-Red Lodge, MT.
If it's not one thing it's another -- today it was wind. About 50-50 blue sky and clouds with a few early sprinkles, but quite windy in most locations. I traveled south only as far as Red Lodge, MT today. I wanted to spend time in the Beartooth Mountains and decided that I would start there in the morning rather than feeling rushed by crossing into Wyoming this afternoon. I did mostly roadside birding and managed to accumulate 50 species as I missed out on several photo opportunities throughout the day.

It was a little chilly as I left Lewistown around 6:30am this morning and a GREAT HORNED OWL that I saw sitting by the roadside near town looked pretty wet and miserable. I started by working the farm roads west of Lewistown where I made my annual token effort for the highly fictitious Gray Partridge. Wonders never cease though -- I did hear one calling so now at least I know that they do exist in the U.S! One step closer, perhaps next year I might actually see one. General activity was high with BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, WESTERN MEADOWLARKS and RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS being the most common species. EASTERN KINGBIRDS were conspicuous and I heard WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE and LEAST FLYCATCHER. Sparrows were represented by VESPER, SAVANNAH and CLAY-COLORED with none of them being particularly common. I came across a few WILSON'S SNIPE perched on fence posts. A couple of SWAINSON'S HAWKS soared over the area.

As I drove south on highway 87 through Sweet Grass County, I saw an UPLAND SANDPIPER perched on a fence post. I stopped, turned around and set up the camera. Just as I was ready, the bird dropped into the grass. I watched WILSON'S PHALAROPES spinning away on a roadside pond as COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and LEAST FLYCATCHER sang from the tree margin. On I-90 near Columbus I saw the first WESTERN KINGBIRD (more came later). A couple of BOBOLINKS were in the hayfields south of Laurel (near Billings) as I headed down highway 212 to Red Lodge. It was now bright and sunny, although still only in the low 60s.

After checking into the Comfort Inn in Red Lodge (looks fairly new), I headed out to do some local birding. A singing DARK-EYED JUNCO atop a small conifer watched me setup the camera and then said "oh no you don't" as it flew away. I found a HAIRY WOODPECKER nest and setup the camera on the hole. However, the bird outlasted me (30 minutes). While I waited I saw SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, CEDAR WAXWING, WARBLING VIREO (common), MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, WESTERN TANAGER and PINE SISKIN. 

Day list (50 species recorded):
Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Sharp-shinned, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Gray Partridge, Wilson's Snipe, Upland Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Killdeer, Rock & Mourning Doves, Great Horned Owl, Hairy Woodpecker, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Least & Dusky Flycatchers, Western & Eastern Kingbirds, Black-billed Magpie, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Am. Robin, European Starling, Red-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Chickadee, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, House Finch, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Dark-eyed Junco, Savannah, Chipping, Clay-colored & Vesper Sparrows, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird and Bobolink.

Sunday, June 22, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Red Lodge, MT-Rawlins, WY
Although I saw a few interesting birds today, birding definitely took a back seat to all of the wonderful scenery that I saw. It was also an interesting weather day on the first full day of summer -- sunshine, clouds, wind, sleet, snow, rain and thunderstorms. You name it and I probably experienced it today. Sunny with clear skies and 50 degrees when I left Red Lodge at 7:30am, cloudy and 63 degrees in Cody at 1:30pm -- in between a little bit of everything. I traveled southwest from Red Lodge on the Beartooth highway into Wyoming, then southeast on the Chief Joseph Highway to Cody, south to Thermopolis and beyond through Wind River Canyon, and finally south to Rawlins where even a flat tire couldn't ruin the day. As I said yesterday, if it's not one thing it's another! 

The scenery along the Beartooth highway on the Wyoming side is nothing short of spectacular. I've traveled most of the scenic high mountain/alpine roads in the U.S. as well as the Canadian Rockies, and the views from this road beat them all. It also has excellent access to extensive alpine tundra. I took lots of photographs which, of course, cannot do justice to "being there", so I'll just publish this one taken shortly after entering Wyoming. The road climbs quite a bit after this to the summit and it's probably around 10,000 feet here. You can see why it's called the Beartooth Plateau with the flat areas in the distance.

At 10, 947 feet, the road summit is the highest point on a paved road in Wyoming. I'm not sure what the temperature was here on this first full day of summer (based on the temperature when I left Red Lodge and an elevation gain of around 7000 feet, I'm guessing around 32 degrees), however, with the wind chill it felt bitterly cold. In fact, I felt colder than at anytime during my recent visit to Alaska; and that includes Barrow. Of course, today I really wasn't dressed appropriately. A snowboarding competition was taking place not far from this location.

Birds? Obviously, not too many species are up here and they were somewhat superfluous anyway. CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS were common just below timberline in both Montana and Wyoming, as were AMERICAN PIPITS above timberline. However, the big prize here is BLACK ROSY-FINCH and I saw just one about 1.5 miles before reaching the summit. Despite the wind, I'd been hearing them call in a number of spots -- finally a bird flew across the road and landed next to my vehicle. Go figure. Even though there are lots of rocks here, a ROCK WREN perhaps seems a little out of place, however, I've seen them before at over 10,000 feet in Arizona and Colorado. 

As I dropped down from the alpine zone the clouds closed in and light snow began to fall, becoming heavy for about two miles of travel before petering out on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. This road also offers great views, although of a different character than the Beartooth. Shortly after starting the road I encountered sleet and a NORTHERN GOSHAWK.

I took a break in Cody, a place that I visited over 20 years ago. I'm sure that it's always been a tourist town and now it's a big time tourist town. As I ate a late breakfast, I agonized about whether or not to visit Yellowstone and Teton National Parks. As much as I like both, I decided against it because I've been a fair number of  times and was there in June 2001 and 2002. Instead, I decided to travel southeast to Rawlins in preparation for a visit to the Snowy Mountains and grasslands near Laramie where I've only been once before.

Before leaving, I checked Beck and Alkaline Lakes in Cody where I saw CALIFORNIA and RING-BILLED GULLS, AMERICAN AVOCET, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, a few ducks and WHITE-THROATED SWIFT. About 12 miles south of Cody on highway 120, I was watching more swifts and thinking that this was great habitat for PRAIRIE FALCON when lo and behold -- a couple of them whizzed by me, wind assisted. 

The temperature had climbed considerably by the time that I reached Thermopolis but I resisted the inclination to use A/C. Psychologically, that would have been a bad thing, a reminder of what's in store for me when I get back to Arizona. Thermopolis was noteworthy for two reasons: the cheapest gas so far at $1.53/gallon (although Rawlins was only $1.35), and the first TURKEY VULTURE that I've seen in almost a month. Just south of town is Wind River Canyon and it sure lived up to its name today. Some of the rock here dates back 600 million years. I've been through the canyon a couple of times before and yet the rock doesn't seemed to have aged one iota.

I chose to save some miles by using 50 miles of dirt roads (quite rocky at times) through the sagebrush country. I think most of the HORNED LARKS in the world were here. Every bird was a Horned Lark until proven otherwise. Exceptions were LARK BUNTING and LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. About 6 miles from blacktop a loud bang announced a flat tire, ironically a brand new tire that replaced a flat about a month before I started this trip. The road was very sandy and I had trouble keeping the jack from slipping. I huffed and puffed and eventually got the job done. However, I still had a few miles left on a dirt road and I was still 70 miles from Rawlins. The remainder of the journey was somewhat nerve-wracking driving without a spare, especially seeing dead tires strewn here and there along the roadside. Even when I reached the "highway", I still had lots of unpaved road because of road work!

Fortunately, I reached Rawlins without further incident. The clouds built up as I approached and shortly after I arrived it began to rain; later there was a thunderstorm. At least it didn't happen while I was changing a tire in the middle of nowhere (I did not see another soul along the 50 miles of dirt road). An eventful day with some great scenery and a few good birds.   

Day list (50 species recorded):
Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Turkey Vulture, N. Goshawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Wilson's Phalarope, Am. Avocet, Ring-billed & California Gulls, Rock & Mourning Doves, White-throated Swift, Red-naped Sapsucker, N. Flicker, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Mountain Bluebird, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, European Starling, Rock Wren, Tree, Violet-green, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Chickadee, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Pine Siskin, Black Rosy-Finch, House Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned & Chipping Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Common Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

Monday, June 23, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day  
Rawlins, WY-Loveland, CO.
Today I started my 5th week on the road and I must confess that I'm almost ready for home. However, I'm certainly not ready for the Arizona heat and I wish it were a little closer to monsoon season. I still have a few places left to visit but that inevitable swing southward has started. Today I traveled east through the Medicine Bow National Forest and the Snowy Range, spent some time at Lake Hattie near Laramie, then south into Colorado to Pawnee National Grassland and on to Loveland for an overnight stop. Most of what I did was whistle-stop stuff because there just aren't enough hours in a day! 

The weather forecast for Wyoming today was for cool temperatures and snow in most of the mountain ranges -- except where I was going in the southeast part of the state. I also missed some nasty weather on the eastern plains of Colorado. After a cold, cloudy and damp start in Rawlins, I encountered sunny skies and cold windy conditions in the mountains and warm and windy conditions on the plains near Laramie and Pawnee grassland (mid 70s).

First I had to deal with my tire problems. I couldn't take advantage of my replacement warranty from Discount Tire because there wasn't a store in the area (I'll deal with that when I get home -- there was pretty big hole in the tire!). As luck would have it, there was a tire place next door to the motel that I stayed in last night and they opened early so I was underway at 7:45am, much earlier than I had anticipated.

I "discovered" highway 130 through the Medicine Bow National Forest and the Snowy Mountain range in June, 2001 while co-leading a Birdfinders tour. This is a very scenic road  -- here's a view of 12000+ feet Medicine Bow Peak from the roadside. The highway also offers some good high elevation birding.  The western approach to the mountains from Saratoga has some nice riparian habitat where I saw MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER as well as sagebrush where GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE and BREWER'S SPARROW were both perched up and singing. The eastern approach from Laramie is grassland where I saw PRAIRIE FALCON and missed Ferruginous Hawk. In the higher sections of the mountains (still plenty of snow along the roadside), I found CASSIN'S FINCH and PINE GROSBEAK. I stopped at a pullout to check my notes to see where I had seen the grosbeaks on my previous trip. Two birds were perched in a tree next to the pullout!

After I left the mountains, I headed over to Lake Hattie to try for a photograph of McCOWN'S LONGSPUR. Unfortunately, it was way too windy and the birds were mostly down in the grass. As a consolation, I happened upon a BANK SWALLOW colony that was in the lee of the wind (and in the shade, can't have it all). Talk about an exercise in frustration -- the adult swallows would zip in and out of the holes so quickly that I didn't stand a chance. Striking a match on jelly would have been easier. However, I did manage a shot of an adventuresome juvenile that ventured to the edge of the hole. On the very choppy water I noted a few WHITE PELICANS and some distant RING-BILLED and CALIFORNIA GULLS.

Now it was time to cover some miles and move on to Colorado. By the time I reached Pawnee National Grassland it was getting late in the day which together with the clouds made for very gloomy conditions. Add to that the high winds and it didn't bode well for photographing longspurs, abundant as they were. However, I was determined to make an effort because in AZ in winter they are pretty drab. I found one particular McCOWN'S LONGSPUR that would regularly skylark and drop close to the road. Most shots were blurred beyond belief because of the wind (a real problem when digiscoping because of the high power), but I did manage this usable shot. I didn't see much else at the wrong end of day, just scads of LARK BUNTINGS and a few GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS.

Crow Valley Campground is a pleasant place to bird and I finished up there today. I spent very little time and probably missed far more than I saw. Species included COMMON NIGHTHAWK, WESTERN and EASTERN KINGBIRDS, BLUE JAY, and BULLOCK'S & ORCHARD ORIOLES chattering and singing. 

While driving through Greeley on the way to Loveland, I saw a store called "Smoker Friendly". I haven't a clue what it is but tomorrow I'll be calling their 800 number to see about franchise opportunities in Sierra Vista. 

Day list (59 species recorded):
Am. White Pelican, Snowy Egret, Turkey Vulture, N. Harrier, Swainson's & Red-tailed Hawks, Am. Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Killdeer, Ring-billed & California Gulls, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Western & Eastern Kingbirds, Blue Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, Loggerhead Shrike, Mountain Bluebird, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, European Starling, Red-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Tree, Bank, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Chickadee, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, Cassin's Finch, Pine Grosbeak, Yellow & MacGillivray's Warblers, McCown's Longspur, Lark Bunting, Dark-eyed Junco, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Savannah, Grasshopper & Brewer's Sparrows, Green-tailed Towhee, Bullock's &  Orchard Orioles, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Common Grackle and Brewer's Blackbird.

Tuesday, June 24, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Loveland, CO-Buena Vista, CO.
Today I visited Rocky Mountain National Park and Mt. Evans (north America's highest paved highway), both of which I've visited a number of times before. For me, Mt. Evans is a much more satisfying experience -- the views are just as good as in RMNP and there are far less people to deal with (not many birds though!). As I traveled towards RMNP along Big Thompson River earth this morning, the weather was cloudy, cool and wet  However, I eventually lucked out because the clouds cleared at high elevation, both here and on Mt. Evans. The downside was high winds, really really really high winds on Mt. Evans

CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHERS and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRDS were common along the Big Thompson River (by sound, way too foggy to see anything). I started in the park fairly early but the tourists were already out in force (of course, I was one of them). I was admiring the views and not particularly looking for birds; among the species noted were RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER at low elevation and CLARK'S NUTCRACKER (hard to miss this baby), TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, AMERICAN PIPIT and HORNED LARK at high elevation.

After I left the park, I stopped at Windy Gap Wildlife Area near Granby. I've birded a few times at this aptly named location -- it's always been windy. Ironically, on this super windy day, it was sunny and warm and relatively calm. WHITE PELICANS, CANADA GEESE and RING-NECKED DUCKS were common. I saw one DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, a handful of COMMON MERGANSERS, 2 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS and a dozen or so WILSON'S PHALAROPES.

I spent most of my afternoon on Mt. Evans where I climbed to the very peak at 14,264 feet. Well, not really, but the walk from the parking lot at 14,130 is a bitch. It was incredibly windy here, and even worse at Summit Lake. It was hard to stand up at times and the flying frozen snow hurt like hell (the car took some buffeting too, quite scary on this road with steep drop-offs and a long way down). AMERICAN PIPIT was the only vocal and visible species, they were skylarking and singing often (I saw one get blown to Denver). BROWN-CAPPED ROSY-FINCHES were downright scarce, just a couple calling along the roadside between Summit  Lake and the Summit. I spent some time at Summit Lake (in two sessions) because this is normally a good place to find the Rosy-Finches. However, at 12,800 feet, the lake is still 90% frozen and with the wind it was a lose-lose situation. I walked the trail anyway since I'm a glutton for punishment. A few hardy WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were singing.

Tomorrow I plan to visit Gunnison and Ouray as I make my way back to AZ. I picked Buena Vista, a little town along the way to spend the night. I wonder what attracts people here (other than the good views) that allows Best Western to charge more than $100/night for a room. Perhaps there's gold in them thar hills and not just Rosy-Finches.

Day list (43 species recorded):
Double-crested Cormorant, Am. White Pelican, Canada Goose, Mallard, Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Cooper's Hawk, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Rock Dove, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Red-naped Sapsucker, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Steller's Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Clark's Nutcracker, Am. Crow, Common Raven, Warbling Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, Am. Robin, House Wren, Violet-green, Barn & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Mountain Chickadee, Horned Lark, House Sparrow, Am. Pipit, Pine Siskin, Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, House Finch, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song & White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Brewer's Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Wednesday, June 25, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Buena Vista, CO-Gallup, NM
Today I tried to cram in a day of sightseeing, birding and travel to make it an easy drive home tomorrow. I birded in Gunnison Sage-Grouse territory east of Gunnison, at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (was a National Monument) and at Box Canyon Falls in Ouray; all in Colorado. I also traveled some 450 miles through sagebrush country; wide, green valleys with sweeping vistas of farmland; and a number of high mountain passes over 10,000 feet, some much higher. The day produced a good variety of species. Temperatures increased as I moved south and reached the high 80s in Farmington, NM late this afternoon, the warmest I've seen since leaving home on May 25. If it's not one thing it's another, today it was another chip in my windshield.

Although this is the absolute worst time to see Gunnison Sage-Grouse (during their breeding season), I decided that I'd poke around in appropriate habitat anyway, since it was on my route home. As I expected, I didn't see or hear any. I checked the Waunita Lek area and then spent some time on FR 802, just west of there. The habitat on the first few miles of this road was very interesting -- lots of sagebrush (of course) with some large rocky areas bordered by a nice riparian area with willow and aspen, and a few conifers on the ridges. I soon lost interest in looking for grouse and did some casual birding. BREWER'S SPARROWS and GREEN-TAILED TOWHEES were very common. I counted about 6 singing SAGE THRASHERS, a couple of which perched cooperatively but were horribly backlit. Several ROCK WRENS were singing in multiple locations and at least two DUSKY FLYCATCHERS were singing. Also present were BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, HOUSE WREN, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD, WARBLING VIREO (only takes a few Aspens!), YELLOW WARBLER and a few other common species.

I continued east towards Montrose where I visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, south rim. This was my first visit here. Although there are some impressive views, it cannot compare at all with the Grand Canyon. However, the birding was interesting and the place wasn't too crowded. I scanned for raptors and was rewarded with a soaring GOLDEN EAGLE, a COOPER'S HAWK carrying (unidentified) prey and the more mundane TURKEY VULTURES and COMMON RAVENS.  The brushy habitat on the canyon slopes looked ideal for VIRGINIA'S WARBLER and they were quite common (and surprisingly easy too see). WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS were abundant. A few WESTERN TANAGERS were singing and I also heard PLUMBEOUS VIREO and JUNIPER TITMOUSE.

I dragged through traffic southward towards Ouray with only a roadside LEWIS'S WOODPECKER as compensation. It's tempting to say "Ouray, we're here" upon arrival, but I wouldn't stoop to something so corny. This was my second visit to Box Canyon Falls  -- spectacular in their own right and a no-brainer for BLACK SWIFT. I saw two birds sitting on nests, they apparently arrived between June 11-13 this year. In 2001 when I was here before, they arrived June 18. I spent an hour trying to get a photograph but the combination of very low light and vibration of the catwalk was too much (here's a view of the falls and catwalk). Digiscoping was completely out of the question. In the end, I used my 3X converter with the camera at about 2X as a compromise between power and light, to produce this just about usable BLACK SWIFT record shot. I was quite disappointed at not being able to get a decent shot. This was the type of situation where conventional photography equipment with large objective lenses blows away digiscoping.

Now it was a long drive to Gallup, NM with few birds seen along the way. At a stop on one of the high passes with snow and talus, I heard singing WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. I saw very little else except for another LEWIS'S WOODPECKER near Durango. The habitat through the Navajo Reservation from Shiprock to Gallup is very poor and the only birds that I saw were all big and black -- no prizes for guessing correctly. A tough but enjoyable day.

Day list (51 species recorded):
Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Golden Eagle, Am. Kestrel, Rock & Mourning Doves, Black & White-throated Swifts, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Lewis's & Hairy Woodpeckers, N. Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky & Cordilleran Flycatchers, Steller's & Gray Jays, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Plumbeous & Warbling Vireos, Mountain Bluebird, Am. Robin, Sage Thrasher, European Starling, Rock & House Wrens, Violet-green & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, House Sparrow, House Finch, Virginia's, Yellow & Yellow-rumped Warblers, Song, White-crowned, Savannah, Chipping, Brewer's & Vesper Sparrows, Green-tailed & Spotted Towhees, Western Tanager, Bullock's Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird.

Thursday, June 26, 2003    Previous Day    Next Day
Gallup, NM-Sierra Vista, AZ
The traveling portion of vacation 2003 came to an end today as I drove home via the eastern edge of the White Mountains. Now I plan to relax and catch up since I haven't scheduled any work until after the upcoming holiday (after which I'm very busy in July and August). 

I left Gallup at 6:15am, picked up an hour entering Arizona, and made my first stop at Lyman Lake State Park (just north of