birding-aus

Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2000 12:55:56 +1000

To: "birding-aus" <>
Subject: Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2000 12:55:56 +1000
From: "John Walter" <>
Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2000 13:14:43 +1000 (EST)
TRIP REPORT ALASKA 13-05-'00 to 02-06-'00

A Natural History Trip with Destination Management
Of Brisbane on behalf of The Friends of the Sydney Botanic Garden and
T.A.M.S. The Australian Museum Society.

16 tour members took part. Birds were not the major interest of most of the
group. The list to follow in most cases refers only to our first sighting
of the bird in Alaska, anyone wanting further information can contact us at
our address below. The list is based on Clements 'Birds of the World' using
Simon Bennett's Birdinfo program. 
In the Field we used 'Guide to the Birds of Alaska', Robert Armstrong. With
some reference to the 'Collins Birds of North America', and 'Field Guide to
Birds - Western Region' by Stokes. 
The Lonely Planet Guide for Alaska is spot on with any info. on bird
watching sites.

Species recorded.
Master checklist is Alaska, political outliers not included.

Willow Ptarmigan                     Lagopus lagopus
   Cape Nome
Tundra Swan                          Cygnus columbianus
   Safety Sound Nome
Canada Goose                         Branta canadensis
   Anchorage
Brant                                Branta bernicla
   Sitka Sound
Gadwall                              Anas strepera
   Seldovia
American Wigeon                      Anas americana
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Mallard                              Anas platyrhynchos
   Anchorage
Blue-winged Teal                     Anas discors
   Juneau
Northern Shoveler                    Anas clypeata
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Northern Pintail                     Anas acuta
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Green-winged Teal                    Anas crecca
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Canvasback                           Aythya valisineria
   Safety Sound Nome
Greater Scaup                        Aythya marila
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Lesser Scaup                         Aythya affinis
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Common Eider                         Somateria mollissima
   Safety Sound Nome
Harlequin Duck                       Histrionicus histrionicus
   Wrangell
Oldsquaw                             Clangula hyemalis
   Ketchican
Surf Scoter                          Melanitta perspicillata
   Ketchican Common 
White-winged Scoter                  Melanitta fusca
   Sitka Sound
Common Goldeneye                     Bucephala clangula
   Portage Lake
Barrow's Goldeneye                   Bucephala islandica
   Seldovia Harbour
Bufflehead                           Bucephala albeola
   Ketchican
Red-breasted Merganser               Mergus serrator
   Safety Sound Nome
Common Merganser                     Mergus merganser
   Sitka Sound
Red-necked Grebe                     Podiceps grisegena
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Red-throated Loon                    Gavia stellata
   Stikine River Wrangell
Pacific Loon                         Gavia pacifica
   Sitka Sound
Common Loon                          Gavia immer
   Sitka
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel             Oceanodroma furcata
   Kachemak Bay 1 bird only
Double-crested Cormorant             Phalacrocorax auritus
   St. Lazarius Is. Sitka Sound
Red-faced Cormorant                  Leucocarbo urile
   Gull Is. Kachemak Bay Uncommon 3 breeding pairs
Pelagic Cormorant                    Leucocarbo pelagicus
   Sitka Common
Great Blue Heron                     Ardea herodias
   Wrangell
Bald Eagle                           Haliaeetus leucocephalus
   Anchorage Very common everywhere particularly Ketchican, Juneau and
Sitka
Northern Goshawk                     Accipiter gentilis
   Stirling H/way Kenai Peninsular
Red-tailed Hawk                      Buteo jamaicensis
    Tracey Arm Fiord Juneau
Gyrfalcon                            Falco rusticolus
   Inside Passage [Peterburg to Sitka]
Peregrine Falcon                     Falco peregrinus
   Cape Nome, nesting on quarry cliff.
American Kestrel                     Falco sparverius
   Wrangell
Common Snipe                         Gallinago gallinago
   Anchorage, Potter's Marsh
Bar-tailed Godwit                    Limosa lapponica
   Cook Inlet Anchorage
Whimbrel                             Numenius phaeopus
   Safety Sound Nome
Greater Yellowlegs                   Tringa melanoleuca
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Lesser Yellowlegs                    Tringa flavipes
   Seldovia Harbour
Ruddy Turnstone                      Arenaria interpres
   Kotzebue On ice floes
Short-billed Dowitcher               Limnodromus griseus
   Gull Is. Kachemak Bay
Long-billed Dowitcher                Limnodromus scolopaceus
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Surfbird                             Aphriza virgata
   50+ Gull Is. Kachemak Bay 
Western Sandpiper                    Calidris mauri
   Fish Creek Anchorage
Red-necked Stint                     Calidris ruficollis
   Iced over lake Kotzebue
Least Sandpiper                      Calidris minutilla
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Pectoral Sandpiper                   Calidris melanotos
   Fish Creek Anchorage
Dunlin                               Calidris alpina
   Iced Lake Kotzebue Also 1 bird with Surfbirds at Gull Is. Kachemak Bay
Red-necked Phalarope                 Phalaropus lobatus
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage
Black Oystercatcher                  Haematopus bachmani
   Sitka
American Golden Plover               Pluvialis dominica
   Iced Lake Kotzebue
Grey Plover                          Pluvialis squatarola
   Sand Banks Juneau
Semipalmated Plover                  Charadrius semipalmatus
   Anchorage, Nesting on Tundra Nome
Pomarine Jaeger                      Stercorarius pomarinus
   Homer Kachemak Bay
Long-tailed Jaeger                   Stercorarius longicaudus
   Kotzebue flying over ice floes. At Nome in Tundra or shigle beach areas.
Mew Gull                             Larus canus
   Anchorage
Ring-billed Gull                     Larus delawarensis
   Wrangell
Glaucous-winged Gull                 Larus glaucescens
   Sitka
Glaucous Gull                        Larus hyperboreus
   Kotzebue
Herring Gull                         Larus argentatus
   Anchorage
Bonaparte's Gull                     Larus philadelphia
   Anchorage
Black-legged Kittiwake               Rissa tridactyla
   Gull Is. Kachemak Bay, nesting in thousands
Arctic Tern                          Sterna paradisaea
   Juneau, breeding Sawyer Glacier Tracey Arm
Common Murre                         Uria aalge
   Sitka Common thousands Gull Is. Katchemak Bay
Pigeon Guillemot                     Cepphus columba
   Wrangell Common
Marbled Murrelet                     Brachyramphus marmoratus
   Wrangell
Kittlitz's Murrelet                  Brachyramphus brevirostris
   Homer Kachemak Bay
Rhinoceros Auklet                    Cerorhinca monocerata
   Sitka Sound
Horned Puffin                        Fratercula corniculata
   Gull Is Kachemak Bay 3 only
Tufted Puffin                        Fratercula cirrhata
   Sitka about 20 Gull Is. Kachemak Bay
Rock Dove                            Columba livia
   Anchorage Common all towns excetp Arctic
Black Swift                          Cypseloides niger
   Wrangell, Stikine River only one sighting
Rufous Hummingbird                   Selasphorus rufus
   Juneau Bob Armstrongs house feeding at a Nectar feeder outside his
lounge window. Common in most towns up the Inside Passage feeding on
Salmonberry flowers
Belted Kingfisher                    Megaceryle alcyon
   Wrangell, Stikine River
Red-breasted Sapsucker               Sphyrapicus ruber
   Sitka Starrigavan Recreation Area 
Three-toed Woodpecker                Picoides tridactylus
   Homer Museum Nature Walk trail. Centre for Alaska Coastal Studies
Kachemak Bay
Steller's Jay                        Cyanocitta stelleri
   West Chester Lakes Anchorage and Ward Lake trail Ketchican
Black-billed Magpie                  Pica pica
   Anchorage
Northwestern Crow                    Corvus caurinus
   Anchorage
Common Raven                         Corvus corax
   Ketchican
American Pipit                       Anthus rubescens
   Seldovia
Pine Siskin                          Carduelis pinus
   Seldovia 1 bird only hard to see
Common Redpoll                       Carduelis flammea
   Portage Lake
Pine Grosbeak                        Pinicola enucleator
   Homer 1 bird only hard to see
Orange-crowned Warbler               Vermivora celata
   Kenai Peninsular
Yellow Warbler                       Dendroica petechia
   Wrangell Stikine River
Yellow-rumped Warbler                Dendroica coronata
   Portage Lake
Townsend's Warbler                   Dendroica townsendi
   Wrangell
Wilson's Warbler                     Wilsonia pusilla
   Wrangell
Fox Sparrow                          Passerella iliaca
   Wrangell
Song Sparrow                         Melospiza melodia
   Wrangell
Lincoln's Sparrow                    Melospiza lincolnii
   Ketchican
White-crowned Sparrow                Zonotrichia leucophrys
   Anchorage
Golden-crowned Sparrow               Zonotrichia atricapilla
   Homer Calling everywhere from tree tops
Dark-eyed Junco                      Junco hyemalis
   Anchorage
Savannah Sparrow                     Passerculus sandwichensis
   On harbour sea wall Wrangell
Brown Tree-Creeper                   Certhia americana
   Homer
Winter Wren                          Troglodytes troglodytes
   Juneau
Tree Swallow                         Tachycineta bicolor
   Ketchican
Violet-green Swallow                 Tachycineta thalassina
   Potter's Marsh Anchorage
Bank Swallow                         Riparia riparia
   Potter's Marsh Anchorage
Barn Swallow                         Hirundo rustica
   Wrangell
Cliff Swallow                        Pertochelidon pyrrhonota
   Halibut Cove nesting in eaves of buildings
Ruby-crowned Kinglet                 Regulus calendula
   Sitka Very hard to see calling from Sitka Spruce
Chestnut-backed Chickadee            Poecile rufescens
   Sitka
American Dipper                      Cinclus mexicanus
   Ketchican 2 adults feeding 3 chicks under bride over "The Creek"
Varied Thrush                        Ixoreus naevia
   Sitka We found all the thrushes very hard to see in dense Spruce or
Hemlock
Gray-cheeked Thrush                  Catharus minimus
   Seldovia on Otterbahn Trail
Swainson's Thrush                    Catharus ustulatus
   Wrangell
Hermit Thrush                        Catharus guttatus
   Seldovia Otterbahn Trail
American Robin                       Turdus migratorius
   Ketchican Most common and easiest seen thrush everywhere
Common Starling                      Sturnus vulgaris
   Wrangell Not common
117 species


John & Ruth Walter,
PO Box180,
Pittsworth,
Queensland,
Australia 4356.
Phone 07 4693 1487
Fax 07 4693 1469
E-mail 

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