Kenai Fjords Boat Trip

Headed out on the 8.30am boat trip to the NW glacier. A feeding Sea Otter in the harbour was a nice way to start and we would see plenty more throughout the 9 hour excursion. What a day this was with a pod of Killer Whales showing superbly in Resurrection Bay, including a huge bull and a mother with small calf. 

Sea Otter

Loved watching these Orcas

A few Marbled Murrelets were seen, along with Horned Puffin. Then the call went up of a whale and we honed in on a couple Humpback Whales feeding and showing their tale flukes. More Humpbacks followed, as well as distant Dall’s Porpoise. 

We had a great show from numerous Humpback Whales today

The boat then guided us through some islands where Horned and Tufted Puffins were breeding and we saw both really well including some perched birds on the grassy slopes and ledges, along with a couple of Red-faced Cormorantsthat were a bonus. In fact we had numerous opportunities to get really nice looks at the puffins as well as some great photo opportunities. 

Horned Puffins everywhere......!

Tufted Puffin also showed really well today

Moving on we nailed several Rhinoceros Auklets in amongst the puffins.

Rhinoceros Auklets were seen in small numbers

We headed into another bay and to the hugely impressive NW glacier where huge boulders of ice crashed into the sea not too far away from us., seeing a Black Bear on a steep snow-covered slope en-route. A few murrelets defied positive i.d although we definitely nailed at least one of the rare Kittlitz’s Murrelet. Many Harbour Seals loafed on the icebergs broken off from the glacier. 

Harbour Seals

At the far end of the bay we spent some time admiring the scenery before heading back, seeing more Marbled Murrelets and a pod of transient Killer Whales, these ones were just visitors being of a smaller in size, with a much reduced dorsal fin and were hunting seals, as opposed to the resident Orcas who hunt fish. 

Crossing the bay, we had a surprising Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel and a Northern Fulmar before coming to more islands where thousands of Black-legged Kittiwakes were breeding, and our ship pulled in pretty close so we could get the full effect of a seabird breeding colony – including the aroma! Some Steller’s Sea Lions loafed and sunned themselves hauled out onto rocks, and shortly after we had two brief encounters with Dall’s Porpoises and more Humpback Whales showed really well. 

Arriving back in port at 5.30pm we drove out to check the hummer feeders and promptly watched a female Pine Grosbeak fly into a nearby apple tree and begin to destroy the new blossom! What great views and she fed totally oblivious to our presence. 

Pine Grosbeak is always a delight to see this well

And this was quickly followed by a couple of male Rufous Hummingbirds that also proved quite obliging, and we almost ignored a few Steller’s Jays in the neighbourhood. Driving back to the motel, some Harlequin Ducks were in the bay below the road, as well as a nice drake Barrow’s Goldeneye that was sitting on the rocky shore. What a day. Wow!

Barrow's Goldeneye

Harlequin Ducks

Anchorage - Seward

Checked out Hillside Park on the outskirts of Anchorage first thing this morning and walked around the trails finding Myrtle Warblers, Dark-eyed Junco, a singing Varied Thrush, Swainson’s Thrush, and Boreal Chickadee. We followed this with a visit to the Campbell Airstrip Trailhead where we enjoyed fine views of an American Dipper on a nest before heading back to the hotel to finish packing and head out on the drive south to Seward.

Varied Thrush

It wasn’t a long drive south, but once again the scenery was stunning. A stop at Potter Marsh produced a pair of Trumpeter Swans attending a nest, lots of Arctic Terns and Mew Gulls were nesting here, American Wigeon, Sandhill Crane, a single Red-necked Phalarope and a flyover Bald Eagle. 

Arctic Tern

This Moose was just beside the road

Moving on, we hadn’t driven far when we stopped to view a Moose with antlers. Continuing on, the road passed through a spectacular valley with snow-capped peaks and roadside lakes and a short stop for refreshments at a roadside café was much appreciated.

Barrow's Goldeneye

Sooty Fox Sparrow

At Seward we checked the shoreline of Resurrection Bay and found several Marbled Murrelets, several Pigeon Guillemots, a group of Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Harlequin Ducks, Glaucous-winged Gull, American Black Oystercatcher, and around the corner Northwestern Crow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Steller’s Jay, Alder Flycatcher, Sooty Fox Sparrow and also enjoyed watching a group of 3 Steller’s Sealions swimming just offshore.  

Farewell Barrow

With just 2 hours available to us for birding before our flight to Anchorage we checked all the usual areas and came up trumps with a group of 16 Steller’s Eiders in a roadside wetland.

Steller's Eiders

We watched them displaying, surrounded by snow and lapped up the views. The next pool held 3 pairs of King Eiders and a sleeping pair of Spectacled Eiders and both these species looked absolutely fantastic in the scope. 

This pair of Arctic Skuas (Parasitic Jaegers) showed well today

And that was our lot. As we headed back to the hotel I must admit I had a tinge of sadness at leaving the Red Phalaropes!

Loved seeing these Red Phalaropes, sometimes joined by a Red-necked Phalarope

Our flight left on time and we were soon back in Anchorage at the same hotel as before, enjoying an hour ‘off’ before visiting the nearby lake, followed by Earthquake Park and a nearby wetland. The first bird we had was a summer-plumaged Bonaparte’s Gull near the lakeshore. 

Bonaparte's Gull

Short-billed Dowitcher

A Greater Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitcher and a fantastic count of 34 Red-necked Grebes on the lake here were the best finds, along with an ‘Aleutian’ Cackling Goose.

Barrow Still....

Woke up to strong winds, light snow and some rain. It was much colder than yesterday but this inclement weather didn’t seem to deter the birds. There was much more movement today and everything felt different. We picked up a group of 16 Steller’s Eiders at one wetland, and we had a flock of what was probably 40 Spectacled Eiders flying over, plus a female Spectacled at another wetland. 

White-rumped Sandpiper

All the usual shorebirds were seen, including the same White-rumped Sandpiper as yesterday.

Steller's Eiders

After lunch, a short visit to the Information Centre/Museum, and a siesta we checked all of the same sites again. There was generally less birds present at the start, but then we found 10 Steller’s Eiders in one of the wetlands, followed by a pair of spectacular Spectacled Eiders roosting about 150m away further along the same wetland area.

Spectacled Eider - Bird of the trip right there..!!!!

In the strong winds we scoped the birds and enjoyed really great views once they woke up and began swimming around. Awesome!

Snow Bunting is extremely common around Barrow

Barrow Day 2

We were out at 7am, travelling the short network of roads that are open due to the snow and ice covering most of the surrounding tundra. As yesterday Red Phalaropes were amazing and everywhere, often beside the road and gave excellent photographic opportunities. The standout sighting was the 3 pairs of Steller’s Eiders loafing around one of the few roadside pools. We watched the males giving a short display, bobbing their heads and swimming around the females. The views in the scope were awesome! Later in the day we saw a group of 10 on a distant lake…

Will post some reasonable eider photos at a later date....

Our day comprised checking all the open roads where the tundra or pools were visible and we enjoyed fine looks at Snow Buntings, numerous Semipalmated and Pectoral Sandpipers, Sanderlings in breeding finery etc

Sanderling

Dunlin in breeding plumage - stunning

Red Phalarope

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Greater Scaup - female

Greater Scaup - drake

A walk across the tundra produced a single Buff-breasted Sandpiper that fed totally oblivious to our presence some 20 metres away.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

After lunch we had a siesta before venturing out both sides of dinner and returned to the hotel again at 11pm. There was another flight view of Snowy Owl, some showy Short-eared Owls (at least 9 sightings), a distant Bearded Seal, Long-billed Dowitcher, a fine White-rumped Sandpiper, some Red-necked Phalaropes, and several Pomarine and Arctic Skuas amongst others.

Short-eared Owl

Barrow

With just a couple of hours spare before we had to drive to the small airport for our flight to Barrow via Anchorage, we headed off along the coast road back to Safety Lagoon. A stop at Nome Point to do a short sea-watch resulted in 5 King Eiders, including a superb full adult male, 8 Horned Puffins, Pelagic Cormorants, Arctic Skua and a number of Brunnich’s Guillemots. At Safety Bridge we picked up the reported Common Sandpiper, as well as a pair of really close Harlequin Ducks that Chris initially spotted perched on the rocks right below the road. 

Harlequin Ducks

Soaking up the views as they slowly drift away and with camera shutters clicking away, it’s hard to find a better duck than this. Yet we might well have done, with the reappearance of the rare (in this area) Spectacled Eider, albeit this time two drakes are sleeping on one of the islands in the lagoon. But the early morning light makes viewing them through the scope a supreme experience and we soak up every aspect of their immaculate and rather sexy plumage. There are plenty of other birds to see that help while away our time such as Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, Red-throated Divers, Cackling Goose, a flyover Aleutian Tern, close singing Lapland Longspurs and more.

Red-throated Diver

Our flight to Barrow via Anchorage was painless and at 6pm we had arrived. After checking into our rooms we headed out into the snowy wilderness that is Barrow at this time of year, and it was totally amazing to see the Arctic Ocean under several metres of ice and snow. In fact the whole area was under a blanket of thick snow with some roads closed and I was a tad afraid we had arrived a few days too early as the thaw had yet to begin. However, there were a few open areas of marsh and water, and the ones we did find were full of Greater White-fronted Geese, as well as loads of shorebirds such as Pectoral Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Dunlins in fine breeding plumage, American Golden Plovers etc. 

Pectoral Sandpiper

Greater White-fronted Goose - the most here for many years

But the Red Phalaropes completely stole the show and seeing them for the first time resplendent in breeding finery was like ticking a new bird. 

Red Phalarope - wow!!!

We saw many of them and had our first stab at getting some photos. We also found a Tundra Bean Goose – a very rare bird in Alaska. 

Tundra Bean Goose

Oh and a male Snowy Owl flew by, briefly joining a high flying Short-eared Owl before alighting on a wall of ice where I managed to fire off a few quick shots.  

Snowy Owl

It was 11pm by the time we returned to the hotel in broad daylight….