Greetings all,
 
Both Seward Bramblings were seen today,Jan 1st, at the Lowell point area.  The
White and Golden-Crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and  Song sparrow were also
seen with the Bramblings.Other nice winter birds today include Rusty
Blackbirds,Yellow-billed Loon,and Black Scoters.
 
Joe Staab   ravenshavenbandb
Seward AK

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mossy Kilcher, Osi and I Had a Mountain Bluebird and 2 Cedar Waxwings with
200-300 Robins along Fernwood off East End Road today.
Dave Sonneborn

Sent from my iPhone

From Dave Erikson.

Christmas Bird Count Count Date: December 15, 2012
Homer, Alaska Count Code: AKHO
Species Total Species Total

Greater Scaup 15 		 Great Horned Owl 6
Steller's Eider CW 		 Downy Woodpecker 12
Harlequin Duck 15 		 Hairy Woodpecker 2
Surf Scoter 46 			 Northern Flicker 1
White‐winged Scoter 21 	 Gray Jay 23
Black Scoter 145 		 Steller's Jay 17
Long‐tailed Duck 101 		 Black‐billed Magpie 98
Bufflehead 29 			 Northwestern Crow 983
Common Goldeneye 113 	 Common Raven 312
Barrow's Goldeneye CW 	 Black‐capped Chickadee 177
Common Merganser 4 		 Boreal Chickadee 32
Red‐breasted Merganser 1 	 Red‐breasted Nuthatch 43
Ring‐necked Pheasant 7 	 Brown Creeper 2
Pacific Loon 3 			 American Dipper 1
Common Loon 4 		 Golden‐crowned Kinglet 11
Yellow‐billed Loon 1 		 Ruby‐crowned Kinglet 2
Horned Grebe CW 		 American Robin 10
Red‐necked Grebe 3 		 Varied Thrush 1
Pelagic Cormorant 49 		 Bohemian Waxwing 305
Northern Shrike 1 		 American Tree Sparrow 8
Bald Eagle Adult 140 		 Song Sparrow 3
	 Juvenile 96 		 White‐crowned Sparrow 8
Sharp‐shinned Hawk 1 		 Golden‐crowned Sparrow 12
Northern Goshawk 6 		 Dark‐eyed (Oregon) Junco 1
Rock Sandpiper 4 		  Dark‐eyed (Slate‐colored) Junco 78
Mew Gull 17 			 Gray‐crowned Rosy‐Finch 51
Herring Gull 10 			 Pine Grosbeak 195
Glaucous‐winged Gull 182 	 White‐winged Crossbill 209
Pigeon Guillemot 2 		 Common Redpoll 105
Marbled Murrelet 3 		 Pine Siskin 81
	 murrelet sp 2 		 Unid small finches 105
Common Murre 8
Rock Pigeon 104

					 Grand Total 4027
					 Total Species 57
CW = Seen on count week

The Homer Christmas Bird Count I submitted had the columns separated.  Sorry
about that!  I do not know how to retract and fix this.  If anyone could help,
please do.

Dave Sonneborn , Osi Kaspi and I saw a mountain bluebird about 6 miles
E. End Rd, today , there were also a Cedar waxwing with the big flock
of about 200+ Robins  feasting all over in  the groves of Mayday trees.

Other birds seen were Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, a Goshawk, and 150
redpolls.

At Seaside Farm there are about 20 White Crnd Sparrows, 3 Golden Crns.
and 1 Tree Sparrow. ON Dec 28 a flock of about 12 Bohemian Waxwings.
A dead moose near the beach is attracting quite a flock of corvids and
eagles.
Mossy Kilcher

Dear friends and birders,

Count week ended for us yesterday, January 1st, 2013 on a rare 'blue sky day' in
the Aleutians.  A very Happy New Year to everyone!

We held our count on Saturday, December 29th 2012.  We had 33 counters ( 25
adults and 8 kids) in 12 parties afield and one feeder watch.  We covered a
combined thirty one miles by foot, car, kayak and skiff and spent a combined
twenty nine hours chasing birds.   Our decent morning weather deteriorated into
a miserable cold rain, with temps rising from 35 to 38 F, but the wind didn't
pick up more than 20 knots out of the NE.  We had about a foot of snow on the
ground, with the lakes partly frozen.

We had a very successful count, and tallied 47 species on count day with 3
additional seen during count week.  (Our highest was count was Dec. 2009 with 51
count day and 4 count week species).  The low clouds and rain made visibility
poor, but the lack of wind had the big waterfowl and sea duck flocks fairly
stationary, except in Captain's Bay where hunters had things stirred up for a
while.

Here are the results, followed by a few notes.  ( CW=count week)


Emperor Goose 	 1,522
Mallard 			 15
Green-winged Teal  166
Canvasback 	 2
Tufted Duck 	 3  ( one male, two females!)
Greater Scaup 	 332
Steller's Eider 	 225
King Eider 	  CW
Harlequin Duck  1,275
White-winged Scoter 390
Black Scoter 	 855
scoter,sp.  		 27
Long-tailed Duck  254
Bufflehead 	 34
Common Goldeneye  40
Common Merganser  20
Red-breasted Merganser 75
Common Loon 	 10
Horned Grebe 	 5
Double-crested Cormorant  3
Red-faced Cormorant 2
Pelagic Cormorant  176
cormorant,sp.                   57
Bald Eagle 	 533
Sharp-shinned Hawk CW
Merlin 		 1
Peregrine 		 1
Rock Ptarmigan  40
Black Oystercatcher  10
Rock Sandpiper  151
Mew Gull 		 315
Glaucous-winged Gull 293
Glaucous Gull 	 1
Black-legged Kittiwake 10
gull. sp. 			 341
Common Murre  4
Pigeon Guillemot  124
Marbled Murrelet  3
Belted Kingfisher  1
Northern Shrike  CW
Common Raven  323
Pacific Wren 	 1
American Dipper  5
American Tree Sparrow 2  (plus another during CW!)
Fox Sparrow 	 1
Song Sparrow 	 27
Golden-crowned Sparrow   1   (plus another during CW)
Dark-eyed Junco  1
	 (Slate-colored type)
Snow Bunting 	 1
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch  110
Common Redpoll  11
Pine Siskin 	 10


Thanks to sharp-eyed counters we got a few noteworthy species!  The two
Canvasbacks on Unalaska Lake were exciting and only the second time we've had
them on a CBC.  The three Tufted Ducks, also on Unalaska Lake, are almost ( but
not quite) getting to be old hat.  We have had Tufted Ducks on ten of the last
eleven counts in a row!  The count week King Eider is a handsome guy, and it's
always good to see those.  Murre numbers were ridiculously low, but they are
notorious for widely fluctuating numbers, I'm guessing due to weather and feed
conditions.  For example, in 2001 we counted 3, and the following year, 2002, we
had 4,067. At the same time, our Pigeon Guillemot count was about on average,
and probably falsely low, as quite a few counters mentioned they were hard to
see out there, blending into the gray on count day.  The American Tree Sparrows
were a first for our CBC, and apparently have stuck around since they were first
seen on December 15th.  The long shot was finding the same two birds in the
willows at the head of Captain's Bay (pure luck!) and then hearing about another
at a feeder up the valley.  The Dark-eyed Junco and the Golden-crowned Sparrows
are 'casuals' for us.  Our usually abundant Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches have been
noticably scarse around town, but their numbers added up across the count
circle.  Lack of heavy snow cover prior to count day may be the reason, as
recent flurries have them showing up at feeders now.  We also only saw ONE Snow
Bunting.

Here's to New Birds in the New Year!

Suzi

The bluebird is on Waterman with a small group of Robins in a dense group of
choke cherries
D Sonneborn
Homer

Sent from my iPhone

I checked the choke cherries this afternoon with Mossy
No bluebird but 5 Cedar Waxwings
I think there is a single large flock of Robins which we saw yesterday on
Fernwood. I counted 150 feeding in a field. There were many more still up in the
surrounding trees and the total is probably 300
Sparrows were spread out because of the warm weather
Dave Sonneborn

Sent from my iPhone

When Bob & I got back from Anchorage late afternoon Wednesday, we had 2
interesting messages on our answering machine.

A neighbor reported a Great Gray Owl perched on the trees at edge of  the field
most of the day. Off of Republican Rd in Butte

A friend has mentioned several times that a group of swans have been hanging out
on Inner Springer Loop in Palmer all fall. He called today to let me know they
are still there.

Last year we had a Great Gray Owl dine regularly on voles under our bird feeders
for several weeks. We'll keep an eye on the feeders to see if it returns here.
Charlie

Got a wonderful visit by a Great Gray Owl today at my brother's house in the
Butte, near Palmer. We first saw him sitting on the ground, as he snatched up a
small animal (mouse? vole?) and ate it in one gulp. Then he flew up into a low
hanging brach, about 6 ft off the ground, and sat there for the rest of the day.
He flew off at dusk.  A wonderful finish to my trip up here!

I want to thank all of the birders who emailed me in response to my initial
query, and special thanks to trapperdan and dave s who were kind enough to take
me out to look for some interesting birds.  I'll hopefully be back this spring,
and get to see much more!!

Ashley M
Chapel Hill, NC

Just wanted to pass along the information for this upcoming field trip.
Happy New Year to all!

Aaron Bowman
Anchorage

*Seward Winter Field Trip*

*Date and Time: Saturday, February 23rd, 10:00AM. *

*Location: Meet in front of the Seward Harbormaster's restrooms, located
at the south end of the small boat harbor.*

Join Aaron Bowman and others for a winter birding excursion to soak up
Seward's great diversity of wintering birds.  Come prepared for a cold
windy day with great birds.

Bring your binoculars, spotting scope (if you have one) and other
favorite birding gear. Plan on a short lunch break in town where you can
eat a packed lunch or at a local cafe.  You may also wish to bring
walki-talkies to communicate between cars, or donations of sunflower
bird seed for one of our regular feeder stops provided by a local birder.

Please consider carpooling as much as possible to Seward and while
birding there.  If you are interested in carpooling from Anchorage, meet
in the parking lot (South end, near Huffman) of Carrs on Huffman at 7:15AM.

There will be no reschedule date for this trip.

Contact Aaron Bowman at ampbowman@... <mailto:ampbowman@...>
or 907-343-9947 for any questions.

Seward Sporadic Bird Report

Finally! The slanting sleet stopped! Today was calm and foggy, very mysterious
and alluring. The birds seemed to be everywhere, eating and calling, no doubt
even more happy than I for the respite.

I set my camera ISO to a ridiculous setting of 3500 as an experiment and was
quite amazed to be able to shoot birds in flight in the dim light.

At the beach, about 40-50 SNOW BUNTINGS flew back and forth, landing briefly to
eat gravel, then shot off again. BUFFLEHEADS dove. Two adult and one juvenile
BALD EAGLE perched on stumps, watching for opportunity to knock.  Two RAVENS
showed off their aerial acrobatics, tucking one wing to flip, then fly in
synchrony, all at top speed.

I followed the webbed footprints of a herd of dabbling ducks, probably MALLARDS
or GADWALL, up the bank and into the snow where they walked around, leaving an
interesting pattern of tracks accented by green, plant-based poop. I have never
seen dabblers poop like geese, but it must be an equally quick turn-around!

A DIPPER sat forlornly on the snow above an opening in a salmon stream. I hope
he found something good to eat!

Back home, I enjoyed an amazing yard bird show from 2:40 to 3 pm as the birds
fueled up for the long night. A male DOWNY WOODPECKER "peeked" and tapped away
on an old willow truck festooned with red jelly fungus and green lichens.

A large flock of melodious PINE GROSBEAKS plucked ice-festooned Mt Ash berries
and worked them around in their beaks, spitting out the pulp. Several DARK-EYED
JUNCOS joined them, also enjoying the frozen fruits. A busy SONG SPARROW (where
were you for the CBC?) hopped up on a branch and then explored the deck, with a
comment or two before flying off.

Seven ROBINS sat in another Mt Ash tree, preening. I even heard one robin sing
its sweet spring song, "cheer up, cheerio!"  A flock of about 40 BOHEMIAN
WAXWINGS churred overhead and landed at the top of a spruce before descending
like a cloud into the Mt Ash berry feast. What a magnet for birds!

BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES complained and RAVENS croaked at the juvenile BALD EAGLE
sitting on a branch, hanging its wings out to dry. Two adult eagles circled
overhead; one landed briefly in my spruce.

Tiny CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES found a suet feeder that had fallen during the
recent windstorm, and pecked away at the remaining fats. COMMON REDPOLLS and
PINE SISKINS chattered overhead in small mixed flocks, then landed to glean
tidbits from the now exposed grass under the spruce trees. The ever-present
STELLER'S JAYS flew back and forth, hauling peanuts to new hiding places in the
dead leaves.

Despite the foggy, gray skies, it was a marvelous, birdy, January day!

Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
for photos, please visit my blog at < http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com/>
http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com/

Dear friends and birders,

Yesterday, January 4th, 2013, at the Dutch Harbor Spit, there was a huge
concentration of birds at the outfall.  There's been nothing happening there
recently so this was well worth a look.  Most amazing was a conservative count
of 1,100 Long-tailed Ducks!  This has to be the biggest flock of LTDU I've seen
here.  Our high count on an Unalaska CBC is 478 in 2001, so this flock alone
more than doubles that.   We counted only 254 on December 29, less than week
ago, so its interesting to see how things can change in the area.  I also got a
nice report yesterday of a Wilson's Snipe near Summer Bay Lake, a bird we missed
on our CBC and always a rare treat during the winter.


Suzi

Walking up upper gasline trail near Spencer Loop ski trail crossing in Hillside
Park we encountered at least 5-6 large woodpeckers flying, calling, and
territorial drumming--some alternating on the same birch snag.  When we sorted
them out, we had at least one Black-backed, at least one Three-toed, and at
least two Hairy's!
(Trail VERY icy, creepers and poles recommended)
Pat Pourchot and Jennifer Johnson
Anchorage

My dog and I did two laps at University Lake this afternoon.  A winter plumage
Common Loon was on the lake among the Mallards by the east bridge for the first
lap but gone by the time we made it back for the second one.


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Happy New Year Fellow Birders,

Today Hubby and I went out in the skiff to run the trap line in between slush
showers.  Tide was low starting to come up.  BARROW'S GOLDEN-EYE'S were hanging
out as usual under the ferry dock.  HARLEQUIN DUCKS in small groups around the
pop kelp covered rocks. Flushed a pretty big flock of MALLARDS. Turned into one
small cove out of the wind and surprised a GREAT BLUE HERON, COMMON MERGANSER,
four SURF SCOTERS, and another group of HARLEQUINS AND B GOLDEN-EYES.    Towards
the back of the bay there was a lone humpback whale being followed by a group of
hopeful PELAGIC CORMORANTS, a single COMMON LOON and a MARBLED MURRLET.  BALD
EAGLES were perched on top of the spruces and on the buoys waiting for
opportunities.     The village flock of CROWS were split, some cleaning up where
the rain had melted stuff out of the snow around the houses, the others out on
the low tide rocks looking for seafood goodies.  STELLER'S JAYS AND
CHESTNUT-BACKED
  CHICKADEES visiting my feeder all day.


A few days ago I was treated to the sight of about 1,000 PINE SISKINS descend
for a few moments on my front yard. 

 
Happy Birding,

Kate


Kate McLaughlin

McLaughlin Environmental Services
PO Box 8043
Chenega Bay, Alaska 99574
907/573-2006
www.akenvironmentalservices.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Aaron Bowman tipped me off about a possible Hoary Redpoll on Government
Hill, so me and my girlfriend went on a search on Saturday.  We re-found the
bird.  It was definitely lighter than all the rest with clear unmarked undertail
and lower rump.  I'm going out on a limb here by saying that it is  totally
probably possibly a likely candidate for maybe being a Hoary Redpoll, and I'll
stand by that ID.
      Also found 2 imm. White-crowned Sparrows at the same location, near Manor
and Degan.
Year list up to 6!!  WoooHooo!

w keys
Spenard

I have just gotten two reports of BRAMBLING.

One has been coming to a feeder occasionally since early December, but only a
positive identification this week with more frequent visits.  It has been in
with a flock of juncos each time. This feeder is just off the Highway on Mt.
Augustine Drive which is south of the Baycrest Overlook area.

The other report is from Bette Seaman on Bay Ave., where two BRAMBLING have been
coming since December 24th but only positively identified now.  Bay Avenue is
just above the Mariner Park Lagoon and Lighthouse Village Observation Platform.

I had another call from my friend late yesterday afternoon that there are still
a couple of swans on Inner Springer. He doesn't know whether they are trumpeter
or tundra. But he sees them almost daily as he goes by.

Turning onto Inner Springer from the Glenn Hwy at the big church there - the
swans have been in a field on the right about 1/4 mile up.

They have been feeding on a bale of hay there, but he is getting a little
worried about how much feed they are getting and what their condition is.

No sign of the Great Gray Owl that Ashley spotted in our neighborhood. She did
get some good pictures though.
Charlie
Palmer

Next Thursday, The Anchorage Audubon monthly program is an ultimate
extravaganza of Winter Birding in Anchorage.  We are totally honored that Buzz
Scher will give us a rundown of our local Christmas Bird Counts over the years. 
What Birds were here this year?  What birds have been here in the past?  What
trends make sense?  What trends don't make sense?   It's a fabulous chance to
get tuned in to what's happening in our own local bird population.
	 Buzz Scher been awarded the honor of being a birding genius by the Official
American Board of Birding Geniuses.  He has compiled  the Alaska results for the
"American Birds" national CBC publication for 13 years, and this is a perfect
opportunity to get an inside glimpse into the birds we see every day during the
winter.
	 Are Redpolls up or down?  How fast is the Starling population exploding?  Are
more Robins wintering over now than previously?  Anchorage has one of the
highest number of Christmas Bird Count participants of any city in the United
States, and Thursday's meeting will be the best presentation we've ever had in
Anchorage on what the CBC has shown us over the years.
	 Don't miss next Thursday night!   January 17 at 7:00 pm in the BP Energy
Center.  And of course, cookies will be served.

Here's the list I submitted to eBird:

Chris Maack
Anchorage

> --
> Chester Creek Bragaw to L. Otis, Anchorage, US-AK
> Jan 7, 2013 10:40 AM - 11:50 AM
> Protocol: Traveling
> 2.0 mile(s)
> Comments:     Temperature 19 degrees, no wind
> 11 species
>
> Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  5
> Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  2
> Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)  1
> Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  5
> Common Raven (Corvus corax)  5
> Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  8
> Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)  1
> American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus)  1
> American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  12
> Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)  20
> Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea)  12
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Birders,

Since we had a single "swan sp." during our Mat. Valley CBC Count Week, I
decided to see if I could find the Palmer area swans that Charlie Sartor has
posted about on this site.   Drove down Inner Springer Loop and found the large
field on the right, about a quarter mile from the Glenn Hwy., but I didn't see
any swans nor any hay bales on the field, but did see a car parked on the right
side of the road, about 1000 yards ahead of me.  Drove up to see if it was a
birder, and it turned out to be Charlie.

She said that she hadn't seen the swans either, but as we were discussing the
situation, we noticed a single bale/roll of hay way back over against the right
side of the field.  When we put our binoculars on it, we could see several swans
next to the bale.  I set up my scope and, because of the distance from the swans
(about a 1000 yards), I had to crank up the eyepiece to 50X.  I checked over
several of the swans and at least two of them appeared to be Tundra Swans. 
Those two both had yellow patches near their eyes and the feathering pattern at
the top of their beaks were rounded rather than pointed.  Also, the edges of the
feathering pattern around the eyes were very close to the eyes, not open like
Trumpeters.  I didn't get a chance to get a close look at the rest of the swans.

Charlie had to leave and just after she left, I decided to see if I could turn
my car around and get a closer look at the swans.  However, even though I was at
least 1000 yards away, as soon as I turned the car around and headed back toward
the Glenn Hwy., the swans all stood up and immediately took off.  Given the
distance, I was surprised at how skittish they were.  I counted them as they
took off and there were nine swans in the group.  A couple of them had grayish
plumage and appeared to be immature.

I may give it another try tomorrow!
Cheers,
Bob Winckler
Wasilla

The Third Annual Yakutat Tern Festival is scheduled for May 30-June 2 2013.  The
festival is a celebration of the natural and cultural resources of Yakutat,
Alaska.  Yakutat hosts one of the largest and southern most known nesting
colonies of Aleutian Terns, as well Arctic Terns and up to 200 other bird
species that nest or migrate through the area.  The festival is family friendly
and offers activities for birders as well as non-birders, including field trips,
seminars, evening banquets and other programs, bird banding demonstration, and
an art show. This year's keynote speakers are anthropologists Richard and Nora
Dauenhauer.  Other area activities include sight-seeing, hiking, fishing,
surfing, canoeing and kayaking, and beach-combing.  Please see
www.yakutatternfestival.org, visit us on Facebook, or call (907) 784-3359 for
more information.

Thanks to Pat Pourchot and Jennifer Johnson's report of their great
woodpecker day at the Hilltop, I headed there directly after work. Along
the upper gasline trail I came across a group of at least 10 Gray Jays,
a very territorial Hairy Woodpecker that seemed to take issue with my
being there, a NORTHERN SHRIKE, many Redpolls and a few White-winged
Crossbills calling as they flew above.

I decided to walk back on the Spencer Loop towards the downhill slopes,
which is now clear of skiers as it is not in good skiing condition but
evidently it is not usually OK to walk.  Near the ski slope (Just above
the ski slope parking area) I heard a sharp pik pik call that I thought
sounded suspicious of a Black-backed.  Sure enough I soon had a good
view of a female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER with its glossy black back.  It
dazzled me for a few brief moments then flew off into the darkening forest.

Aaron Bowman
Anchorage

Aarrgh!  Mike and I went up the gasline around noon and found no
woodpeckers.  Of course, we should have just called Aaron instead.  Then
we went over to Government Hill where we did see the probable Hoary
Redpoll when it showed up at the feeder area after about a 20 min.
wait.  A couple BC Chickadees were hanging out there, but the redpoll
was otherwise alone.  The undertail coverts did look completely white to
us, but the streaking on the flanks was pretty prominent.  It didn't
seem to extend very as far posterior as the Commons though.   Louann
Feldmann

On 1/7/2013 5:37 PM, Aaron Bowman wrote:
>
> Thanks to Pat Pourchot and Jennifer Johnson's report of their great
> woodpecker day at the Hilltop, I headed there directly after work. Along
> the upper gasline trail I came across a group of at least 10 Gray Jays,
> a very territorial Hairy Woodpecker that seemed to take issue with my
> being there, a NORTHERN SHRIKE, many Redpolls and a few White-winged
> Crossbills calling as they flew above.
>
> I decided to walk back on the Spencer Loop towards the downhill slopes,
> which is now clear of skiers as it is not in good skiing condition but
> evidently it is not usually OK to walk. Near the ski slope (Just above
> the ski slope parking area) I heard a sharp pik pik call that I thought
> sounded suspicious of a Black-backed. Sure enough I soon had a good
> view of a female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER with its glossy black back. It
> dazzled me for a few brief moments then flew off into the darkening
> forest.
>
> Aaron Bowman
> Anchorage
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Seward, Alaska Sporadic Bird Report

Sunrise 9:56 am, sunset 4:12 pm, length of day 6 hours, 16 minutes; tomorrow
will be 3 minutes and 2 seconds longer.

Weather: Practically balmy today, up to 38º, cloudy and calm. I was sorry to
miss the brief thunder and lightning this morning around 6:30 am; we rarely get
such a collision of fronts. Our recent snow showers top-coated the ground with a
white crust, and cloaked the surrounding mountains in sparkling white splendor.
Just after noon, the sun peeked out from behind a dense gray blanket as the
perpetual precipitation hose spritzed out just enough sprinkles to generate a
small but brilliant rainbow. Quite a treat!

At dusk yesterday, a NORTHERN GOSHAWK showed up in the 'hood, looking hungrily
at all the well-fed feeder birds, but it flew off without supper.

Today, First Lake behind AVTEC fairly buzzed with bird activity. WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILLS sang from the spruce tops, COMMON REDPOLLS and PINE SISKINS flocked
between the cottonwoods and the bare ground under the spruces. BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS
churred and PINE GROSBEAKS sang then fluttered down to feast on snow-capped Mt
Ash berries. CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES and DARK-EYED JUNCOS chipped and called
from the smaller spruces. A few ROBINS clustered cautiously nearby.

Although I already have a lot of photos of the Pine Grosbeaks, I couldn't resist
taking a few more as first a female then a gorgeous male leaned down, such a
gracefully curved neck! what a nicely patterned back! to reach yet another red
berry. It was so interesting to watch them work the pulp off of the desired
seed. The male had red berry juice all down his front. It was tough to leave!

Over by the Waterfront Park, a small flock of SNOW BUNTINGS flew out from the
beach rye along the bike path. The lone hybrid GLAUCOUS-WINGED X HERRING GULL
perched on the pilings. SURF SCOTERS, BARROWS-GOLDENEYES, HARLEQUINS, PELAGIC
CORMORANTS, and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS paddled just off shore in the calm bay
while a nonchalant sea otter steamed backwards.

The recent storms washed up a lot of debris including a tropical-looking red
alder tree, its trunk fairly glowing, warm reddish-orange against the snowy
beach. I found a plank with two neat circles and made a little beach person,
waving hello. Fun at the beach!

I was fortunate to get a photo of a COMMON MERGANSER hen when she circled right
overhead, looking for her relations. A bit later, an adult BALD EAGLE flew
purposefully past, too close to fit in the frame. I was glad that the new puppy
was safely snuggled away.

All in all, another beautiful day in Seward!

Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
for photos please go to <http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com>
http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com

A flock of about 25-30 REDPOLLs visited my front yard bird feeder on Monday
morning at 10:30. It is filled with chipped sunflower seeds.  The birds were
quite active, flitting about from the lilac bush, to feeder, to ground and back
to the lilac. I could see other birds in the neighbor's trees, but could not
tell what they were. The birds stayed about 20 minutes. Sure was nice to see
them - first time this winter.

Pamela Eldridge
Anchorage, Old Seward south of Huffman

This morning at near-dawn twilight when I let the dog out (9:30), I heard a
single CHICKADEE singing a one note "CHICK - A - DEE" song that I only hear in
the spring. Is it usual for them to sing this song in January at 28 degrees? Or
is my memory off by a few months?? Thanks in advance for any replies. Maybe the
dark mornings are getting to me!

Pamela Eldridge
south Anchorage, Old Seward south of Huffman

RED POLLs are back at the feeder for day two. Nice to hear their chattering
outside the window.
 
Pam Eldridge

From: "louannf@..." <louannf@...>
To: Pam <pam@...>
Sent: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 9:58 AM
Subject: Re: [AK Birding] Redpolls - first of the winter

Glad to read this Pam. I've certainly been missing the Redpolls and have
wondered if their natural food supply has just been more plentiful. Although if
so I'd at least expect to see more flocks flying even if not at the feeders.
Louann Feldmann
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone powered by ACS!
From: "Pam" <pam@...>
Sender: AKBirding@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2013 08:14:02 -0000
To: <AKBirding@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [AK Birding] Redpolls - first of the winter
 
A flock of about 25-30 REDPOLLs visited my front yard bird feeder on Monday
morning at 10:30. It is filled with chipped sunflower seeds. The birds were
quite active, flitting about from the lilac bush, to feeder, to ground and back
to the lilac. I could see other birds in the neighbor's trees, but could not
tell what they were. The birds stayed about 20 minutes. Sure was nice to see
them - first time this winter.

Pamela Eldridge
Anchorage, Old Seward south of Huffman




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Birders,

After spooking the flock of swans in the Palmer hay field yesterday, I went back
today to see if I could get a good ID on all of the birds.  Today I stayed in
the car and scoped from the window.

All 9 are Tundra Swans, with 6 adults and 3 immature birds in the group.  They
have been feeding from a large roll of hay in a field just off of Inner Springer
Loop.  Heading towards Palmer on the Glenn Hwy., make a right on Inner Springer
Loop and the hay field with the swans is 3/10's of a mile on the right side of
the road.  Just a you reach the field, there's a large green garage on the right
and the hay field opens up just as you pass the garage.  Just after passing the
garage you should see a single large roll of hay about 500 yards back from the
road.  The swans are usually clustered around that hay roll.

A local resident who lives on Outer Springer Loop and who called in a swan
sighting during the Matanuska Valley CBC's Count Week, stated that these swans
have been hanging out in that field since last fall.

To my knowledge, this is the first winter record for Tundra Swan in the
Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Cheers,
Bob Winckler
Wasilla