Hi All,
I thought I would add some details about the birding prospects for the TOS trip
to Alaska planned for early June, 2017.
A few spaces are still available on this trip.
A little over a year ago, Jim Hailey told me that he would lead the trip one
more time for TOS if I would co-lead it with him, so I agreed to do it.
Jim has led the trip for 10 years and has an itinerary that allows one to see
almost all of the specialty birds of Alaska in a 2-week period. Jim refers to
this as "the trip of a lifetime," and I won't argue with that, but some who
haven't visited or birded Alaska yet or investigated the possibility of doing
so may not fully realize the number and variety of birds that our trip is
likely to encounter.
So, I have put together an annotated list of about 100 bird species that I
consider "specialty" birds of Alaska, most of which are likely to be
encountered on this trip.
A handful on this list won't be encountered on the trip because we won't be far
enough west in the Aleutians (Red-legged Kittiwake, Least Auklet, McKay's
Bunting). Another 25 or so species on the list are birds that can be seen with
some regularity in Texas, but which will be very different-looking in AK,
either because the subspecies there look very different (like Song Sparrow) or
because we will see familiar species in Alaska that look or behave differently
because they are on their high arctic breeding grounds (like Pectoral Sandpiper
and about 20 other species of breeding shorebirds, some of which will be
literally singing from the tops of whatever trees are around, and some of which
will look so different that you will find it hard to believe they are the same
species that you've seen in migration in Texas). Of the remaining 70 or so
species, about 3/4 could be seen in the Pacific Northwest at some time of year,
or the northern US in winter, but most will be easily encountered or seen in
large numbers on this trip. That leaves almost 20 species that you are
extremely unlikely to see anywhere in the US besides Alaska (16 species that
are very likely, with a handful of additional species that could occur).
So, if you have been thinking about signing on for this trip, but have
hesitated because you weren't sure there would be enough good birds in it for
you, peruse the list below, and keep in mind that Jim's Alaska trips have
typically produced about 160 total species, so the list below doesn't include
60 or more species that are routinely encountered on the trip, and a handful of
surprises, because Alaska always has a few surprises.
Annotated bird list of Alaska specialty birds in early June for locations that
will be visited by the TOS trip in 2017:
Emperor Goose - Nome - possible, but less than 50% chance
Brant - yes
Trumpeter Swan - likely, Nome or Denali Hwy
Tundra Swan - yes, Nome, and possibly Anchorage and Denali Hwy
Steller's Eider - probable at Barrow
Spectacled Eider - probable at Barrow
King Eider - yes
Common Eider - yes
Harlequin Duck - yes - Nome, and Denali Hwy
Long-tailed Duck - Barrow
Common Goldeneye - possible - Anchorage
Barrow's Goldeneye - probable - Anchorage, Denali Hwy
Spruce Grouse - possible, Anchorage, Seward, Denali Hwy
Willow Ptarmigan - probable - Nome, Denali Hwy
Rock Ptarmigan - likely - Nome, Anchorage
Red-throated Loon - yes
Arctic Loon - possible, Nome
Pacific Loon - yes
Yellow-billed Loon - Possible (50+% chance) at Barrow and at Nome
Red-necked Grebe - common and widespread
Northern Fulmar - possible, Seward boat trip
Short-tailed Shearwater - Seward - slight chance
Red-faced Cormorant - Seward
Pelagic Cormorant - Seward
Bald Eagle - yes, lots of places
Sharp-shinned Hawk - This and NOGO are the only accips
Northern Goshawk - possible, Anchorage or Denali Hwy
Rough-legged Hawk - Nome and possibly Denali Hwy
Golden Eagle - Anchorage, and possibly Nome and Denali
Gyrfalcon - Possible - Nome, Barrow or Denali Hwy
American Golden-Plover - Nome
Pacific Golden-Plover - Nome
Wandering Tattler - yes
Lesser Yellowlegs - literally singing from the trees in Nome, and Denali Hwy
Whimbrel - yes, Nome, Barrow
Bristle-thighed Curlew - Likely at Nome - we will try hard for this bird
Hudsonian Godwit - Anchorage
Bar-tailed Godwit - Nome
Red-necked Stint - possible, Nome and Barrow
Pectoral Sandpiper - males puffing their chests and hooting on breeding grounds
in Nome
Rock Sandpiper - possible, Seward
Ruff - possible
Red-necked Phalarope - Nome
Red Phalarope - stunning breeding plumage in Barrow
Bonaparte's Gull - Denali Hwy
Black-tailed Gull - twice at Nome
Mew Gull - Anchorage
Herring Gull (Vega Gull) - possibly, Nome
Thayer's Gull - possible, Anchorage
Iceland Gull - slim chance, Barrow
Slaty-backed Gull - usually in Nome
Glaucous-winged Gull - yes, Anchorage and all over
Glaucous Gull - yes
Sabine's Gull - yes, Barrow
Black-legged Kittiwake - yes
Red-legged Kittiwake - No
Ross's Gull - unlikely, Barrow (late September is best)
Ivory Gull - slim chance, Barrow
Aleutian Tern - usually in Nome
White-winged Tern - slim chance (<10%) in Nome
Arctic Tern - yes
Pomarine Jaeger - probably in Nome
Parasitic Jaeger - yes
Long-tailed Jaeger - probably in Nome, or Denali Hwy
Common Murre - Probable
Thick-billed Murre - Probable
Black Guillemot - Probable
Pigeon Guillemot - Probable
Kittlitz's Murrelet - possible on boat trip in Seward
Ancient Murrelet - Seward - boat
Parakeet Auklet - Seward - boat
Least Auklet - No
Whiskered Auklet - Unlikely
Crested Auklet - No
Rhinoceros Auklet - yes - Seward pelagic
Horned Puffin - Seward - boat
Tufted Puffin - Seward - boat
Snowy Owl - Probably in Barrow (if it's a good lemming year)
Northern Hawk Owl - Hopefully, Denali Hwy or Anchorage
Great Gray Owl - possible, Denali Hwy
Short-eared Owl - Nome, Barrow and possibly Denali Hwy
Boreal Owl - Unlikely (too late in season)
American Three-toed Woodpecker - possible
Black-backed Woodpecker - unlikely, but possible
Alder Flycatcher - yes
Northern Shrike - probably, Nome, Denali Hwy
Gray Jay - should see, Anchorage, Nome
Northwestern Crow - probably, Anchorage
Black-capped Chickadee - yes
Boreal Chickadee - Probable, Anchorage or Denali Hwy
Winter Wren - Pacific Wren
American Dipper - yes
Arctic Warbler - Probable, Barrow or Denali Hwy, they arrive around June 10,
but earlier in warmer years
Bluethroat - yes, Nome
Northern Wheatear - probable, Denali Hwy
Varied Thrush - very likely, Nome, Denali Hwy, & even Anchorage
Eastern Yellow Wagtail - yes, Nome
White Wagtail - possible, Nome or Denali Hwy
Townsend's Warbler - yes
American Tree Sparrow - yes
Fox Sparrow - yes - Sooty Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow - the big, dark Alaska types
Golden-crowned Sparrow - yes, Nome, possibly Anchorage
Lapland Longspur - "trash bird in Barrow"
Smith's Longspur - Maybe. Previously-reliable locales on our route have become
less reliable in recent years.
Snow Bunting - yes, Barrow, and probably also Nome
McKay's Bunting - unlikely
Rusty Blackbird - Probable
Common Redpoll - yes, Nome
Hoary Redpoll - yes, Barrow and Nome
So, if you have birded the Pacific Northwest on multiple occasions and the
midwest in winter, then you might "only" add 16 to 20 species to your North
American lifelist. If you have not birded those locations, however, or if you
are simply interested in the spectacle of breeding birds in the arctic, then
this could be a dream trip for you.
Let me add that Alaska is an expensive place to visit. It is big and wild and
if you can't catch your food you probably have to pay to have it shipped from a
long way away. I discovered this firsthand on my first trip to Alaska last
September. The fee for the TOS trip does include a contribution to TOS to help
fund programs like sanctuary maintenance and youth birding programs. I have
shopped around, though, and I am confident that you would be hard-pressed to
spend less for a guided tour to visit all of the places and see all of the
birds and mammals and scenery that we will see in Alaska in two weeks time. The
itinerary which Jim Hailey has worked out on his previous 10 trips really is "A
Trip of a Lifetime."
A few spaces remain for this trip.
Contact me or Jim Hailey if you have additional questions.
Additional information is on TOS's "Events" page at
<http://texasbirds.org/events.php>
Good birding ya'll,
Byron Stone, TOS President
