[wisb] Alaska Trip Report and Photos

From: Aaron Holschbach <aholschbach@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Wis Birdnet <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:43:04 -0500
My dad and I spent the past ten days exploring several areas in
Alaska, seeing lots of wildlife and enjoying some great birding.  We
flew into Anchorage on Friday 6/10, and spent our first night along
Alaska's southern coast in Seward.  We then traveled to Denali
National Park and spent the next three days in and around Denali.  On
Wednesday 6/15 we traveled back to Anchorage and caught a flight to
Nome.  We spent the next four days in Nome, and returned home today.
On our trip in Alaska we saw a total of 142 bird species and some of
our highlights are listed below.

Emperor Goose -   3 seen flying past Safety Sound near Nome
Brant -   Many near Nome
Eurasian Wigeon -   A couple at Safety Sound near Nome
Spectacled Eider -   One found at Safety Sound near Nome
Common Eider -   Many near Nome
Willow Ptarmigan -   Several near Denali and Nome
Red-throated Loon -   Many near Nome
Arctic Loon -   One at Safety Sound near Nome
Pacific Loon -   Many near Nome
Yellow-billed Loon -   One near Nome
Pacific Golden-Plover -   Several near Nome
Wandering Tattler -   Seward and Nome
Bristle-thighed Curlew -   Two near Nome
Hudsonian Godwit -   A few at Anchorage
Bar-tailed Godwit -   Several near Nome
Black Turnstone -   A few near Nome
Black-legged Kittiwake -   Many in Seward
Aleutian Tern -   Many near Nome
Parasitic Jaeger -   Many near Nome
Long-tailed Jaeger -   Many near Nome
Thick-billed Murre -   A couple found in large flock of Common Murres at Seward
Black Guillemot -   One found near Nome
Pigeon Guillemot -   Many in Sewared and a few near Nome
Marbled Murrelet -   Many in Seward
Kittlitz's Murrelet -   A couple near Seward
Am. Three-toed Woodpecker -   One near Denali
Arctic Warbler - A few near Denali and many near Nome
Bluethroat -   A few seen near Nome
Northern Wheatear -   A few seen near Nome
Eastern Yellow Wagtail -   Several seen near Nome
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch -   A few seen at Denali
Hoary Redpoll -   Many near Nome


We couldn't beleive how abundant loons were around Nome, where we
found PACIFIC, ARCTIC, RED-THROATED, and YELLOW-BILLED LOONS.  Along
with the COMMON LOONS we saw near Anchorage we had a true loon slam
for the trip!

We had some excitement yesterday morning in Nome when we found a male
SPECTACLED EIDER, and then had to chase down a van full of birders on
a birding tour.  Less than five minutes before discovering the
Spectacled we had told this tour group that we hadn't seen any of the
rare Eiders, only Common Eiders.  Luckily we were able to flag them
down and they all got views of this rare duck before it flew off.


Below are some links to some photos we took of birds and other wildlife:

Red-throated Loon
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135666704

Arctic Loon
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135624063

Yellow-billed Loon
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135666656

Harlequin Duck
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135605233

Long-tailed Jaeger
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135666717

Pacific Golden Plover
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135666764

Bar-tailed Godwit
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135666856

Am. Three-toed Woodpecker
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135605261

Arctic Warbler
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135605274

Bluethroat
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135657783
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135661007
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135666591

Northern Wheatear
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135673789

Lapland Longspur
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135624125

Grizzly Bear
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135604873

Musk Oxe
http://www.pbase.com/aholschbach/image/135660907

If anyone would like a full list or any other information about the
areas we visited in Alaska, please feel free to backchannel me.

Thanks,
Aaron Holschbach
Arena
&
Jim Holschbach
Manitowoc
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[wisb] Alaska Trip Report and Photos

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