Welcome to Alaska! The Grand Frontier! Get ready for a great time out on the…wait, what? We’re not going there? It’s closed? COVID rears its ugly head again. Let’s spin the wheel of fortune and see where it takes us. Fairbanks it is! Such was the start of the second 2022 Field Guides Tour to Alaska. Where’s Micah? Well about that. I’d like to introduce you all to Cory Gregory, who is stepping in for Micah until he feels better and can make it to Alaska. But seriously, Fairbanks turned out to pretty fine. Better than fine in some ways. That Boreal Owl was AMAZING! It had been so long since I had seen my last one, and it was a lifer for some of us. And along with it were a lot of fine birds. Willow Ptarmigan, Yellow-bellied and Hammond’s flycatchers. That Horned Grebe was stunning in breeding plumage, and wow, Rusty Blackbird, Townsend's Warbler, etc. Bohemian Waxwings were sweet too.
Once we had had our fill of Fairbanks and swapped out Cory for Micah, we headed south to Denali National Park and the Denali Highway. The scenic highway revealed a few marvelous birds including Northern Hawk Owl, Arctic Warbler, American Three-toed and Black-backed woodpeckers, Barrow’s Goldeneye, White-winged Scoters, etc. We also made a trek into Denali National Park on the wilderness tour bus, and saw a few interesting birds including Golden Eagle and Long-tailed Jaeger, and had smashing views of Caribou right alongside the bus! Alaska is such a place of splendor, and the views along the Denali Highway will stick in our memories.
On behalf of Micah and Cory, I want to thank you all for joining us on our little revamped Alaska Part One tour. All things considered, it turned out pretty well.
KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant
SNOW GOOSE (Anser caerulescens)
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (Anser albifrons)
CANADA GOOSE (Branta canadensis)
TRUMPETER SWAN (Cygnus buccinator)
A few sightings including a pair of birds right in Anchorage.
BLUE-WINGED TEAL (Spatula discors)
One was on a small tundra lake along the Denali Highway.
NORTHERN SHOVELER (Spatula clypeata)
GADWALL (Mareca strepera)
AMERICAN WIGEON (Mareca americana)
MALLARD (Anas platyrhynchos)
NORTHERN PINTAIL (Anas acuta)
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (AMERICAN) (Anas crecca carolinensis)
RING-NECKED DUCK (Aythya collaris)
GREATER SCAUP (Aythya marila)
LESSER SCAUP (Aythya affinis)
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER (Melanitta deglandi)
Great views of a pair of birds on the float plane lake on the Denali Highway.
BUFFLEHEAD (Bucephala albeola)
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (Bucephala islandica)
COMMON MERGANSER (Mergus merganser)
One was hanging out along the Denali Highway that was seen by a few of us.
WILLOW PTARMIGAN (Lagopus lagopus)
Great looks at one on the Steese Highway and then a few more quick looks in the park.
HORNED GREBE (Podiceps auritus)
This species is so stunning in breeding plumage.
RED-NECKED GREBE (Podiceps grisegena)
Great encounters with this species around Anchorage where many were nesting.
ROCK PIGEON (Columba livia) [I]
SANDHILL CRANE (Antigone canadensis)
A big flock of these were hanging out at Creamer's in Fairbanks.
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (Charadrius semipalmatus)
WILSON'S SNIPE (Gallinago delicata)
RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (Phalaropus lobatus)
A scattering of these were along the Denali Highway.
SPOTTED SANDPIPER (Actitis macularius)
SOLITARY SANDPIPER (Tringa solitaria)
Nice studies of three birds at Creamer's in Fairbanks.
LESSER YELLOWLEGS (Tringa flavipes)
LONG-TAILED JAEGER (Stercorarius longicaudus)
A distant bird seen from the bus in Denali NP.
SHORT-BILLED GULL (Larus brachyrhynchus)
HERRING GULL (AMERICAN) (Larus argentatus smithsonianus)
ARCTIC TERN (Sterna paradisaea)
RED-THROATED LOON (Gavia stellata)
One was on Lake Hood/Spenard in Anchorage.
COMMON LOON (Gavia immer)
A pair at Westchester was a nice treat right in Anchorage.
OSPREY (Pandion haliaetus)
One was near Captain's Creek along the Steese Hwy.
GOLDEN EAGLE (Aquila chrysaetos)
A couple of these were seen while on the bus in the national park.
NORTHERN HARRIER (Circus hudsonius)
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (Accipiter striatus)
BALD EAGLE (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
RED-TAILED HAWK (HARLAN'S) (Buteo jamaicensis harlani)
NORTHERN HAWK OWL (Surnia ulula)
We all wondered how Micah ever spotted this owl as it was so far off of the road.
BOREAL OWL (Aegolius funereus)
BELTED KINGFISHER (Megaceryle alcyon)
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER (Picoides dorsalis)
BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER (Picoides arcticus)
HAIRY WOODPECKER (Dryobates villosus)
NORTHERN FLICKER (Colaptes auratus)
MERLIN (Falco columbarius)
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (Contopus cooperi)
It seemed to take forever for us to locate the calling bird out in the bog along the Steese Highway, but we prevailed.
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER (Empidonax flaviventris)
The first stretch of the Steese Highway proved to a great place for this species, at the northern edge of its range here.
ALDER FLYCATCHER (Empidonax alnorum)
Several encounters with our best looks probably on Murphy Dome.
HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER (Empidonax hammondii)
Two of these were singing at Creamer's in Fairbanks. Another species not normally seen on our Alaska tours.
CANADA JAY (Perisoreus canadensis)
Gray Jay is no more.
BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE (Pica hudsonia)
COMMON RAVEN (Corvus corax)
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE (Poecile atricapillus)
BOREAL CHICKADEE (Poecile hudsonicus)
Nice looks at the start of the Denali Highway.
TREE SWALLOW (Tachycineta bicolor)
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW (Tachycineta thalassina)
BANK SWALLOW (Riparia riparia)
CLIFF SWALLOW (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
ARCTIC WARBLER (Phylloscopus borealis)
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (Corthylio calendula)
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (Sitta canadensis)
One at Lynn Ary Park in Anchorage was a nice treat.
AMERICAN DIPPER (Cinclus mexicanus)
EUROPEAN STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris)
VARIED THRUSH (Ixoreus naevius)
We ended up seeing a few with our first on Murphy Dome
GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH (Catharus minimus)
Several encountered with this species along the Denali Highway. The population has declined here but is still pretty conspicuous.
SWAINSON'S THRUSH (Catharus ustulatus)
This species was quite conspicuous throughout.
HERMIT THRUSH (Catharus guttatus) [*]
AMERICAN ROBIN (Turdus migratorius)
BOHEMIAN WAXWING (Bombycilla garrulus)
We had good studies of three birds in the boggy area of Captain's Creek along the Steese Highway.
COMMON REDPOLL (Acanthis flammea)
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL (Loxia leucoptera)
Two birds at Peat Ponds ended up being the only ones we encountered.
AMERICAN TREE SPARROW (Spizelloides arborea)
FOX SPARROW (SOOTY) (Passerella iliaca sinuosa)
Good views of a vocal bird at Kincaid Park in Anchorage on the first morning.
FOX SPARROW (RED) (Passerella iliaca zaboria)
Several of these were seen around Fairbanks and Denali.
DARK-EYED JUNCO (Junco hyemalis)
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW (GAMBEL'S) (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii)
SAVANNAH SPARROW (Passerculus sandwichensis)
LINCOLN'S SPARROW (Melospiza lincolnii)
RUSTY BLACKBIRD (Euphagus carolinus)
Amazing views of a pair of birds at Peat Ponds.
NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH (Parkesia noveboracensis)
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (Leiothlypis celata)
YELLOW WARBLER (Setophaga petechia)
BLACKPOLL WARBLER (Setophaga striata)
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (MYRTLE) (Setophaga coronata coronata)
TOWNSEND'S WARBLER (Setophaga townsendi)
Eye-popping views of a singing male at Peat Ponds.
WILSON'S WARBLER (Cardellina pusilla)
SNOWSHOE HARE (Lepus americanus)
ARCTIC GROUND SQUIRREL (Spermophilus parryii)
RED SQUIRREL (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
MUSKRAT (Ondatra zibethica)
One swam right up to us at Creamer's in the bog.
NORTH AMERICAN PORCUPINE (Erethizon dorsatum)
We saw one scramble off the road in Denali NP.
RED FOX (Vulpes vulpes)
MOOSE (Alces alces)
CARIBOU (Rangifer tarandus granti)
Terrific views of some inside Denali NP.
Totals for the tour: 90 bird taxa and 8 mammal taxa