June 1-17, 2024 with Chris Benesh
This year’s Field Guides Alaska tour began on June 2nd in Anchorage. We started things off with some birding near the hotel before heading over to Kincaid Park where we tracked down a really cooperative Spruce Grouse, as well as some fabulous White-winged Crossbills, and our first Boreal Chickadee. From there, we headed to Potter Marsh for a brief stop. There were two Trumpeter Swans and some Arctic Terns and Short-billed Gulls to entertain us. On our way down to Seward we stopped at Jerome Lake for some Barrow’s Goldeneyes. We saw some Mountain Goats near Tern Lake, as well as nesting Common Loons. A short stop in Seward near Bear Creek produced Chestnut-backed Chickadees and Golden-crowned Kinglets. The real highlight this afternoon was Ava’s yard. There were a couple of Rufous Hummingbirds, Downy and Hairy woodpeckers, Steller’s Jay, Red-breasted Nuthatch, a bunch of type 3 Red Crossbills, and Sooty Fox Sparrow.
The following morning was our boat trip into Kenai Fjords Natiional Park with Captain Tanya Shober aboard the Outright. We encountered Sea Otters and a pod of Killer Whales on our way out of Resurrection Bay. At the Chiswell Islands, Tanya took us into the protected spots and we were able to see Parakeet Auklets, both puffins, and lots of murres before starting up into Aialik Bay. We had lunch in the calmer waters on our way to the glacier. Some furtive Ancient Murrelets showed up, along with some Rhinoceros Auklets. We also came across a pair of Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels. Further up into the bay we encountered Marbled Murrelets and then our first Kittlitz’s Murrelets that first mate Lacey picked out by call! More fabulous murrelets, lots of Harbor Seals, and some great glacier calving. Then it was time to head back to Seward, enjoying some Dall’s Porpoises along the way. What a great day out in the national park.
The next morning we started our birding around the harbor, seeing Wandering Tattler and the giant local form of Song Sparrow. We then headed back over to Ava’s, this time connecting with Pine Grosbeak. A pit-stop near Moose Pass got us Townsend’s Warbler and another big flock of White-winged Crossbills. We then birded the Bird Valley Trail where the biggest highlight was a well-seen Varied Thrush. We then made another stop at Potter Marsh to enjoy the birds there.
The following day was a travel one, off to the wilds of Nome and the Seward Peninsula. Once we landed, got set up with vehicles, and were joined by Sam Wilson, we hit the ground. Right in town we lucked into a pair of White Wagtails that showed wonderfully well. The Nome River mouth was crazy with birds feeding on the wrack line. There were both phalaropes bobbing in the waves, and dozens of peeps. We estimated an amazing seven Red-necked Stints mixed in with the Westerns and Semipalmated. Red Knot, Surfbird, and Ruddy Turnstone were also feeding there. Nearby were Sabine’s Gulls, Aleutian Terns, and a Bar-tailed Godwit. Further out along the Counsel Road, we had quite a few goodies. We tracked down a pair of Arctic Loons, had a couple of Yellow-billed Loons, a wonderful Short-eared Owl, a displaying Eastern Yellow Wagtail. We also saw Vega Gull, which has been split since the tour, and Hoary Redpoll, which has been lost, lumped with Common. A couple of lucky folks had three Emperor Geese go flying past as we were scattered looking for loons.
The following morning we scanned some scoter flocks at the edge of town and found three Stejneger’s Scoters mixed in with other scoters. We then headed inland along the spectacular Kougarok Road. We covered about 72 miles of it. There were so many Willow Ptarmigans we lost count. We also had two wonderful studies of Rock Ptarmigan as well. Other highlights included Gyrfalcon, Golden Eagle, Northern Shrike, fabulous Bluethroat, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Out on Curlew Hill we lucked into three Bristle-thighed Curlews! After dinner we were in for a real treat. A Great Knot had been found earlier in the day, and Raymond VanBuskirk had just re-found it. So off we went in search of it near Safety Lagoon along the beach. Our persistence paid off, and Sam spotted it in with a couple of Surfbirds. We were able to enjoy it at length through our scopes. What a rare treat!
The next morning, we made an aborted run up the Teller Highway. A slow leak in my SUV tire meant we had to head back into town to get that repaired. Afterward, we headed back out to the Nome River mouth where we added Black Turnstone to the list. There were also five Bar-tailed Godwits hanging out there. In the afternoon we headed up the Teller Highway where highlights included Pacific Golden-Plovers, displaying Bar-tailed Godwit, Rough-legged Hawk, American Dipper, Bluethroat, Northern Wheatear, Blackpoll Warbler, Rusty Blackbird, and another White Wagtail encounter. We made another late afternoon run out to Safety Sound. There we had Eurasian Wigeon and Stejneger’s Scoter along with more usual species.
The next morning, we flew back to Anchorage. We saw a locally uncommon Long-tailed Duck on Lake Spenard/Hood, and then headed over again to Kincaid Park, this time to track down American Three-toed Woodpecker. We added Canada Jay and more Spruce Grouse and Boreal Chickadees. Our full day in Anchorage included a trip to Westchester Lagoon, where we saw a variety of things, including our only Hudsonian Godwit of the trip, along with great views of Sandhill Crane and Red-necked Grebes. At Conner’s Bog we had great looks at Alder Flycatchers. Our afternoon trip to Hillside Park had mostly the usual boreal birds, with the exciting exception of a flyover American Goshawk. Then it was back to the hotel to pack for our next adventure in Utqiagvik.
Once we got settled at the Top of the World Hotel in Utqiagvik, we arranged to get out to the tip of Point Barrow, the northernmost point in the United States. We had a fabulous Snowy Owl, and a Baird’s Sandpiper. But the real highlight, of course, were the Polar Bears we encountered out by the tip! Wonderful views. That afternoon we headed out along Cakeeater and Gaswell Roads and connected with the desired eiders, Spectacled, Steller’s, and King. Great looks at each. There were a few Pomarine Jaegers patrolling over the tundra, and a couple of Black Guillemots present at Middle Salt Lagoon.
The next morning found us exploring just west of town on the Nunavaaq Road. The gravel pit proved a good spot for White-rumped Sandpiper. The rest of the road was great for another Short-eared Owl and a point blank dark Pomarine Jaeger. A Black-belled Plover was a local rarity there. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring out toward the duck camp and then another run out Cakeeater Road. A pair of courting Sabine’s Gulls were a highlight.
We had much of our travel day to bird around. We succeeded in tracking down a pair of lovely Curlew Sandpipers that were hanging out on Cakeeater Road. This species is an Old World breeder. We then caught our evening flight back to Anchorage to prepare for our final destination, St. Paul Island.
We nervously anticipated our trip out to the island on Ravn Air. After a bit of a delay, we got the go ahead to fly out, stopping in Dillingham for fuel. Our first outing to Polovina Wetlands produced a couple of Common Snipe that spontaneously took to the air. We also feasted on our first Rock Sandpipers, Red-legged Kittiwakes, and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches. We spent the rest of the day checking wetlands.
The following day we went to Reef Cliffs, one of the island’s main seabird colonies. Here we had great looks at puffins, three species of auklets, and some Ancient Murrelets, as well as Northern Fur Seals and Steller’s Sea Lions. We also saw the local form of Pacific Wren. A trip to the north side of the island at Marunich was good for studying cormorants, mostly Red-faced with a single Pelagic. We also had a Parasitic Jaeger harassing kittiwakes. Rarities on St. Paul come from all directions. The rarity we encountered was a Gray-cheeked Thrush that had found refuge on Hutch Hill.
The next day was more time spent at seabird cliffs, with lots of great photo ops. A close encounter with a pair of Ancient Murrelets at the Town Cliffs was a treat. Late in the day was a young Bald Eagle, a rare straggler to the island at the quarry.
The next day we did a bit of cultural activities, visiting the island museum. Thanks to Mariah Hryniewich, Luis Glies, and Sulli Gibson for looking after us so well doing our stay on the island. Then it was catching our flight for our return to Anchorage and our final dinner together.
In some ways it was a bit of a challenging trip, as a certain virus made its way through some of the group, sapping energy. But the amazing wildlife and spectacular scenery helped to soften the impact. I want to thank all of you for choosing to explore Alaska with Field Guides. I enjoyed making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. I wish you all the best in birding and look forward to our paths crossing again in the future.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/272132
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/aka24aTRIPLIST.pdf
-- Chris Benesh