Summer birding (mid June through July)

Back to some more birding! These photos are generally from Potter Marsh and Westchester Lagoon areas.

I went to Potter Marsh on June 17th. The evening began not with birds, but with mammals!

The view was particularly pretty that "night". That's the Seward Highway that goes across the middle of the photo.

I'm not a big fan of Canada Geese (or Cackling Geese, as it may be), but goslings are pretty cute I have to admit. Especially this group... they can't all be one "litter", can they? There was some flooding through this area and several nests were washed away, so it's possible that this goose is being a sort of foster mom. Either way, it was cute to watch them all huddle together!

One of my favorite shots, especially with that one little guy on the lookout.

The lighting was just right... I couldn't resist.

A Savannah Sparrow taking a bath

 I had fun learning about so many different birds this summer, but I seem to have really gotten attached to the arctic tern. It's amazing how fast those babies grow up enough to fly from here down toward Antarctica in just a few short weeks! The puff ball babies are pretty cute, too. This little guy is getting dinner!

Wait... where are you going with that??

Mom is saying something to Dad (or vice versa)? Baby doesn't seem to quite know what to do with that big fish.

Puffball... so cute!

Baby is actually tucked under the adult's left wing. You can see a little bit of a foot and possibly some fuzzy feathers there, but he/she is pretty well hidden!

I think this one is funny... the tern that is sitting there was firmly holding his/her ground. The one coming in for a landing was apparently just as stubborn, because he/she REALLY wanted to land right there!

Aww...

I went back to Potter Marsh on June 21st. This evening started out with some Red-Necked Grebes.

And of course I had to check on my little baby! Still cute...

Nodding off...

A gull... nothing exotic, but still a bird!

The extended family of goslings. There are several under the adult's wing, and then the rest huddled together.

Another Savannah Sparrow. They have a very pretty song!

I made a couple trips to Westchester Lagoon. The first was on July 5th. 

Another "not a bird" photo snuck in here... 

A Greater Scaup (female)

A Black-Capped Chickadee enjoying a little snack...

A pair of Godwits. Not sure if they're Hudsonian or Marbled, but they're one of the two!

A White-Crowned Sparrow

Another female Greater Scaup

These are Bar-tailed Godwits. Lots of them. Pretty neat!

These are the Bar-tailed Godwits again. I'm not good at all at identifying birds while they're flying, so it was nice of them to land so I could see them better!

And one more trip to Potter Marsh on July 18th...

A Yellowlegs

I love the summer scenery views here!

Yellow-rumped Warbler. He might have just shook his feathers before I took this photo.

Awesome shower over the mountains...

Orange-crowned Warbler (female)

Female Orange-crowned Warbler reaching for a snack...

And for a comparison, here's the male Orange-crowned Warbler. Warblers are some of my favorite birds!

Got the snack!

A Red-breasted Nuthatch

There were several other photos I took of the birds I saw, and several other species that I saw (many for the first time) that aren't shown here because the quality of photos was for identification at best. I'm looking forward to getting out again next year and learning even more! 'Til next time...

Spring Migration and Learning About Birds

I've had an interest in birds for several years, and even gone out to specifically photograph them before. But I never really kept track of which ones I identified or anything like that. This year I decided to start keeping track and found a great phone app (National Geographic Birds) to use to keep track. Between that app and some birder friends, I was able to add several birds to my life list this year!

While there are very few birds in Alaska during the winter (ravens, magpie, and black-capped chickadees are the three main ones I can think of), lots of birds come to Alaska for the summer. Some travel an incredible distance to get here, like the arctic tern that travels from near Antarctica to even northern Alaska and back again each year. It's amazing they even have time to raise babies in there somewhere!

The main purpose of taking (lots of) bird photos this spring was to be able to identify them after I got home and have a record of what I saw. I'm not very good at quickly identifying them quickly when they don't sit still very long! While many of the photos are not good for anything other than identification at best (they're blurry, have branches blocking part of the bird, etc) I did manage to get a few neat shots along the way. Hopefully my memory of each bird's identification is correct here, as I'm putting this post together several months after they were taken. These are from a few different outings during late May and early June.

Connor's Lake in west Anchorage on 5/29/13:

Wilson's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Yellow-Rumped Warbler (this one as well as the next 3 photos)

Westchester Lagoon in Anchorage on 5/31/13:

I love the early morning light during the late spring when our days are long. I went to Westchester Lagoon after a midnight shift (at 5am) and enjoyed soft light, few people, and relative quiet. There was a couple that I met there who are birders and were visiting the area  looking to add to their life list as well. Another thing I enjoy about those early morning walks!

A pair of Lesser Scaup (female on the right)

This one (the "duck", not the gull) was a tough one to identify and was pretty far away. I'm going to have to check into its name and come back to update this later.

Lesser (or Greater?) Scaup

Good ol' Mallard!

This mallard was sleeping even after I took its photo, but once I walked by he woke up and kept an eye on me.

Mew Gull

Green-winged Teal pair (male on the right)

Green-winged Teal male

 Another Scaup. I love the reflections and early morning light!

Arctic Tern

Female Scaup

Potter Marsh just south of Anchorage on 6/1/13:

A Savannah Sparrow

American Wigeon

American Wigeon

Lesser Yellowlegs

American Wigeon

Blue-winged Teal

Lesser Yellowlegs

Northern Shoveler

Lesser Yellowlegs

Rusty Blackbird

Black-capped Chickadee (in nest-building action!)

Blackpoll Warbler (Female)

Blackpoll Warbler (Female)

I believe this is also a female Blackpoll Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Savannah Sparrow

Tree swallows are everywhere, but sometimes I still can't resist photographing them when I can get up close!

Potter Marsh 6/8/13:

Savannah Sparrow

There are no specific birds here, but this is a great view of part of Potter Marsh. You can see the Seward Highway in the distance (there are a couple cars/trucks there).

Terns are neat to watch as they fly. This is an Arctic Tern.

Green-winged Teal

American Wigeon

American Wigeon

 Those tree swallows are always busy!

Mew Gull

Mew Gull

Arctic Tern (just as it is landing on its nest)

Arctic Tern, trying to tell me to "not disturb nesting birds"?

I don't remember what bird this was. Perhaps a Green-winged Teal?

That's all for now, but I've got another birding post planned that includes late June through early July birds. 'Til next time...