Alaska 7/12-24/2019

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

Alyeska Resort (Girdwood), July 18

We were warned that Alaskan black bears had been seen on resort property. These bears are unlike the black bears we see here in Virginia. The Alaskan black bears are huge and aggressive, and we hoped not to encounter one on our morning nature hike. Right off the bat, I saw a male Varied Thrush. I had seen a female of this species near Lake Louise in July 2013, but had never seen a male or gotten a photo of this species.

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Varied Thrush

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Varied Thrush

A few minutes later, I saw juvenile Yellow-rumped and Wilson's Warblers, and a pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The juvenile Wilson's Warbler still had some of its fluffy chick feathers.

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Juvenile Yellow-rumped Warbler

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Juvenile Wilson's Warbler

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Juvenile Wilson's Warbler

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Juvenile Wilson's Warbler

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Ruby-crowned Kinglets

A bit farther down the trail, we started hearing multiple birds singing the same song from high atop coniferous trees, but couldn't see what they were. Finally, we saw one through an opening in the trees. It was another life bird for me - a White-winged Crossbill. The crossed bill on this bird wasn't nearly as prominent as those of Red Crossbills I see here in the Allegheny Mountains, but to confirm the species, I recorded (poor iPhone recording) its song. Click here to hear the recording.

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White-winged Crossbill

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White-winged Crossbill

On the return hike, I saw another Varied Thrush and a Hermit Thrush.

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Hermit Thrush

I stopped for a few minutes where I had seen the Wilson's Warbler, and this time saw Yellow and Townsend's Warblers. I had seen Townsend's Warblers in previous years in both the Banff and Seattle areas, but never had gotten really good photos of this species. The photos today were better, but still not as good as I wanted.

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Yellow Warbler

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Townsend's Warbler

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Townsend's Warbler

Rafting on Spencer Lake and the Placer River; July 18

In the afternoon, we went to Spencer Lake at the base of a glacier for a rafting trip. Chunks of ice had broken off and resulted in small icebergs in the lake. Common Ravens flew by, and as we were getting rafting instructions, I was able to confirm Golden-crowned Sparrow as another life bird.

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Glacier

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Icebergs

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Common Raven

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Golden-crowned Sparrow

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Golden-crowned Sparrow

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Golden-crowned Sparrow

Herring Gulls were nesting on rocks, and were perched on some of the icebergs. I noticed the orange-red orbital rings and brownish-yellow irises on the gulls, making them the Vega (Siberian) sub-species of Herring Gull, in lieu of the typical orange-yellow orbital rings and pale irises.

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Herring Gull - Vega (Siberian) sub-species

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Herring Gull - Vega (Siberian) sub-species

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Herring Gull - Vega (Siberian) sub-species eye detail

After rafting near and in-between the icebergs, we headed down the Placer River for seven miles to our take-out point. Along the way, I saw Bank Swallows and two Common Redpolls. I had previously seen a Common Redpoll in Scotland and a Lesser Redpoll in New Zealand, but had never seen this species in North America.

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Half of our group (Rachel waving at back of raft)

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Bank Swallow

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Common Redpolls

Click here to continue on the trip to Seward and Fox Island

Jump to Fairbanks; July 13
Jump to Nenana and Denali National Park; July 14
Jump to Kantishna Roadhouse in Denali National Park, July 15
Jump to Talkeetna; July 16
Jump to Talkeetna and Alyeska; July 17
Jump to Alyeska and river rafting; July 18
Jump to Seward and Fox Island; July 19
Jump to boat trip from Fox Island; July 20
Jump to Fox Island; July 20
Jump to Fox Island and return to Seward; July 21
Jump to Brooks Falls; July 22
Jump to Gold Creek Lodge; July 23
Jump to Brooks Falls; July 24
Jump to species lists and additional photos

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