KACHEMAK BAY BIRDERS

***MEETINGS/PRESENTATIONS

Beginning in August, our meetings will be the LAST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH

 
NOTE: LINK TO THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE POSTED HERE SOON:
September 24th Presentation by Bruce Lyon: Gray-crowned Rosy Finch Study on the Pribilofs.
 
 
October 29th Meeting and Presentation by Rachel Richardson. Monitoring McKay’s Buntings: Research Expeditions on St. Matthew and Hall Islands in the Bering Sea
Rachel Richardson is a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center. Since 2018, she has studied McKay’s Buntings on St. Matthew and Hall islands, participating in three expeditions to monitor this unique species in one of Alaska’s most remote locations. Her research primarily investigates trends in the population size of McKay’s Buntings as well as Pribilof Rock Sandpipers that breed on the islands. In this talk, she will present the recently published findings on the McKay’s Bunting population, featuring photos and videos of the birds and their island habitats, while sharing the adventures and challenges in conducting research in the remote Bering Sea.  
 
November 26th Meeting and Presentation by Martin Renner: Birding the South Pacific from Australia to Chile
 
December: no meeting (“just” the CBC on Dec. 14th!)
 
January 28th Meeting and Presentation by George Matz: N.W. Passage

Meetings at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters, (formerly:Islands and Ocean Visitor Center), begin at 5:30 pm (unless otherwise indicated). All meetings and events are cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Masks encouraged and all trips will comply with FWS covid-safe practices.

 

***TRIPS/Events

October 26th to Seaside Farms. Meet at the top of the hill at 10:00 am.
Leader: Dave Erikson
 
 
November: to the Anchor River. Leader: Kristine Sowl, date/time T.B.A.
 
December 14th CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT (all day). Coordinator: Dave Erikson
 
All Kachemak Bay Birding trips are cosponsored by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. All trips are free and everyone is welcome to attend. Masks encouraged and all trips will comply with FWS covid-safe practices.
 
 
***Trip Reports–
7th ANNUAL FISH LINE CLEANUP AT THE FISHING HOLE: 9-14-24
Eight folks participated in the cleanup of monofilament fish line at the Fishing Hole on Saturday morning.  We began in the rain and ended in the rain but inbetween it didn’t rain nor was there much of a breeze even.  And thinking about entangled birds is such a good motivator, no matter what the weather throws at us.
 
We each picked up a bag of fishline–plus sinkers and hooks–and picked up trash as we walked along. Several folks scoured the edge of the low water; others stayed in the parking area where, it seems, much trimming of line occurs but not so much responsible disposal of the trimmed line.   As in previous years after significant rain, there were many puddles of water in the parking area which meant that any line under the water was hidden and not picked up. 
 
If anyone missed the cleanup day but might want to spend some time (think: a nice, sunny, warm day…), the parking area at the upper end (toward the RV Park) did not get picked up.  If you do this, just put the fishline in the receptacle there (white plastic, looks like a periscope) and we will pick it up later. 
 
A big thanks to those who helped and to Jim Herbert who coordinated the event.
 
Seldovia Trip Report: 9-7-24
Trip report from Cindy Mom, Trip Leader.  A big thank you to her!!

Four Homer birders came over to Seldovia on the Seldovia Bay Ferry for a relaxed day of birding on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
We walked from the harbor, around the old boardwalk, then up the Slough. Highlights of the town hotspot were Susan Lake where we saw 7 Great Blue Herons and a Ring-necked Duck; and our lunch stop in a friend’s yard, with a mixed flock of Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and Red-breasted Nuthatches (and a sleeping red squirrel).
We continued walking up the road and along the Slough to Outside Beach, where we saw a nice flock of Green-winged Teal and a couple of Common Loons. The weather was agreeable and we all could have stayed longer at Outside Beach.
Belted Kingfishers and young Bald Eagles (some fledged, some not quite yet) were with us all along the way.
Report by Cindy Mom.
 
Both hotspots combined into one trip report here:
https://ebird.org/tripreport/273094
 
Seldovia (town), Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, US
Sep 7, 2024 12:16 PM – 2:52 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.5 mile(s)
17 species (+1 other taxa)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  1
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  1
Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus)  16
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)  7
Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) (Larus argentatus x glaucescens)  1     Dark grey wingtips, dark yellow eye with speckles, orbital ring neither pink nor yellow.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  7     At Susan Lake. Not unusual for Seldovia.
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  5
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  2
Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)  3
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  4
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  65
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)  4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)  6
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)  8
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)  2
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S194329007
 
Seldovia–Outside Beach, Campground, & RV Park, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, US
Sep 7, 2024 2:54 PM – 3:43 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.447 mile(s)
9 species (+2 other taxa)

Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  47
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)  3
murrelet sp. (Brachyramphus/Synthliboramphus sp.)  1
Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)  2
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)  2
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  2
cormorant sp. (Phalacrocoracidae sp.)  5
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  3
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)  6

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S194335450
 

**Links to previous Presentation**

December 4th Presentation by Aaron Lang: “Birding in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge” was recorded and the link is on the Friends of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuges website:

https://alaskarefugefriends.org/category/events/special-events/

 

2024 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival:  Species Tally Below

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