Beginning in August, our meetings will be the LAST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH
September 24th Meeting and Presentation by Bruce Lyon: Gray-crowned Rosy Finch Study on the Pribilofs.
October 29th Meeting and Presentation by Rachel Richardson: McKay’s Bunting Study of St. Mathew’s Island.
November 26th Meeting and Presentation by Martin Renner: Birding the South Pacific from Australia to Chile.
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
August 24th, 31st and September 7th Crane Count Days
Sandhill Crane Count Days—August 24, August 31, and September 7. These three Saturdays between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. report all Sandhill Crane sightings to Kachemak Crane Watch by email: reports@cranewatch.org or phone: 907.235.6262. Join other Craniacs for the Count Days Fly-ins at Beluga Slough from 6 p.m. till sundown at the picnic table.
September: Trip to Seldovia Sept. 7th on the fast ferry!
September 14th Fishline Cleanup at the Fishing Hole, 10:00 am to noon.
October: to Seaside Farms. Leader: Dave Erikson, date T.B.A.
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–
August 11th to the Anchor River–from Michelle
Another fine day was had at the Anchor Point Beach in search of shorebirds and other bird species.
We started at 9:30 am at the boat launch parking lot and walked our way to the mouth of the Anchor River. This trip gets longer every year as the mouth moves further north. Eleven intrepid birds joined Jim Herbert and myself for the field trip, including a couple from Soldotna and a woman from Anchorage. We started under cloudy skies, and some wind. The forecast was for strong winds (20+ mph) by noon. While the winds did increase, thankfully the strong winds never materialized while we were on the beach. And most of us were there for 3+ hours. By the time we headed back from the mouth, the sun was shining. It was nice to see the sun again after several rainy days.
During our July trip to the Anchor Point beach most of our shorebirds were observed at the mouth of the river. Today was a different story. There was a large flock (~12) of Greater Yellowlegs at the ponds near the boat launch parking lot. This was followed by over 30 Greater Yellowlegs at the first fishing hole (where two men were actually fishing in the river). We were also delighted to find two Solitary Sandpipers. This is the first time in my numerous visits to this birding hotspot that I’ve seen Solitary Sandpipers. A nice find. Other shorebirds observed at this spot were a Least Sandpiper, a Semi-palmated Plover, and five Short-billed Dowitchers. There wasn’t much in the way of sand or gravel bars as the river was running much higher due to recent rains. This tended to concentrate the shorebirds in to just three-four narrow areas. That made viewing and counting easier.
We then made our way back towards the beach and along the beach road to the mud hole. We did see a small flock of Whimbrels on the beach, as well as our first Pacific Golden-Plover of the trip. These plovers generally do not migrate south through here until August and can sometimes be found even into October. Several small flocks of Black Turnstones flying north were also observed.
After checking out the mud hole, we walked along the river towards the mouth, spotting several Greater Yellowlegs and three Spotted Sandpipers. At the mouth we had three (3) Least Sandpipers, several Greater Yellowlegs, and two (2) Spotted Sandpipers – no Turnstones, Whimbrels, or Surfbirds. A juvenile Bonaparte’s Gull was spotted amongst the Black-legged Kittiwakes and Glaucous-winged Gulls. The American Crows were busy at the mouth, while only a few were spotted elsewhere.
On the return to the parking lot from the river mouth, several of us spotted, feeding in amongst the rocks, 10+ Greater Yellowlegs, several dozen Black Turnstones, a family of five Semi-palmated Plovers, a Lesser Yellowleg, a Surfbird, and a beautiful Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage. Low tide, when the rocks are exposed, is really the best time of see shorebirds on this beach. The grand finale was a Belted Kingfisher hovering over the pond near the boat launch before diving into the pond in search of food.
What was most surprising about the trip was that with the exception of gulls, the only birds spotted in Cook Inlet were six Harlequin ducks and they were hugging the shoreline near the mouth of the Anchor River.
Species observed (25):
Northern Pintail 2Green-winged Teal 4
Harlequin Duck 6
Common/Red-breasted Merganser 6
Pacific Golden-Plover 2
Semipalmated Plover 5
Whimbrel 7
Short-billed Dowitcher 5
Spotted Sandpiper 5
Solitary Sandpiper 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Greater Yellowlegs 67*
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Black Turnstone 83*
Surfbird 1
Least Sandpiper 3
peep sp. 3
Black-legged Kittiwake 91*
Bonaparte’s Gull 1
Short-billed Gull 37*
Glaucous-winged Gull 43*
Bald Eagle 10
Belted Kingfisher 1
Black-billed Magpie 16
American Crow 33*
Savannah Sparrow 2
(*estimate)
I want to thank all those who came out today and my co-leader, Jim Herbert.
It was another “Great Day to Bird”….
July 13th to the Anchor River
Four intrepid birders joined Jim Herbert and Michelle Michaud for a wet and windy day of birding at the Anchor Point Beach. The group trooped to the mouth of the Anchor River where most of the shorebird activity was happening. And boy was it happening with a large mixed flock of Whimbrel, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Western Sandpiper, and Greater Yellowleg. Nearby was a large contingent of Arctic Terns. The most any of us have observed at one time at this beach.
Despite the weather it was a great day to bird.
Birds Observed
2 Green-winged Teal
1 Harlequin Duck
3 White-winged Scoter
49 Whimbrel
4 Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher
27 Greater Yellowlegs
413 Black Turnstone
3 Surfbird
33 Western Sandpiper
1 Black-legged Kittiwake
3 Bonaparte’s Gull
1 Short-billed Gull
1 Glaucous-winged Gull
102 Arctic Tern
1 loon sp.
5 Bald Eagle
9 American Crow
3 Bank Swallow
3 Savannah Sparrow
1 Harlequin Duck
3 White-winged Scoter
49 Whimbrel
4 Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher
27 Greater Yellowlegs
413 Black Turnstone
3 Surfbird
33 Western Sandpiper
1 Black-legged Kittiwake
3 Bonaparte’s Gull
1 Short-billed Gull
1 Glaucous-winged Gull
102 Arctic Tern
1 loon sp.
5 Bald Eagle
9 American Crow
3 Bank Swallow
3 Savannah Sparrow
Those species in bold are estimates.
Happy Birding
Michelle
2024 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival: Species Tally Below
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab