Kachemak Bay Birders

From Dave Erikson:

Summary of the 125th Christmas Bird Count (CBC) – Homer, Alaska

The 125th Homer Christmas Bird Count was conducted on Saturday, December 21,
2024 (referred to as “count day”), after a week-long postponement due to a heavy
snowfall around Homer.On count day, volunteers gathered at the USFWS Maritime Wildlife Headquarters
(formerly the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center) at 8:30 AM to divide into teams. After an
organizational meeting, each team then departed to identify and count all birds within
their assigned count areas within the Homer Count Circle, a 15-mile diameter circle
centered at the base of the Homer Spit. The teams met back at Headquarters at 4:30
PM to add up the results.

This year’s count included 29 volunteers in the field in 11 teams and seven feeder-
watchers, who watch their bird feeders throughout the day and recorded the species
and the highest numbers of each species that came to the feeder.

The weather conditions were cold and rainy throughout the day in most areas, making
for challenging birding conditions. At least the temperature was above freezing.
Even with poor weather conditions, results of the count yielded a very respectable total
of 8,268 individuals of 64 species of birds. Count day totals species for previous count
averages in the mid-60s. Thirteen species on count day were represented by only one
individual bird. An additional six species were documented during “count week”, a three-
day period before and after the count.

Numbers of individual birds on count day can vary considerably among years
depending on the weather and presence or absence of certain key species, such as
waterfowl or shorebirds. Overall, bird numbers in upland areas around Homer were low
in comparison to previous years. Weather during the count was likely a contributing
factor.

The most numerous species was the mallard (3,022), which regularly overwinter in
Kachemak Bay in high numbers. Mallards were followed by greater scaup (1,490) and
black scoters (680), both common sea ducks in Kachemak Bay. An absence of ice
cover along the northern shoreline of the inner bay, due to the recent mild temperature,
results in higher numbers of waterfowl feeding in the shallow waters of this area.
Rock sandpipers (1,000) and a lone Dunlin represented the only shorebirds on the
count. They regularly roost within the Homer Small Boat Harbor during the high tide.
Other interesting birds found in the uplands on the Homer Spit include the Lapland
longspur (1), snow bunting (2) and song sparrow (7).

Owls were one of the notable finds on the count this year. The great gray owls (2) were
seen on count day for the first time, after being seen only twice during previous year’s
count weeks. This year’s efforts also documented two northern hawk owls on count
day. Both of these owls are considered rare in Homer during the winter.

The large flock of thousands of red crossbills, white-winged crossbills, and pine siskins
present during last year’s CBC have largely moved on. Only a handful of crossbills were
seen during count week this year and only a couple of small flocks of siskins observed
on the count day.

Other interesting birds include one Anna’s hummingbird at a feeder in the main part of
town and a single white-throated sparrow. Anna’s have become a regular early winter
visitor around Homer in recent years. The white-throated sparrow, although considered
rare in Homer, has now been documented in six of the last seven CBCs, although in low
numbers.

Thanks go out to all the volunteers who contributed to the success of this year’s count.
Special thanks also goes out to the USFWS Maritime Refuge Headquarters and staff for
providing the meeting place and sponsoring the event. Other sponsors include the
National Audubon Society and the Kachemak Bay Birders .

***MEETINGS/PRESENTATIONS LAST TUESDAY OF EVERY MONTH

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.

September 24th Presentation by Bruce Lyon: Gray-crowned Rosy Finch Study on the Pribilofs.

***TRIPS/Events

January 18th to the Spit–Meet at Mariner Park at 2:00 pm

Leaders: Jim Herbert and Michelle Michaud

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–

Trip Report from the Anchor River: 11-23-24 (Kristine Sowl)

It was a nice day with light winds but below freezing temperatures so wind was quite chilly. There were 6 of us. We birded mostly from the parking lot using spotting scopes, but also walked around the campground to look for songbirds. We saw 19 species of birds in about 2 hours of birding:

Harlequin duck

Surf scoter

White-winged scoter

Black scoter

Long-tailed duck

Pigeon guillemot

Murrelet sp.

Glaucous-winged gull

Gull sp.

Horned grebe

Red-necked grebe

Red-throated loon

Loon sp.

Pelagic cormorant

Cormorant sp.

Bald eagle

American crow

Common raven

Golden-crowned kinglet

Redpoll

Pine siskin

Snow bunting

Kristine

Seaside Farm: 10-26-24

Nine birders (include the tour leaders) showed up at Mossy’s to bird. Jim and Michelle asked how many had seen the Western Tanager. No one had, but everyone wanted to. So instead of birding Mossy’s farm, we headed to Cannonball Circle (out East End Road) to find the Western Tanager. And we weren’t disappointed. The bird, a male, showed it self well for all to see. What a beautiful, rare bird for the Homer area. We also spotted four juvenile Cedar Waxwings, also a rare bird here.

In addition to those great finds, we also saw:

Steller’s Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Northern Shrike
Black-billed Magpie
Red-breasted Nuthatch.

From Cannonball we headed to Kaleen and the mouth of Fritz Creek. From the bluff we could see hundreds of waterfowl – Mallard, Great Scaup, American Wigeon, and Bufflehead. There were also Glaucous-winged Gull, Song Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, and Golden-Crowned Kinglet.

It was a beautiful, but cold day. No one complained however. In the end, Michelle and Jim left for other commitments, and most finished up birding at Mossy’s Farm.

It was truly a GREAT DAY TO BIRD

Michelle and Jim

October Field Trip Leaders/Guides