After breakfast we headed out towards a local neighborhood that was surrounded by woods, hoping to pick up some unique Sitka Spruce dickeys. A Townsend's Warbler sang for us but wasn't very cooperative, but a friendly Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Sooty Fox Sparrow made up for it! We found a house with several feeders and were entertained by at least one pair of Pine Grosbeaks, with siskins joining them and a flock of White-winged Crossbills flying over. A Rufous Hummer made a brief appearance for some, but he didn't seem interested in the hummer feeder we bashed (not literally, of course, but staking out peoples' feeders is called "feeder-bashing" in some circles). The local dogs escorted us as well and "protected" us from the neighborhood "dog bullies"!
The guys take us to a Seward suburb to look for exciting backyard birds...
Chestnut-backed Pine Grosbeak at a
Chickadee neighborhood feeder
More Pine Grosbeaks "Sooty" Fox Sparrows
(female at right)
Marshall expertly balances his scope on
his shoulder (a necessity on long hikes,
he says) while pondering where to go next...
Making friends with the locals
We went back to the hotel to freshen up, then started north, checking out Resurrection Bay from the road for possible murrelets. Marshall gave us a great lesson on ageing Glaucous-winged Gulls (we even had a hybrid Herring/GW for good measure), and in the process had a pretty Harlequin Duck. The best bird, though, was a Pigeon Guillemot right close to shore, showing off his color-banded legs nicely! We then stopped at a little rest stop where we had a magnificent Bald Eagle, a singing Lincoln's Sparrow in plain view, and Song Sparrow for the trip.
More Resurrection Bay birding, this time from the road
Harlequin Duck Pigeon Guillemot, showing off banded legs!
Young gulls are always confusing, so Marshall gave us a crash course in Glaucous-winged Gull ID... In summer they look pretty ratty anyway, but first-year birds will always have all dark beaks, no matter how variable their general plumage is.
2nd-year birds (left) are starting to get some gray on the back and pink at the base of the bill, while 3rd-year birds (center and right) are starting to look more adult-like with their white bodies and mostly-gray mantles, but they still have the dark-tipped pink bill.
The full adult has a yellow bill with a red gonydeal spot, and gray primaries with white apical spots. The bird at left is standing with a 2nd-year bird.
Then to make things really confusing, you We stop at a rest stop for more great birds...
get hybrids like this probable Glaucous-
wing/Herring Gull!
Raven Bald Eagle Violet-green Swallow
We then went back to another part of the national forest, stopping at a fish ladder and having a much more cooperative Townsend's Warbler, as well as a singing Golden-crowned Kinglet. We then stopped at the same little café for lunch (where a gal had a Muttley dog if I ever saw one, and we all raided the ice cream bar in the gift shop afterwards--I definitely had a soul-mate in Sue in that department!), then headed to Granite Creek Campground for another Spruce Grouse Stomp (or Evil Chicken Hunt as John started to call it). But it was mid-afternoon and about the only thing that wanted to say hello was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Orange-crowned Warbler. And I think the guys were losing their "stompers" as most of us ended up strolling the roads anyway and having fun playing "tourist" at the scenic spots, so we called it quits after awhile and headed on in to Anchorage. We all headed out to the Millennium again for our final dinner, kissed everyone goodbye, and then crashed.
Posing on the Bear Bench at the old lunch stop (Nancy and John at left, Jim and Judy at right)
We head back to Chugach National Forest for another attempt at Spruce Grouse...
...but this time pretty much everyone sticks to the roads!
Another river
"Well, I guess this bird just ain't gonna show!" By now everyone's lost interest in the grouse
and are having fun socializing!
Ruth and John We converge back at the vans and head
on in to Anchorage for our last hurrah dinner...
Our "Last Supper" Judy and Jim (still socializing...)
Sue and Pat Ruth and Ray
Carol and Alan Nancy and John
...and of course, our fearless leaders, Kevin and Marshall!