Stark Contrast

Probably the best part of travelling, is the opportunity to experience new things. New places, new foods, meeting new people, and of course for the birder new and different birds!!! Since I lived in Alaska for 7 years and worked as a professional bird guide throughout the state, I didn't see any NEW birds on my trip, but it is always great to see "old friends" (of the avian persuasion and otherwise) once again. Since Florida is home base now, an Alaskan trip is about as far a stretch from home turf as I can get without leaving the country.

For example, at the beginning of my trek I had both Magnificent Frigatebird and Swallow-tailed Kites fly right over my car. The former (a female bird) sailed elegantly overhead as I crossed the harbor, while 6 of the latter wheeled after insects over the airport parking lot in Fort Myers.

Glaucous-winged Gull eating starfish or growing multiple t0ngues! Digiscoped with Leica C-Lux 2 through Leica APO Televid 77 spotting scope, Homer, AK 13 May 2007

I had a 4 hour lay over at the Seattle airport. and as I sat looking out at the distant mountains I watched a Glaucous-winged Gull glide by. Deja vous! I thought back to a memory of an excited young man soaking up that very same view nearly 16 years ago to the day. I was making a long anticipated first visit to Alaska and got my first life bird of the trip staring out these same airport windows on an evening just like this... my first Glaucous-winged Gull!

Red-necked Grebes display in Anchorage, Alaska digiscoped 9 May 2007

The following AM I'd awake in Alaska, a magical place with special memories. In the seven years I lived here, I met my loving wife and celebrated the birth of my son! I've spent as much of my adult life here as anywhere, so I still feel a sense of home in Alaska when I visit. Of course the nostalgia faded quickly as my attention inevitably shifted to the birds. From the hotel parking lot, I'd first view Mew Gulls and Violet-green Swallows overhead, Yellow-rumped warblers sang their looped songs from tree tops and Siskins "jheeered" nearby.

Before long, I found myself on a predictable routine of visiting favorite birding spots as I drove out of town. Lake Hood offered a great assortment of waterfowl and courting Red-necked and Horned Grebes. Spenard Crossing (or "Eastchester lagoon" as it was often called nearly a decade ago), offered an interesting leucistic (light-colored) Canada/Cackling Goose along with the more typical waterfowl and gull species. Black-billed Magpies were a refreshing sight, but along with these were one obvious change over the past decade... European Starlings were actually common now! Believe it or not, there was a time in the not too distant past where this was a hotline bird in the area! Chugach State Park offered moose and Gray Jays on a quick drive by, while roadside stops at Potter Marsh provided views of the first Sandhill Cranes, & Red-necked Phalaropes, along with even more waterfowl and Arctic Terns displaying and copulating.

leucistic Canada/Cackling Goose in Anchorage, Alaska digiscoped 9 May 2007

Even birds commonly seen at home act completely differently here. Lesser Yellowlegs, for example, sing endlessly from spruce tops. Something I'll never see in Florida for sure! Homer was my target this day though, so despite the glorious scenic distractions, I had to press on. From the road, I'd add Dall's Sheep, Wandering Tattlers, and speckle-breasted, dark "Harlan's" Hawks among others.

female Harlequin Duck at roadside, Ninilchik, Alaska. Digiscoped 9 May 2007

I could watch the amusing little Harlequin Ducks' stream bound antics for hours, but on this day I'd have to settle for just a few quick images taken from the car as I continued my trek south. The female birds are wonderful to look at but unfortunately pale by comparison to the gaudy-plumaged males.

male Harlequin Duck takes a rest on a small gravel bar. Digiscoped in Ninilchik, AK 9 May 2007

It would be near 10 PM before I finally hit the paved Homer Spit. Here, Kittiwakes perch on pilings, and Sea Otters, Murres, and Murrelets can be easily viewed en masse from land. A very different scene from the palm trees and white sand beaches of home. I'd spend the next 3 wonderous days here soaking this up, eating halibut and marvelling over views and sights that locals would likely take a bit for granted, as surely as I had casually marvelled at the Frigatebird and Swallow-tailed Kites just two days before!