This is my second of two posts about birding on Anchor Point near Homer, Alaska (see the first post … The Shifting Sands of Time). This will be the final post about my recent trip to Alaska. Without some of the tools I use for Shorebird Identification (see post on this subject), I would never had known that this morning of birding at Anchor Point accounted for not one, but two lifers.

I had only seen Black Turnstones once prior in my life. When you examine the four images shown immediately below you should understand how I was fooled. Most shorebirds change over to drab plumage during the winter, and in Alaska in mid August the southern migration is well underway. Anyhow, the dark brown birds in these photographs are Black Turnstones. I thought the rather drab gray birds present in most of these four images were just Turnstones in winter plumage. Wrong. These birds are “Surfbirds“, a new lifer for me!

In addition, I saw Bonaparte’s Gulls and a Short Billed Dowitcher (and many other shorebirds). It was worth the four mile hike from the parking lot along the beach to the kelp bed at Anchor River’s outlet.

My apologies to Gene Kelly and his great performance of Singing in the Rain, the only words from the lyrics which I have changed are bolded!

Pacific Loons (video links for email subscribers: one | two)

I had a great time birding at Anchor Point on the Kenai Peninsula near Homer yesterday morning. This is the first of two posts about my experience, including one of my two lifers, but first some background. In conversations with locals from the Kachemak Bay Birders I learned that if I wanted to see birds, I needed to hike …. a four mile round trip trek to the mouth of the Anchor River. Apparently just a few years ago the trek would only have been a three mile walk, but the river’s mouth is a moving target as new sand and silt coming down from the mountains shifts the outflow location. There are kelp beds near the river’s mouth that are nourished by both the ocean and river currents.  The birds understand this fact. The ocean shoreline was essentially bird free till I reached the mouth of the river, then I was in bird heaven. The walk itself was not an easy one due to soft sands for walking and a huge head wind on my return.

When I started my hike in addition to the beautiful view of a mountainous volcano across the ocean strait (see below), I was dumbfounded to find large boats being launched and taken out of the water through the ocean surf. A boat’s captain had to wait well offshore, and then had one good chance to put his boat on the trailer or risk extreme damage to the vessel. (watch the video … link for email subscribers)

The Volcano view and some stills of the “landing process”. Heavy duty lift required!

Ah yes … this is a birding blog. Here is my Pacific Golden Plover. This amazing little bird which stood out amongst all the other shore birds due to its golden plumage, is a about to migrate down to the South Pacific!

In closing … one pic of a Greater Yellowlegs which are now also starting to pass through the Duluth area on their southern migration.

Part two of Anchor Point birding coming soon. Here is my actual walk via Strava. According to Strava I was walking for 1 hour and 45 minutes, but motionless of 45 minutes (watching birds).