These ducks were taking shelter from the wind along the shore in front of the Visitor Center yesterday.
birds
Start of Spring Migration
Animated .gif of the radar images from 17-18 March. Red/green represent stuff in the atmosphere moving away from/towards the radar station set in the middle of the image. There’s a clear pattern of movement along the outer coast of Baranof Island from south to north. When migration is at its peak, this pattern will show … Read more
Kids Identfying Birds
Recently my kids have been interested in trying to figure out what a bird is from pictures I’ve taken. Although both have shown some interest in birds over he the past few years, my son Connor has spent much more time paying attention to birds and trying to figure out what they are, so in many cases something that is a challenge for Rowan, he knows immediately. The picture above was one such example, so I had Rowan do this one on her own with a couple of bird books and some prompting questions from me.
In what follows, I will explain the process she went through and follow up with a second picture, so if you don’t already recognize the bird and want to try figuring it out on your own, you can check your answer below.
Shorebird Sounds
On a recent birding outing, I was able to record some vocal shorebirds, including one of a dozen Black Oystercatchers and a flock of Black Turnstones (with a Dunlin and 8 Rock Sandpipers mixed in, though I’m not sure if their voices can be picked out). Black Oystercatchers Black Turnstones (with accompanying calls from other … Read more
Red Fox Sparrow
This winter there were several Fox Sparrows hanging around the neighborhood. Most winters Fox Sparrows are Rare at best, so it was unusual to see as many as 8, despite the cooler and snowier conditions that prevailed this year as compared to other years. Of particular interest to me was a red form (Taiga form … Read more
Recent Birds
Took a couple of trips to Totem Park, one yesterday and one today. Yesterday I saw 3 Northern Pintails, 6 smaller dabblers (I thought Green-winged Teal at the time, though they may have been Northern Shovelers), at least 4 Caspian Terns (including a hatch-year bird), many Thayer’s Gulls, Mew Gulls, a handful of Herring Gulls, … Read more