For the next few days I’ll be writing about a recent birding trip to the Kenai Peninsula, along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska, south of Anchorage. I was based in Soldatna, near the mouth of the Kenai River. Gulls and terns are nesting now, chicks hatched and being fed. Shorebird migrants are beginning to move south along these shores from Arctic nesting grounds. Short-billed Dowitchers and Whimbrels have arrived, and are feeding on the tidal flats. The gulf holds more gulls and terns, Red-faced Cormorants, murres, various auklets, loons, grebes, and ducks. Special a week ago was sighting of a pod of 90 Orca (Killer Whale), the largest single pod seen here in a decade. The first day for me was filled with a 5.5-hour flight to Anchorage from Minneapolis, and a three-hour drive south. The scenery was great, the highway weaving through mountain valleys, following one shoreline or another. Birding from the car was not good, however: the road demands full attention. A highlight was the sign near Soldatna warning about moose on the road. The highway department keeps track of moose fatalities: so far this year, 171.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 9:26 am and is filed under Bird migration, Bird travel, Go places to go birding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.