These are hypothetical questions. There is no study. But what if there was a study stating that installation of wind-powered electrical generators along the ridge above Duluth would pose only minor problems for birds. Hawk Ridge is up there, one of North America’s best places to watch raptors during fall migration. Birders are up there right now, with tens of thousands of migrants flying above the ridge possible on a good day. Only minor problems for birds: is there an acceptable size for such problems? (The bird in the photo is a Merlin, a common Hawk Ridge migrant.)

 For a superb and concise discussion of 10 hummingbird myths (misunderstandings), visit the Web site of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History – http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek080715.html. This is always an interesting site, updated weekly. The photos here were taken recently near Lutsen, on the North Shore. An adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, defending his feeding territory, attacked a juvenile hummingbird of the same species. That bird was injured in the attack, and possibly died.Â

 As I was about to say ….. There are 549 Whooping Cranes in the world at the moment, and maybe 64 more. The latter is the number of chicks hatched this spring from a record 66 nests in Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Saskatchewan, where the western flock breeds. These birds will be added to the population total if and when they migrate successfully to their winter home in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. This flock is estimated at 266 birds, not counting the chicks, estimated because the cranes nest in scattered and remote locations. There are 33 cranes in a non-migratory flock in Florida, and 100 in the migratory flock that summers in central Wisconsin and winters in Florida. The latter includes 28 chicks that are being raised at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge near Tomah for release this fall. There are 150 cranes in captivity at zoos or research facilities in Maryland, Wisconsin, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Alberta, Canada. This information comes from Bob Russell, biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

My recent trip to the Kenai peninsula south of Anchorage, Alaska, was my fifth to that state. All trips were based on birds. I’ve birded in Anchorage, at Denali National Park, in and around Nome three times, on St. Lawrence Island three times, and once each on St. Paul island in the Pribilofs and Attu island at the end of the Aleutian chain. I had been to the Kenai once before, birding out of Seward and Homer. This time I was based in Soldotna. I like Alaska, all places and all times.This trip was different in two ways. First, I  had the advantage of cherry-picking sites along the 65-site Kenai Peninsula Wildlife Viewing Trail. It helps to have target spots that local birding enthusiasts have chosen. I think I got more birds for my buck, so to speak. The trail covers lakes, rivers, bays, inlets, shoreline, spruce forest, mixed forest, tundra — every habit type available. It was good birding.The second difference was season: this trip was in early July, fledging season. My other trips had been based either on spring or fall migration. We — an avid Kenai birder and I — saw young murres, murrelets, Mew Gulls, Herring Gulls, Bonaparte’s Gull, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Spruce Grouse, Red-breasted Mergansers, Surf Scoters, thrushes, ducks, and more.Someone once told me that you haven’t seen a bird until you’ve seen male and female of the species in breeding and non-breeding plumage, plus the chicks. We tend to lean toward the spring male plumage, the bright and colorful birds. Young birds are more subtle, like their moms, but no less beautiful. We saw eggs, too, and of course nests. All of that does complete the package.I did one other thing, too: over the years I have found that for me slow birding is better birding. The numbers might be smaller, but the experience is more intense.

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.