Modified: September 8, 2010
Welcome to the ABO recent bird sighting page. Please post your recent interesting sightings. Please add a time, date, and location. (These posts are reviewed before inclusion.) Folks are also posting sightings on our Facebook Page. You will also find a list of all upcoming ABO events at the “events” tab on our Facebook page.
30 Aug – Brown-headed Cowbird on Jones Road
27 Aug – Northern Shrike at Farmhouse on Creamer’s Refuge
24 Aug – Fox Sparrows at ABO feeders
22 Aug – American 3-toed Woodpecker on Boreal Forest Trail at Creamer’s Refuge
18 Aug – Sharp-shinned hawks with 2 young (Red Fox Drive)
17 August – 6 Sharp-shinned Hawks have been banded at the Creamer’s Field Migration Station since July 26. Looks like it is a big Sharpie year!
17 August – Sharp-shinned Hawk pair with 2 (maybe 3) young @11.5 mile Chena Hot Springs Rd
9 August – Sharp-shinned Hawk pair with 2 young @ 4.5 mile Chena Hot Springs Road
27 July – Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, Bufflehead, Northern Pintail, and Northern Shoveler at Goldstream Peat Ponds
22 July – 2 red-necked grebes with 3 young and many spotted sandpipers on Wander Lake at Wedgewood Resort.
18 July – Red-tailed Hawk, Wigeon w/ 8 ducklings, Common Loon, 3 Herring Gulls, 3 American Tree Sparrows, large cow moose and a cross fox = trip from Fairbanks to Birch Lake
7 July – Pair of Osprey (one with food in talons) flying over Riverview in evening
28 June – 2 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers along the Denali Highway (MP 87)
28 June – 1 Red-Tailed Hawk on Davis Road
28 June – Baby and Male Hairy Woodpecker on suet at feeder
23 June – Yellow-billed Loon no longer at Wander Lake
22 June – White-winged Crossbills on Creamer’s Refuge
15 June – Yellow-billed Loon at Wander Lake (near ABO) (was released)
14 June – Yellow-billed Loon at Two Rivers
14 June – Brown Creeper at Chena Ridge
14 June – Mountain Bluebird on Lancaster
14 June – Common Loon on Wander Lake
11 June – Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has been hanging around and hammering everyday for past week and a half near 5 mile Farmer’s Loop
9 June – Osprey fighting with gulls on river behind Carlson Center
7 June – 2 Snow Geese and a Peregrine Falcon at Creamers Refuge
5 June – Yellow-billed Loon at the end of Kaufman Lane (off of 22 Mile CHSR)
1 June – male Downy Woodpecker on suet at ABO
30 May – Brown-headed Cowbird (sent photo as corroboration) near Eagle on Yukon-Charley National Preserve
28 May – cow moose with calf on the top of Murphy dome
27 May – Alder Flycatcher, Blue-winged Teal on Goldstream Creek; Sandhill Crane nest with 2 eggs on Creamer’s Refuge
23 May – female mallard with 9 ducklings and 2 Kingfishers on Wander Lake at Wedgewood Resort Wildlife Sanctuary
21 May – female Myrtle warbler, northern Wheatear – Ballaine X Goldstream/ Blue-winged Teal-Peat ponds/ American Golden Plover, Lapland Longspur, Upland Sandpiper – Murphy Dome/ Yellow Warbler – Crane Pond on Creamer’s Refuge
20 May – Hudsonian Godwit, European Starling at Creamer’s Pond near Creamer’s Farmhouse
19 May – Snow Goose, Surf Scoters, Ring-neck ducks, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Red-necked Grebes, Scaup, Shovelers, Mallards, Widgeon, and Pintails at Wander Lake
19 May – Golden-crowned Sparrow on Chena Ridge
17 May – Two Northern Wheatears flying at the top of Murphy Dome
14 May – Pair of Swans off of Ballaine near Blueberry Preserves (Goldstream Valley)
13 May – Pair of Brown Creepers near the Large Animal Research Station on Yankovich
5 May – Golden-crowned Sparrow behind City Hall
5 May – Red-necked Grebes on north Airport Pond
4 May – Flock of 40+ Lapland Longspurs at South Cushman Ponds
4 May – Eurasian Wigeon, north Airport Pond
2 May – Delta Junction: huge flock of Sandhill Cranes (~18,000), Orange-crowned Warbler, Belted Kingfisher, Peregrine Falcon, at least 6 Northern Flickers, flocks of sparrows and American Robins
1 May – Sharp-shinned Hawk with a dead bird in its talons on the Boreal Forest Trail at Creamer’s Field
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January – April 2010 sightings are found here.
Saw 2 brown-headed cowbirds off Kris Kringle, North Pole on lawn of house along slew. Both males.I was quite surprised but having been familar with them from elsewhere confidant of the sighting. Time was 4pm 8/19/2010…The robins did not seem to happy to see them and kept chasing them for short distances.
Today I hiked the first two miles of the Pinnell Mountain Trail, near mile 100 of the Steese Highway. I encountered a loose flock of about 35 American Pipits at the beginning of the trail, plus a flock of eight Lapland Longspurs, nine Savannah Sparrows, and a Horned Lark. I also counted 13 Northern Wheatears–three alongside the highway at Twelvemile Summit, two alongside the highway near the Pinnell trailhead, one in the parking lot, and seven along the trail. It was a beautiful afternoon!
We caught a juvenile Brown Creeper and a second-year female Sharp-shinned Hawk at ABO’s banding station at Creamer’s Field yesterday (July 27). Things are hopping already!!
This morning I drove out to Chatanika (mile 27 of the Steese Highway, at the intersection with Old Chatanika Road) where one or two Yellow-bellied Flycatchers had been reported about three weeks ago. I arrived at 8:30 am and I immediately heard a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher’s two-note call close to the road. I had trouble seeing the bird at first as it moved through the vegetation (lots of leaves to obstruct viewing), but I eventually got good views of it on two different perches. The bird called consistently for the half-hour I was there.
June 30,2010(today)
Counted 23 species at Smith lake.
Highlights include: One Common Loon and one Male Merlin hunting swallows above the lake. Amazing hunter!
P.S. Bonaparte’s Gulls, Mew Gulls, Red-necked Grebes, Mallards and Ring-necked Ducks all have young.
Happy Summer Birding, Joe
Not a bird sighting but a huge surprise! Tonight around 9pm I heard this cacophony in the yard and looked out to see an “Alaskan standoff” between our resident robin and our normal- sized cat, about 10x the size of the robin. The robin stood his ground on the grass in front of the cat (a very healthy young two-year old). The cat was most surprised but after a while lunged at the robin who promptly flew up onto the fence. After a minute he returned, to stand in front of the cat, screeching as only a very angry American robin can do!! This was repeated three times. The cat backed off. Robin 1, Cat 0
Watched a pair of Townsend Warblers in my yard on Birch Hill today, which is a rare sighting for us 6/21/2010
Male Tennessee Warbler was seen and heard singing along the Denali Highway during a Breeding Bird Survey this past week (15 June); near the Seattle Creek Bridge (Cantwell Side); on north side of road. Very easy to see and hear!
Wednesday evening 6/9/10, there was a little Yellow Warbler flapping against the windows in the train station. The doors were open but much lower than it wanted to be. My 10 year old son climbed the window and gently guided an adult hand to where it was so it could be carefully caught, and let go on a support outside. It sat sort of overwhelmed for a few minutes then flew away.
Thank you to the adult and 10 year old hands!
June 13-One Common Loon at Wander Lake.
June 7- The Front Fields of Creamer’s Refuge
2 Snow Geese
1 Peregrine Falcon
29 Northern Shovelers
95 Canada Geese
55 Sandhill Cranes
Strange June
We heard and saw our first Alder Flycatcher of the year on Sunday evening, June 6, at the intersection of Cripple Creek and Kallenberg. A probable Black-backed Woodpecker flew by and landed briefly as we watched the flycatcher. A Townsend’s Warbler continues to sing in the woods around our house.
Today (June 6) I was surprised to see a Hudsonian Godwit along the Chena River at the canoe landing at Pioneer Park (Peger Road). Several friends and I saw it as we were putting canoes in the river. The bird was close to us as it fed among the Mallards (including a bunch of cute ducklings), American Wigeon, and Mew Gulls. We noted its long two-colored bill and I clearly saw the white rump and black tail band as it flew off.
An overnight camping trip to the Tok (Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge and the 9-mile-long Northway Road) area on Friday and Saturday yielded some interesting birds. There is a large variety of species along the Northway Road! Birds I observed included:
Great Gray Owl: one along the Northway Road (within a half-mile of Northway School) Friday night at 8:00.
Western Wood-Pewee: Two heard (one seen) near the end of Sawmill Creek Road in Delta Junction. Two others were heard along Spruce Road in Delta Junction.
Olive-sided Flycatcher: I heard and saw one at Dot Lake, and heard another along the Northway Road.
Common Yellowthroat: at least five were singing along the Northway Road and I had good views of a male.
Chipping Sparrow: at least three were singing along the Northway Road and I saw one.
blackbirds: I counted at least eight Rusty Blackbirds and six Red-winged Blackbirds along the Northway Road.
My wife and I are visiting from Texas this summer. On Jun 2 at approximately 2200 we were driving the Steese Hwy when we saw three Blue-Winged Teal. Normally I would not bother to report this since this species is extremely common in Texas. However, in looking at the distribution map I thought it might be of interest. We were between mile 145 and 146 and viewing a pond on the South side of the highway.
FYI, we have been birding seriously since 1992 and have been to Alaska on five prior occasions.
Wander Lake,May 30th,3:00 pm:
Counted 27 species just walking around the lake. I saw 1 Alder Flycatcher and 35 White-wing Scoters. Awesome! Happy Birding!
may 28 Wander Lake. Red-necked grebe couple building a nest near NE part of lake close to largest island. Several belted kingfishers resident at the lake especially diving off the viewing platform. Best seen after 7 pm.
I saw a pair of Alder flycatchers at a friend’s home near Chena Hot Springs Road on Sunday morning, May 23rd. Wasn’t sure what they were and later through process of elimination, identified them.
Walked the Chena from Alaskaland to the Carlson Center
8 White Crowned Sparrows, Singing, Many Yellow, wilson,
and yellow rumps, robins,mew gulls, mallards, wigeon, 1 king fisher, 1 herring gull, and the first blackpoll warbler that I saw this year by the dog park. The whiteish hen mallard down there had a good sized brood, 9 or ten ducklings across the river. Time 8pm sunny, hot near 78 degrees. A little smokey, have fun, see what I do on my off time. May 27, 2010
Saw a bird which looked like a gray jay except it was sooty black across its entire body. Not sure what kind of bird it is.
Hey there Lindsay,
The bird you saw sounds like a juvenile Gray Jay; other folks have been seeing the youngsters out and about. Like Common Redpolls, Gray Jays can nest very early–late March/early April is not uncommon.
Thanks for your report!
-Sue
We saw a male Long-tailed Duck at the float ponds mid-afternoon today (May 24th).