Bridled Tern - Atlantis Canyon, MA - July 19th

One of the highlights of the BBC's Extreme Pelagic to Atlantis Canyon, this inquisitive bird spent several minutes circling the boat giving exceptional views.

Aleutian Terns, Nome - June 23rd

Beautiful terns and wonderful looks near Bonanza bridge on the Council Road, Nome.

Arctic Warblers, Denali Highway - 06/16

One of about a dozen Arctic Warblers seen and heard along the Denali Highway from Cantwell to Tangle River. We also encountered similar numbers in Nome later in the tour. This bird was of interest, not only because it showed particularly well, but also because its white wing bar was reduced to just one to three white tipped greater coverts on both wings. Presumably, the odd bird in spring must lack visible white in the greater coverts altogether? This shouldn't be so much of a problem with singing birds in Alaska but what about none singing, out-of-range birds in the Old World? There must be huge potential for confusion between these and other members of the phylloscopus group.

Hawk Owls, AK - June 14th & 17th.

One of the best birds of our trip to Alaska. We saw a total of seven Northern Hawk Owls early in the tour, including a family party on the Parks Highway, one briefly in Denali NP and two on the Glenn Highway. Just wonderful!



Northern Hawk Owl - Above three shots of a very bold bird along the Glenn Highway, June 17th, 2008.

Northern Hawk Owl - Close adult attending three recently fledged young. Parks Highway, June 14th, 2008.

Bristle-thighed Curlew, Nome, AK - June 22nd

Rich rewards after the long drive along the Kougarok Road from Nome. We saw about three Bristle-thighed Curlews in this spot though only saw this bird reasonably well. Lots of other good birds on the tundra here including Sandhill Cranes, Short-eared Owls, American Golden Plover and Western Sandpiper.

Kittlitz's Murrelets, NW Fjord, Kenai, AK - June 19th

One of the highlights of a truly memorable excursion to the NW Fjord with Kenai Fjord Tours out of Seward. Over a dozen of these smart little murrelets were seen near the glacier thanks to the expertise of Captain Andrea. These are digibin shots using Leica 8 x 42 bins and a Canon Powershot A540.

Fork-tailed Storm-petrels, St.Paul Island, AK - June 26th & 27th.

One of the highlights of our short stay on the Pribilofs was enjoying prolonged views of Fork-tailed Storm-petrels just offshore at East Landing. Initially picked up by Sue Bird, up to three birds could be watched feeding amongst large numbers of Northern Fulmars and Black-legged Kittiwakes just 100 - 200 meters from shore. All of these are hand-held digiscope images. Special thanks go to Cameron Cox and St.Paul Island tours.

White Wagtail, Nome, Alaska - June 24th.

Just back from an excellent Birdfinders tour of Alaska with plenty of images to post in the forthcoming days. This White Wagtail was a good find near Nome Harbor by Paul & Andrea Kelly and Steve Minton on our very last morning in Nome. I'd put all my gear away for the flight back to Anchorage but managed a few digibin shots as I drove by the dock to shuttle the group to the airport. This bird appears to be a male of the East Siberian form M.a. ocularis.

Eastern Screech Owl - June 2nd

Eastern Screech Owl - Beautiful red-phase at a locality in Hampshire County, MA.

Evening Grosbeaks - May 31st

Evening Grosbeaks - two males, Prescott, Quabbin.

Magnolia Warbler - male.

Red-eyed Vireo - on nest, Prescott, Quabbin.


A day of thundery showers didn't seem to bring too much in the way of late migrants to Prescott peninsula, Quabbin. In terms of incidental observations, two male Evening Grosbeaks was certainly a highlight. Looking back, it's been quite a few years since I've had views as good as this. However, this was certainly bettered by the sight of a Bobcat trotting down the main track of the Prescott in the middle of the day! I narrowly missed getting images through the car windscreen to share on the blog, but it was still a thrilling moment. Birds on nests today included this Red-eyed Vireo and a Least Flycatcher, with the latter seemingly one of the most abundant species on the Prescott. Magnolia Warblers too, were ever present and abundant.

Despite boreal migrants being regularly posted in the Eastern part of the state, the general dearth continues here in the West, at least on my outings! A singing Cape May Warbler on the Umass-Amherst campus on May 30th has been the migrant highlight of recent days.


GB,

James.