Birder's Eye View

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Where in the world did she go?

Well I have epically (is that a word?) failed at playing catch-up on the blog again, almost as much as I have failed to find a layout that I like. But bear with me, I have a decent excuse this time:

I'm in Alaska!

About a month ago I landed an incredible internship doing multimedia for the National Park Service up here. It's been a whirlwind 3 weeks, but I am now living in a bush community near the arctic circle, trying to learn everything I can about photography, the backcountry, native culture, local wildlife, and how to design visitor's guides. I'll be living here for the next 9 months (from 24 hours of sunlight, to just 3 hours in the winter!) so there's no telling what adventures might be in store.

The birding up here is great, as most of the species are lifers. Long-tailed jaegers, glaucous and mew gulls, red-necked phalaropes, golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows, northern wheatears, hoary redpolls, and red-throated loons are among the common species I've seen.


long-tailed jaeger

muskox herd

tundra wildflower whose name I've forgotten

red-necked phalarope in horsetail grass

glaucous and mew gulls

monkshood flower

american golden-plovers

northern wheatear

view of the mountains

grizzly bear scat (no nature blog is complete without a picture
of cool wildlife poop!)

golden-crowned sparrow

Red-throated and pacific loons

semipalmated sandpiper

golden eagle chicks

red fox

arctic tern over the Bering Sea

I've only been out here a couple weeks, but once I finish training I'll be spending time in the backcountry, which should yield even more interesting nature and wildlife finds. So far it's been a blast though and I can't wait to see what's next!

3 Comments:

  • Hi! You're blog has some beautiful photos of birds! I'm relatively new at birding but I am loving identifying the local birds around home. Your travels appear to have yielded some amazing sightings. Keep nourishing your adventurous spirit! Alaska sounds like it will be a great trip. Good luck! And keep your eyes open for some more birds :)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At September 26, 2012 at 9:28 PM  

  • Hi there! Thanks for the comment! Good to see some people still read this blog even though I have neglected to keep it updated. :) I guess I'll have to be more on top of things! New posts will be coming soon.

    Keep up the birding! It's great hear you're just starting out and still marveling over all your awesome local species. It really is a slippery slope -- once you identify all the ones at home, you'll just HAVE to travel to find more. :)

    Best of luck as well, and happy birding!

    By Blogger Andrea, At September 26, 2012 at 9:58 PM  

  • I love this. Great birds, interesting stories and photos, fun read!

    By Blogger chiccadee, At May 26, 2015 at 10:34 PM  

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