![\"Northern](\"https:\/\/franklinhaas.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/NOSH091715.jpg\")
<\/a>Northern Shrike, Arctic Valley Road, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015<\/p><\/div>\n
One was young and the other an adult. On the way back down, we found a Boreal Chickadee.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Boreal Chickadee, Arctic Valley Road, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015<\/p><\/div>\n
We headed down to Potter Marsh. It had started to rain, so we decided to forgo the boardwalk and drove around instead. We found a pair of Trumpeter Swans with an American Wigeon.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Trumpeter Swan and American Wigeon, Potters Marsh, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015.<\/p><\/div>\n
Next, we went to West Chester Lagoon and the Audubon Bench (a viewing area just up the coastal trail from the lagoon). I walked up to the bench, while Barb scanned the lagoon. When I got there, a Great Blue Heron flew out and towards the lagoon. I phoned Barb and she managed to get a photo with her cell phone as it flew by.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Great Blue Heron, West Chester Lagoon, Anchorage, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015.<\/p><\/div>\n
I also had an Osprey and Bald Eagle flyover, and two Sandhill Cranes bugling.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sandhill Cranes, Audubon Bench, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015.<\/p><\/div>\n
There were many Bonaparte’s Gulls on the lagoon.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Bonaparte’s Gull, West Chester Lagoon, Anchorage, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015.<\/p><\/div>\n
We headed to the airport. The plane left a little late, but arrived at the scheduled time (5 pm). We met Bob Schutsky and his group and a few birders from Tennessee at the Adak airport and got updated on what they had found the previous week. They were all departing today.<\/p>\n
None of the rarities found had been seen in recent days (Little Stint, White-winged Crossbills, Slaty-backed Gull).<\/p>\n
We headed to the lodge to unpack. As Estrella (the current lodge manager) was showing us how she had cleaned the windows in the sunroom, a flock of small birds appeared outside. They were Common Redpolls — six of them! We hadn’t even unpacked our binos or camera, yet! A nice start to the trip.<\/p>\n
We did a quick trip up to Clam Lagoon, with the only birds of note being 3 Pacific Golden-Plovers.<\/p>\n
The Northern Shrikes and the Great Blue Heron were new state birds for us.<\/p>\n
21 species to start.<\/p>\n
More tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We arrived in Anchorage on Wednesday, did our shopping, birded a little bit and settled in for the night. Thursday morning, we headed up to Arctic Valley Ski Area. We didn’t see anything unusual on the way up, but found … Continue reading