Monday, April 28, 2008

Birds pt.8

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus)

There are both willow and rock ptarmigan in this area. Only the male rock ptarmigan has this distinct black eye patch. Normally rock ptarmigan gather in large flocks during the winter months.





We spotted these ptarmigan in the tundra behind the house. Originally it was a flock of about 15, only these three males were not scared away. We had been trying to get a closer look at these birds for some time. When we saw them we were able to watch them for some time, gradually getting closer and closer before we eventually scared them off.


Pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba)

The pigeon guillemot has just begun to change from its grayish winter plumage to this sleek black. Many in the pass are in various stages of molting.



Ancient Murrelet (Synthliboramphus antiquus)

Ancient murrelets spend their lives at sea and come to land only to breed. They are active at night at their colonies. This adaptation for avoiding daytime predation by gulls and raptors makes them hard to observe on land. They can be identified by the distinctive nighttime vocalizations they use for sexual display and individual recognition.





On the 14th of April we headed in to town and noticed quite a change on the pass. All winter the water has been full with thousands of Oldsquaws or Long-tailed ducks. Their calls normally fill the air. On this day there was no sight or sound of them. In their place suddenly there were hundreds of Ancient murrelets. We hadn't seen any of these seabirds since fall. They dotted Isanotski Strait in flocks of 5 to 50. Two weeks later they are still out there in large numbers.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

The Awakening








Last night around 8 pm: Bob says that he hears some noises coming from the laundry area. Our thought is that perhaps an ermine has found its way into the house through a pipe. We are carefully looking around and then suddenly Inde starts barking (Inde never barks) and Bob turns to look out the side door window into the face of a big brown bear! It was scratching at the door and then stuck its head into the dog door. We make a mad dash for the guns and some bullets. At this point the bear came around to the porch and started pawing and slobbering on the windows. Inde was able to get a look at the nature of the commotion and boy was she scared! Bob went upstairs to shoot the gun out the back door but it had little effect. The bear came back to the side door and stood up and began to push and shake the door (which we had just locked for the first time). After a few more shots the bear actually headed to the back door towards Bob. At this point we noticed there was another smaller bear in front of the house too. This one was scared away by the gunshots. Bob and I switched places and he shot from the side door while I monitored the bears actions from the upstairs door. The bear was scratching the window and trying to chew on the window sill. It was amazing to see the bear inches away from my face! Then it headed away from the house to the chicken coop and began to try and tear down the fencing to the outdoor run. I yelled to Bob, who came running upstairs and shot the gun towards the bear. No matter, he proceeded to collapse the side of the chicken run. Bob now had to take real aim at the bear and struck it in the backside with bird shot. It jumped up and took off running.

We went outside and down to the beach to do a full reconnaissance. No other damage. According to their tracks the bears headed away on the beach in opposite directions. We came back to the house and let Inde out. She had to do a full inspection as well and did not want to come back inside. She wouldn't eat dinner and all day today she has been on edge and is currently on guard out on the porch. I don't think I have ever seen her so protective, I wasn't sure she had it in her!

Eagles


Yes, indeed. That is excrement leaving the backside of the adult eagle.











"The immature Bald Eagle has a prolonged period of exploration lasting for four years. Some young from Florida have wandered north to Michigan, and birds from California have reached Alaska."




Immature eagles are variably patterned with dark brown and white. It takes five years to acquire full adult plumage. Their white markings are not restricted to well defined areas, but appear scattered throughout body, usually with brown mottling in same area. White in the wings is primarily in linings and not flight feathers.



Monday, April 21, 2008

Falconidae vs. Corvidae


On a recent excursion to the cliffs of the Palisades we spotted ravens guarding what turned out to be a nest, in a chamber high on the rock face. They were flying back and forth and crying out, quite disturbed by our presence. As we started heading on a pair of peregrine falcons entered the territory and the fight was on! At one point a peregrine made a dash towards the raven's nest and one of the ravens flew like a bullet into the chamber to guard the nest while the other made a fierce attack on the guilty peregrine. Our friend Jacobus was visiting at this time and had brought his spotting scope. We had an awesome view. These antics went on for 10 minutes!





The view from up north


Overlooking Bechevin Bay and the Bering Sea. Traders Cove is to the right or east.





Back south, a view of Isanotski Strait, Ikatan Peninsula and then the Pacific Ocean.










This is a hike we did over a month ago. When we got up to the peak we could see out to the Bering Sea and down to Bechevin Bay and east to Traders Cove (a favorite bird watching spot). An amazing view that lasted about 2 minutes before an intense cloud of warm fog overcame us. That too was pretty wonderful to see (and feel) but eliminated all chances of Bob getting a full shot of the view. The fog came in waves leaving a hazy view every few minutes. By the time we headed down off the mountain the fog was even thicker and the wind had picked up, practically blowing us all the way home.