I was ambivalent about participating in this year’s annual Bird-A-Thon. I wasn’t sure I had the energy to do all the driving, hiking, photography, and searching for birds. The BAT started at six pm Friday evening, ending six pm Saturday evening. The bonfire followed at seven pm at the Talkeetna River. Friday afternoon I was outside, on the north side of the cabin, tending to Jem the hen, where she was exploring on the forest floor. A woodpecker came zipping by, landing on a log near Jem. It caught my attention. It wasn’t a Hairy or a Downy woodpecker, both of which visited my suet cages regularly. I cautiously retreated to the cabin, so as not to startle the bird away, returning with my camera. The woodpecker had flown to a nearby spruce. She was busy hunting insects, and flew from trees to logs, pausing only long enough to pry up bark for a few seconds, searching for anything edible before launching to the next site. I followed until she flew deeper into the forest where the undergrowth was too thick for me to keep up. I hadn’t gotten the clear photos I had hoped for, but I got enough for an I.d. The Bird book identified her as a Three-Toed Woodpecker. It was my first sighting of one at the cabin, and the first time I had seen one in several years. I considered it a good omen. Bird-A-Thon was on, for me.
It turned out to be an enjoyable excursion. I decided not to push myself. I didn’t really have a plan of where to go, just a general idea. When the BAT began on Friday evening, I counted the birds at the cabin first. These were mainly birds I had watched at my feeders all winter, with the addition of newly-arrived migratory species, including a pair of Juncos, a small flock of Pine Siskins, a Robin, and a lustily singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I headed for Montana Creek next, hoping to find Dippers, and maybe a Grouse, and perhaps a Bald Eagle. I had brought my house hen Jorie along. She is an excellent spotter of birds-especially predators circling high above that I might otherwise miss. She did tell me about a couple of Ravens, which I added to my list, not long after we arrived at the trailhead just past the Yoder Bridge. My two dogs raced ahead of me, jumping and rolling in the snow patches on the trail. There was still ice along the shore of the creek, and the water was high as it rushed past in the main fork. No Dippers here. The only birds I saw were a couple of Redpolls and Chickadees. No Grouse or Eagles. I decided to call it a night.
I headed for Saunder’s Crane Sanctuary on Saturday, stopping at various birding spots along the way. There were not the number of species on the lakes that I had seen in years past. We were experiencing an early Spring, and the lakes and rivers had been open for awhile. I believe the migratory birds may have passed through a little earlier, having found open water when they arrived and perhaps moving on through sooner, heading towards their nesting territories farther west and north. I was hoping to see Swans, and was rewarded with two pair of Trumpeters at the Mile 101 pond and marsh. One pair was on the east side of the Parks highway, in the pond, the other in the creek and marsh on the west side. Accompanying the pair in the pond were a few pairs of waterfowl. A handsome Bufflehead drake and his mate swam near a pair of Common Goldeneye ducks. Apparently a little too close, for as I watched them through binoculars, a tiff broke out between the drakes. The Goldeneye chased the Bufflehead, which ran across the water, becoming airborne for a few yards before landing again. This apparently satisfied the Goldeneye, who returned to his mate and swam off to another part of the pond.
A larger duck came in from the west. It didn’t appear to have a mate with it. I thought at first that it was a Greater Scaup, but the markings didn’t seem quite right. I watched it for awhile, then took several photos. It was at the edge of the range of my camera’s zoom lens. I couldn’t get sharp enough details. Even the binoculars weren’t helping. At one point I thought I saw long feathers on the back of the drake’s head as it turned away and headed out into the east side of the pond system. The Bird book identified it as possibly either a Ring-necked or a Tufted Duck. A Tufted would be a rare find. I had only seen one in the Talkeetna area, back in the late 1990s. I finally left with the i.d. undetermined.
At the Crane Sanctuary I watched about eighty Cranes from the north end of the field. A pair came away from the main flock and made their way to the road where I was parked, stopping to eat tiny rocks to aid in digestion. As always, I marveled at the Cranes’ gracefulness, the symmetry of long curving necks, stilt-like legs, large elegant feet, sharp multi-use beaks, piercing eyes, and bright red caps off-setting grey and buff feathers. Their ancient-sounding voices perfectly fit their forms which seem to bridge the age of dinosaurs to the modern world as they spread their slender-fingered wings and soar on fly-ways flown by long-ago ancestors.
As always, it was peaceful and calm, just sitting in the car, watching the Cranes in the field. I indulged for about forty minutes, then went around to the South end of the field, where no Cranes were visible. I drove on over to Red’s farm, as I do almost every time I visit the Crane Sanctuary. Red wasn’t home, but his friend gave me permission to walk on out to the field to see if the Eagle nest on the west side of the field was occupied. I loaded Jorie in her backpack and the dogs ran ahead as I walked across the rickety bridge over the creek. A few Cranes picked in the dirt and snow patches at the northwest edge of the field. Since the dogs stayed by me, the Cranes were not alarmed, and calmly watched us pass by. The nest was empty. The Eagle pair has raised eaglets in prior years, and could do so again. I may have arrived when they were not quite ready to begin nesting.
Walking back, I noted that I wasn’t hearing any songbirds, other than one Robin. During other BATs, I had heard Fox Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, American Pipits, and Lapland Longspurs. A few Chickadees and high-flying Ravens were the only birds accompanying the Cranes this time.
Back at my cabin I switched out my hens. Jorie was due to lay an egg, so I left her in the cabin and loaded Jem, my footless hen, into her crate in the car. We headed for a small lake that is one of my favorite places to visit any time of the year. It’s a stop-over place for migrating waterfowl, and a dynamic ecosystem. I was pleased to see a large flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls on the south side of the lake when we arrived. It was Jem’s first visit, and I set her pack down and unzipped the side door. She came out onto the sun-warmed dried grass and immediately began searching for new grass shoots to devour. A pair of Red-necked Grebes passing by in the center of the lake eyed Jem, probably wondering what kind of bird she was.
An elegant pair of Pintail ducks walked on the icy snow still lining the west shoreline. A pair of Shoveler Ducks glided in the water on the east side. The colorful drake is one of my favorite ducks. Green-winged Teals were amongst the Gulls, and a pair of Lesser Yellowlegs walked in the mud just off-shore, searching for food with their long, probing bills. I looked forward to returning here when I could spend a peaceful afternoon birding. For now, I needed to head in to Talkeetna to make it to the bonfire. I loaded Jem into her pack and hiked out.
The gathering was its usual happy chaos of birders swapping stories and tallies of species getting taken. It all eventually got done, and the group portrait taken at the end. Another Bird-A-Thon was wrapped up. A hearty “thanks” to all the participants! Two ‘take-aways’ for me; I wasn’t the only one to see a Three-Toed Woodpecker, and later, after I edited my photos, they confirmed that the duck on the Mile 101 pond was not a Tufted Duck, but a Ring-necked drake. Not as rare as a Tufted, but a handsome fellow in his own right.
More Spring migrants are on their way. And the nesting season is ahead, with its promise of new life and a busy time for their parents. Tiny leaves are opening on the trees, and soon flowers will appear. It’s a lovely time of year, rain and all. We’re all ‘off and running’ towards Summer!
Susitna Writer’s Voice
May, 2019
Natural Observations
Robin Song
