Brrrrr...baby it's cold outside.

Temperatures have dropped severely in the last few weeks, making it painful to get outside and do any photography for more than about 15-20 minutes.  We don't have that much good light these days, so on clear, cold days when the sun shines for a few hours, us die-hards embrace the frigid weather and make the most of the opportunity.

When I got into birding last year (read about it here), one of my obsessions became putting up bird feeders around my house. I wanted my house and yard to be a bustle of feathered activity and I tried several different varieties of bird feeders, both handmade and store bought. It didn't take long for the Black-capped Chickadees and the Red-breasted Nuthatches to find my suet cages and little plastic bird feeders. I bought the generic "wild bird seed" and watched as a few birds here and there came to enjoy the feast. I noticed that the Nuthatches would sift through the seeds and pick out tasty morsels,

Getting my mojo back: 151, Pacific Wrens, and little owls.

I really enjoy winter birding. I think it's the challenge of it that I like best. I have to work harder hunting for new species. The reward of finding an owl or another winter bird is a thrill, and getting them in good light to photograph provides additional challenges. What's your favorite season for birding and why? Are you new to birding or a seasoned vet?

When I dropped my camera and lens back in September, I felt like the wind had gone out of my sails. I didn't shoot for weeks even though I still had my backup trusty D5100. Once I cleaned up my lens and discovered it had survived the fall, I started getting back out shooting again, but didn't quite have the drive I had had before. Well, I am happy to report that I feel like I've got my mojo back, or, as my friend Travis calls it, my "Bird Juju". Last week,

Finding owls

Here in Alaska, the days have gotten much colder and the leaves on the trees have been replaced by lumps of snow and frost. The ground is covered by about 3 inches of snow, which crunches under our feet as we venture outdoors. For me the changing season is like grinding to a screeching halt after the momentum of a sprint. The warmer months were filled with so many birds offering many great photo opportunities. Our summer birds have now departed, and many of our winter birds are returning, but not nearly as numerous or plentiful as their warm weather counterparts. Many of our cold weather birds tend to flock together in large numbers through the chilly season for food and safety.

Owls, and Crossbills, and Hawks, OH MY!

My regular birding report has really been lagging behind and it's my own fault. I hope my "Creepy Bird of the Week" series is a good filler, it's certainly fun for me to dig up the ugliest birds I can find.

I've been out birding a lot since my last report, even finding some new areas to explore that have yielded interesting sightings. A few weeks ago I was looking for Green-winged Teal in a new area I had been exploring for several days in a row. There are pools of water throughout this area and the water is brackish there with pockets of sun shining through the dense forest like spotlights, which makes the teals look like the are in black water. It's a very neat look, and I had shot a hen in that water which turned out really great. So I went back to try to get the drake in that same type of scene. Well, in my search for Teal, I heard a Robin giving off some alarm chirps perched on a branch

Bring on Summer!

I've let another month slip by without posting. There has been all kinds of activity and a lot to report on. I will try to condense this one, though it covers 4-5 weeks.

There is so much life happening all around. Baby birds are hatching and baby animals are being born. Plant life has spring to life after months of cold and darkness, bathing everything in fresh spring air. The sun is shining, bringing warmth and light, and energy to this fragile eco system. I love to pause and just listen to the birds sing, and take a deep breath of the fresh air. It smells deliciously sweet and almost intoxicating in it's purity. Take a deep breath and enjoy life.

Spring continues to blossom

Well we are in full on spring mode now, with leaves blossoming and more and more migrants returning to mate and nest in our local woodlands, and wetlands. I've continued to get out and explore new areas and revisit regular spots, seeing new birds quite often.

More birds arriving

I am seeing more and more birds every day. The last three days I have seen a new bird each day.
Last week was a great week as I ended the week with a Northern Pintail early in the morning. I had decided to get up early and go to a marsh in South Anchorage to shoot Trumpeter Swans and ended up seeing the Pintails there. They were pretty far away and the lighting was not yet good but a sighting is a sighting and I'll take it.

Spring is in the air.

It is an unusually early spring here in the great northern state of Alaska. We are seeing record early migrations around the state. That's music to my ears! I am thrilled to see the return of my feathered friends and I want to shoot them all. With my camera that is.

Activity has been amping up since my last post. Last week I finally got to see and photograph a Barrow's Goldeneye. These ducks are distinctive from their Common cousins in a blueish head plumage and more distinctive, closed white bars on the wings.

First migrants arrive

The last two weeks have seen some new species arrive here in Southcentral Alaska (seems my weekly blog has turned into a bi-weekly blog lately). Last week, at one of my usual birding spots I saw a pair of Gadwall ducks and also a lone Green-winged Teal drake. It was a beautiful sunny day and I was able to get some nice shots off. I wasn't alone there, as someone I admire and respect a great deal was there ahead of me and saw me arrive. he motioned for me to come over to the water and pointed out the Gadwall. While we were shooting, the Teal showed up. Two new species in one day is a good day this time of year.

Days are getting longer

Birding lately has been much brighter, thanks to our days growing longer and the sun rising higher in the sky. That means that the birds are more active as well, and I have been noticing that many species are already pairing up and beginning to build nests. Spring won't be far behind and with it will bring a bussle of activity.

I have not posted since the last half of February following my trip to Seward for the Audubon Alaska field trip. My new bird sightings have had a 3 week dry spell. Not for lack of getting out and

Audubon Seward Birding trip

Over the weekend I took my family down to Seward to join in the Annual Anchorage Audubon Seward field trip. We arrived on Friday evening around 4pm and after checkin at our lodging, took our son for a walk. We made our way to the boardwalk at Benny Benson Park where Common Goldeneye's where swimming in the half frozen water. After stretching our legs, we made our way back to the car to return to our room when my wife calmly informed me that there was a bird on a wire above the boardwalk. Sure enough, a Belted Kingfisher perched high above with a great view of it's fishing area. That was a "first" for 2016 of which there would be many more in the next 24 hours.

Birding in the last frontier

I'm finding that posting once a week is a good pace for me, unless something major happens that I absolutely can't wait to post like some rare bird that I came across or the birth of the newest birder in my family (looking for mid March for that action). This past week was fairly active for me as far as photography is concerned, but I did not add any new birds to my list. I came across a couple of Hairy Woodpeckers and a Downy as well, at my usual lunch break stomping grounds. And I also saw my little Boreal Owl friend again too, which was very nice. Although, it was being harassed by quite a few Jay's and Magpie's.