I made a whorl wind birding trip, driving 510 miles, to Homer, AK. and back to Anchorage, on May 6 & 7, 2008. In addition to taking my best & closes pictures of Sandhill Cranes, I added 5 species to my photo library, including my first - Emperor Geese. I'll post a few of the best pictures as I get time to sort through the stack.
Gary
Oh cool, I Love Sandhill Cranes!
Can't wait to see the rest of the pics Gary!
This pair of Sandhill Cranes were so occupied preening, they didn't seem to notice as I walked up close to them.
At this point they finally noticed me.
Sorry, I posted the wrong picture.
This message was edited May 8, 2008 11:52 AM
Theses Cranes were feeding on the edge of Mud Bay, below the Homer Airport control tower.
This is the picture where the Cranes finally noticed me.
Gary
A Greater-White-fronted Goose, Beluga Slough, Homer, Alaska.
Greater-White-fronted Geese feeding in Beluga Slough, Homer, Alaska.
Have you noticed, its not the front end that is white?
Gary
Yes! Great pics Gary! Congratulations on the new birds, wow you really drove alot of miles! Thanks so much for sharing your trip w/ us and we look forward to more of your pics from the trip. :-)
What wonderful pictures! The close up of the goose doesn't even look real....more like a decoy. Did you make the trip because the birds were migrating?
Great pics Gary..love the Sandhill Cranes. I am just starting to get into shore birds and enjoyed your trip, thanks for posting!
Mima,
Yes the trip was to catch the spring migration. Homer is having a shore bird festival starting today and running through the weekend.
My primary target bird was the Greater White-fronted Goose, I didn't have any pictures of them in my photo library.
There was a single immature Snow Goose with the hundreds of White-fronted Geese.
Gary
This message was edited May 8, 2008 4:07 PM
Very nice!
The Emperor Goose is normally found along both sides of the Bearing Sea, the Alaska Peninsula, and the Aleutian Islands. On Sunday and Monday there were postings on AKBirding of six Emperor Geese in Beluga Slough, Homer, AK. I figured if I was ever going to see one, this would be my only chance. When I arrived in Homer, I went directly to the Beluga Slough Boardwalk, at the Visitors Center. To my astonishment, I spotted the Emperors almost immediately. They were way out in the slough beyond about a hundred Lesser Canada Geese. But, I couldn’t see any White-fronted Geese, which I had expected to find in large numbers. The first new species added to my photo library was the rare Emperor Goose. I found the White-fronted Geese at the opposite end of the Slough later, for the second species, from the trip, added to my photo library.
Awesome picture Gary. You got some really neat Cranes.
A flock of American Pipits landed in front of me, while I was photographing the geese. They provided some nice closeups, and the third new addition to my photo library.
Gary
The pipits are so well camouflaged, they seemed to disappear when they moved. I had difficulty trying to keep track of them long enough to take pictures.
Gary
Two Bald Eagles photographed from the wildlife observation deck across the road, from the passenger terminal, at the Homer Airport.
The Black-bellied Plovers at Mud Bay kept moving away from me. They never let me as close as I would have liked. But, they did provide the fourth new addition to my photo library.
This message was edited May 8, 2008 7:34 PM
This message was edited May 8, 2008 7:36 PM
This Greater Yellowlegs was feeding next to the Visitors Center boardwalk, at Beluga Slough. It was feeding so close, that it kept distracting me while I was watching the Emperor Geese.
Great pics Gary! I love the looks of that Black-bellied Plover!
What a fantastic trip. Your pictures are beautiful and I envy every mile!!
I enjoyed your pictures very much. Thanks for posting. What a great time you had.
Thanks for taking us along.
The 5th new species added to my photo library was totally unexpected, a Ring-necked Pheasant. The only breeding population of pheasants in Alaska has recently established it's self in the Homer area. I was really surprised when I saw one crossing the road. It was between the road and the chain link fence around the airport. Walking along the shoulder of the road, I followed it quite a distance as it walked along the fence. The brush was so thick it was difficult to see the pheasant most of the time. I took over a dozen pictures, but this is the only decent shot. Most of the pictures were too obscured by the brush.
On the drive to Homer, we stopped to take this picture, of a Bald Eagle nesting in a tree, next to Sterling Hwy at mile 144.9.
To our surprise there is a second road side Eagle nest slightly over a mile away, at mile 146.1. On the return trip I stopped to take this picture of it. This one is the smallest Eagle's nest I have ever seen. The largest nest was in excess of six feet from top to bottom.
A closer view of the second nest.
The only breeding population of pheasants in Alaska has recently established it's self in the Homer area
Resin, I don't know who introduced the Pheasants, but our Dept. of Fish & Game is not at all pleased. They have put out notices warning people it is illegal to introduce exotic species. The pheasants are in a suburban area, so most likely escaped from someone keeping them as domestic fowl.
Gary
