Utqiagvik (Barrow): Days Two through Four

 

The next day we birded mostly the same areas as previously, discovering one or two more spots either through our own initiative or by following up RBAs. We also invested time in accurately counting most of the birds we saw, with the exception being Greater White-fronted Goose, which may have been the commonest bird present, Long-tailed Duck, Snow Bunting and Lapland Longspur.

The eider show continued with totals of 20 Steller’s and 14 Spectacled. We counted 493 Red Phalaropes but just 41 Red-necked Phalaropes. Semipalmated Sandpiper was the most numerous calidrid by far, but by checking multiple locations, we came up with five White-rumped and three Stilt Sandpipers, along with small numbers of Pectoral and Western Sandpipers, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Ruddy Turnstone and Sanderling.

News then broke of a male Brambling in the airport “ravine”. Our first attempt drew a blank, despite a thorough search. However, a return trip later in the day coincided with a group of birders who were already viewing it. It was a very smart bird, although the views through the airport fence were not optimal. A Hermit Thrush was also feeding in the same area, emphasizing the potential for vagrant passerines.

Male Brambling

We were still missing the Snowy Owl and several scarce waders, including Red-necked Stint. The Snowy had generally been hanging around the area north and east of the airport runway, but we were unable to find it there. A late run-out after dinner to recheck a good area for peeps this time scored with the Red-necked Stint. We then drove down a road between two salt lagoons that were holding many Long-tailed Ducks, some eiders and both Red-throated and Pacific Loons. During a final scan at the turnaround at the end of the road, Paul picked out what was potentially a distant Snowy Owl. Getting out the scopes confirmed it was indeed one and we set out over the tundra to get closer. After navigating several wet areas, we finally reached a point where the water was too deep and extensive to proceed further. The bird was now quite a bit closer but encroaching fog meant the views were not as good as they might have been. However, at least we had seen the bird – the resident male – although it was some distance from its usual haunts.

Varied Thrush

The next morning, we renewed our attempts to see the Snowy Owl better, concentrating on its regular area near the east end of the runway. We started off by finding its distant relative, a Short-eared Owl. We saw the Brambling again and while driving around looking for the owl, a Varied Thrush flew across the road and landed behind some wood piles near a house. Rather than try chasing such a shy bird, we tried some judicious use of playback and coaxed the bird into full view on the roof of the house, where it hung out for a while, occasionally singing. Andy and I had seen this species very well the evening before Paul arrived in Anchorage, but Paul had only seen one ever previously and the views at Utqiagvik were by far his best.

Steller's Eiders

A few more stops later, I spotted a very distant candidate “white blob”. Putting the scope on it confirmed it was the owl, but even further away than the previous evening. Getting our waterproof boots on, we again hiked out over the tundra. Almost immediately, we found a pair of Steller’s Eiders giving the best views yet of the visit. After enjoying these, we moved on towards the owl. Progress was somewhat slow as we had to navigate around some channels that were too deep to cross in our boots. Eventually we got close and had really good looks at the male from around 50 yards.

Snowy Owl

Heading back up toward Cakeeater Road, along which most of the shorebirds were concentrated, we found a stonking breeding-plumaged Black-bellied Plover alongside the road, right next to an elusive Pacific Golden-Plover that we had been missing the previous days. A check of the good calidrid spot revealed both Red-necked Stints. It would be interesting to know where these had been spending their time when we were failing to see them here on earlier visits.

The thaw was now accelerating rapidly and most eiders were more distant out on large melt ponds. We did make an effort to thoroughly count Long-tailed Ducks and came up with a day total of 225.

We approached our final day with some apprehension as there had been a couple of flight cancellations during our stay and some visitors had been forced to stay additional days. In the morning, we began with a focus on looking for passerines. We drew a blank around the airport ravine but had more luck at UIC NARL, once we located the correct area. We managed to see pretty much all the reported birds here: Four Varied Thrushes, a Swainson’s Thrush, Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warbler, and American Tree and White-crowned Sparrows. With the temperature predicted to jump up the next day, I was rooting for the warblers to last another night and hopefully see an insect hatch.

The accelerating thaw was now producing large ponds out on the tundra, resulting in far fewer birds being close to the roads. Fortunately, someone had dumped a chuck of whale meat by the road out to the new landfill. This had attracted a small group of Glaucous Gulls that included a third-year Vega Gull.

One benefit of the increasing temperatures and expanding unfrozen tundra was an increase in displaying waders. An abiding memory of my first visit was the abundance of displaying Pectoral Sandpipers and on our last day, this species was finally beginning to crank it up. We also had a couple of American Golden-Plovers, a species that was certainly more abundant on my first visit.

Displaying Pectoral Sandpiper

Fortunately, the fog hung back near the frozen sea and our flight made it in so we could leave. It had certainly been another memorable visit and I feel I will likely return one more time to this great birding destination.