Birder’s Notebook

RED FOX SPARROW— A fox sparrow shows the “foxy” red plumage that gives these sparrows their name. Fox sparrows are widespread across North America and vary greatly in appearance from region to region. Only ours, the red fox sparrow––the northernmost variety––shows the extensive, rich reddish coloration for which the sparrow is named.

Fox Sparrow –– a shy, handsome songster

By Kate Persons | Recently, while winnowing leaves from blueberries on my deck, I pondered what bird to write about next. It was late in the season for song, but as if reading my mind, a fox sparrow...

LESSER YELLOWLEGS – A adult lesser yellowlegs blares out an alarm call to warn its chick while they forage in a Nome area pond. This feisty, slender, medium-sized shorebird is appropriately named for its disproportionally long, bright orangey-yellow legs.

Birder’s Notebook: Lesser Yellowlegs –– a long-legged loudmouth

By Kate Persons The lesser yellowlegs is a character. This svelte, graceful shorebird atop disproportionally long, with bright orangey-yellow legs is typically found in forest wetlands, and not so...

SPOTTED SANDPIPER— A spotted sandpiper in breeding plumage is foraging in the gravel along the Snake River. Spotted sandpipers can be easily identified by the obvious dark speckles on their bellies and by a nearly constant bobbing motion that they make with their tails and rumps. Females are larger and their spots may be bigger and extend further down the belly, but the sexes have very similar plumage.

Spotted Sandpiper––a shorebird with standout looks and behavior

*/ Perhaps you have noticed a small shorebird constantly bobbing its backend as it works its way along the edges of our local streams and ponds. Other shorebirds might not grab your attention, but...

Horned Lark ––A masked alpine songster with horns

MALE HORNED LARK – A male horned lark is showing the spiky feather tufts on the top of his head, which give these larks their name. Story and photos by Kate Persons Alpine tundra is among my...

MALE NORTHERN HARRIER – A male harrier is carrying a redpoll it captured north of Salmon Lake. Males and females are colored and marked differently, and males are smaller. Males are slate gray with a white breast, prominent black wingtips and black bands on the tail. They are sometimes referred to as “the gray ghost.” All harriers have an eye-catching white rump patch. This harrier caught a redpoll, but voles are their main food.

Northern Harrier––An owl-like hawk with a breathtaking courtship display

Photo by Jim Dau By Kate Persons Raptors are famous for dramatic and aerobatic courtship displays, and to my eyes, the northern harrier wins the gold. The extraordinary sky dance of a male...

EARLY DUCKS – A pair of northern pintails, hen in the lead, wings past Fort Davis on April 28, this year. Pintails are among the first migrants to arrive in the spring, and usually are already paired up for the breeding season. During migration, drakes typically follow their mates to the hen’s established nesting area.

Northern Pintail––Elegant, early and abundant

STAGING FOR FALL MIGRATION – Northern pintails are staging for migration with tundra swans in a Solomon River slough. Pintails are dabbling ducks that feed primarily on vegetation in the shallows...

APRIL 19 – Common eiders and glaucous gulls are feeding in open water and roosting on ice floes in front of Nome’s Swanberg Dredge. These hardy, northern species stay along the ice edge in the Bering Sea all winter. If there is open water close to our shores and food to eat, they can potentially be seen near Nome during any month of the year.

Early birds of Spring

April is the beginning of an exciting time of seasonal transition in Nome’s bird scene. A few hardy migrants are returning to the Nome area long before winter releases its grip, while some winter...

ONE OF THREE – One of three northern hawk owls that Rhoda Nanouk recently spotted in a single day, peers down from its hunting perch at the top of a spruce tree. Hawk owls are rare visitors in the region. To see three in a day within 20 miles of Unalakleet was exceptional, and very exciting for Nanouk.

Northern Hawk Owl––Another owl on the prowl for voles

Boreal owls, the subject of the last Birder’s Notebook article, are not the only unexpected owl to spice up the winter bird scene in parts of this region. Bold and charismatic, northern hawk owls...

BOREAL OWL NEAR UNALAKLEET – A boreal owl is roosting in a tree near a hillside home outside of Unalakleet. Rhoda Nanouk found the owl resting on a nearby bird house and watched several Canada jays dive at it, as birds will do to draw attention to predators. This is called “mobbing.” It was only the second time Rhoda had seen a boreal owl in the area since she started birding around 2015.

Boreal Owl––A hungry winter nomad from the Interior By Kate Persons

From Unalakleet to Nome, enchanting, pint-sized boreal owls have been popping up in unexpected places. Raised black eyebrows and wide yellow eyes can give these little owls a look of surprise, the...

MALE AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER – A male American golden-plover in his elegant breeding plumage is on his upland-tundra breeding territory. Note the white band that runs around his forehead and down to his jet-black chest where it ends in a wide lapel. Females are similar, but have lighter faces.

Tracking the epic migrations of American and Pacific golden-plovers: from neighbors on the tundra to oceans apart

If you drive along any road out of Nome in June and July, you are likely to catch sight of our most elegant and eye-catching breeding shorebirds, golden-plovers. Decked out in striking black, white...