Anchorage has had two snowfalls so far this season. However the weather has been warm enough that the snow has all melted, except in the mountains. We have had about a week of glorious sunshine, but the overnight temps have been down into the single digits. The water is pretty much all frozen over and most all of the migratory birds are now gone south.
The locals, like this Steller's Jay, are pretty quiet these days. So I'm going to revisit a few of the highlights from last winter.
Pine Grosbeaks are much more conspicuous during the winter when they form flocks and visit bird feeders, and especially Mountain Ash trees.
Do you remember when I posted a few photos of this Saw-whet Owl and Red squirrel from last winter? I posted photos very similar to this one.
The owl never reacted to the curious squirrel. It spent the day in someone's yard near mine and was gone the next day.
I also posted a few photos of this curious Sea Otter from the trip I made to Seward last Feb. It was my best birding day of the year. I got two lifers on that day, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch and Yellow-billed Loon. More about them when I do my top ten bird list in early January.
All of my previous Sea Otter photos were shot from a rocking boat on choppy seas. This time, the sea was calm and I was on a stone jetty with a very cooperative subject.
The only way I could have gotten better photos was if I had a professional level camera and lens. Us po folks just got to make do with what we have.
1 comment:
Altough Alaska are without his breeding visitors,you can admire the resident especies like,the ravens the jays, woodpeckers, chickadees the crosbills etc.Certainly the beautifull dark blue colour Steller's jay,its my favorite passerine bird of North América!.I have pendent to paint this beautyfull bird,in the giant conifer rain forest.
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