Big Day (Bird Race)

13 July 1999

by Nathan Senner

Big Day Statistics:

• 79 species
• 0430 to 2000 hours
• Visiting:  Arctic Valley Ski Area, Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, Potter Marsh, Hillside Ski Area.
• Species of Note:  Downy Woodpecker (Missed), Black-backed Woodpecker (Staked out, Missed), Varied Thrush (Missed), Rock Ptarmigan (Staked out, Missed), Rufous Hummingbird (Missed).

"This count won the both categories of the ABA Youth BirdQuest, as we also raised over $800 for the ABA and Alaska Audubon.  I have come to believe that July is the best time to do a big day in Alaska because it coincides shorebird migration with the end of the period during which songbirds sing. This as opposed to May when timing the arrivals of everything is often impossible. I would do the count a couple of day earlier than we did it though becuase we missed a number of staked out birds that were obviously done nesting (i.e. Black-backed Woodpecker and Rock Ptarmigan), also singing was diminished which resulted in missing Varied Thrush.”

Species List:

Red-necked Grebe
Canada Goose
American Wigeon
Gadwall
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Canvasback
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Common Snipe
Hudsonian Godwit
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Black Turnstone
Short-billed Dowitcher
Surfbird
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Herring Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Arctic Tern
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Rock Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Hairy Woodpecker
Three-toed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Steller's Jay
Black-billed Magpie
Common Raven
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Black-capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
Horned Lark
Pine Siskin
Common Redpoll
White-winged Crossbill
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Wilson's Warbler
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Savannah Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher

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The Senner Family
Anchorage
senfam@customcpu.com