AK/N central US (out of area)

GREGORY.B.MILLER@bge.com
Tue, 16 Jun 1998 11:49:24 -0400 

     Howdy all!

        Following is a "quick" rpt of 5 wks of birding in
     Attu/Gambell/Alaska and Minnesota/North Dakota/Yellowstone (May 8-June
     14).

        I've returned from the Great White North!  Alaska was a fantasy
     trip--39 Asian vagrants on Attu!  This was the same trip that Phil
     Davis has already reported on (May 9-25)...  Here's an
     off-the-top-of-my-head account of the rest of trip:

        After Attu I flew to Gambell for a week (May 25-June 1).  Winds out
     of the East provided rarities, but not the kind most of us are looking
     for (e.g. Tree Swallow, American Tree Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, etc).
      We flew in to Gambell and landed in heavy fog.  There was LOTS of
     snow and pack ice was still very evident.  Decent birds for the week
     included all three Jaegers (Pomarine, Parasitic, Long-tailed), all
     four Eiders (Common, King, Steller's, and Spectacled), Arctic,
     Yellow-billed, Pacific, and Red-throated Loons, White Wagtail,
     Bluethroat, Eye-browed Thrush, Rock, Wood, and Sharp-tailed
     Sandpipers, Ivory and Slaty-backed Gulls, Horned and Tufted Puffins,
     Pigeon and Black Guillemots, Crested, Least, and Parakeet Auklets,
     Emporer Goose, McKay's Bunting, Hoary Redpoll, Red and Red-necked
     Phalaropes, and Common and Thick-billed Murres.

        On to mainland Alaska for 5 days (June 2-June 6).  Drove down to
     Homer and saw Black-billed Magpies, Northwestern Crow, Wilson's
     Warblers, Alder Flycatcher, Lincoln's Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler,
     Black-legged Kittiwakes, and from the Spit, about 40 Fork-tailed
     Storm-Petrels.  Lots of Bald Eagles were present.  Next day I drove to
     Seward and saw Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Hermit Thrush,
     Townsend's Warbler, and Trumpeter Swan.  Day 3 was a boat trip out of
     Seward to the Chiswell Island seabird colonies.  Goodies included
     Horned and Tufted Puffins, Fulmars, Sooty and Short-tailed
     Shearwaters, Common and Thick-billed Murres, Black-legged Kittiwakes,
     Arctic Terns, Parakeet and Rhinocerus Auklets, and Red Phalaropes.
     Also saw a Pin Whale, 5 Humpbacks, 4 Orcas, and lots of Steller's Sea
     Lions and a Mountain Goat.  Drove back to Anchorage for the evening.
     Next day I drove the Glenn Hwy to Glenn-Allen, the Richardson Hwy
     North to Paxson, and the Denali Hwy West to Denali Natl Pk (about 400
     miles).  I saw Goshawk, Bohemian Waxwing, Gyrfalcon, Golden Eagle (two
     Gyrs were chasing the Eagle!), Willow Ptarmigan, and Trumpeter Swan.
     Day 5 I drove the 13 miles into Denali and then headed back to
     Anchorage with a short pitstop in Denali St Pk, too.  Added Townsend's
     Solitaire and Olive-sided Flycatcher.

        The only Alaska regulars I missed were Arctic Warbler (too early)
     and Bristle-thighed Curlew (no time in Nome).  Needless to say, I left
     Alaska in far better shape than I had anticipated.  By my manual
     count, I left Anchorage June 7 with 586 for the year.

        The first day in Duluth area, *MILLER* luck struck again as I added
     9 of my 11 target species which included Black-billed Cuckoo, Ruffed
     Grouse, Connecticut, Mourning, Bay-breasted, and Cape May Warblers,
     Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Black Tern, and Nelson's Sharp-tailed
     Sparrow.  Next day I headed West to ND for Baird's Sparrow and scored
     again the same evening!  With 4 days birding remaining, I decided on a
     last-minute roadtrip to Yellowstone.  Ha-ha.  It was a good choice.
     Besides, at 596 the itch for 600 was incredible.

        I got in to Livingston, MT in good time.  I added nothing new on
     the drive in.  Up early Thursday and entered Yellowstone from the NW
     corner.  At first stop in good habitat, I ticked Mountain Chickadee
     for #597.  Nothing new til I exited the park on the NE corner at
     Silver Gate where I added MacGillivray's Warbler and Hammond's
     Flycatcher.  599.  Oooh.  So close.  As I increased elevation, I
     feared mildly adding Clark's Nutcracker as #600.  Not my idea of a
     notable bird.  But it would be 600 nonetheless.  My worries were
     unfounded, of course as I neared Beartooth Pass at 10,900 ft.  Life
     bird Black Rosy-Finch was tick 600!!!  Cool.  Another several hundred
     yards at the MT state line--Mountain Bluebird, #601.  At a scenic
     turnout--Clark's Nutcracker, #602.  At the town of Red Lodge,
     MT--Broad-billed Hummingbird, #603.  In a Billings, MT park--Pinyon
     Jay, #604.  It's 6:00pm and I hear of a Calliope Hummingbird coming to
     a feeder in Bozeman, MT.  West again for another 150 miles to tick
     Calliope Hummingbird (Lifer 693 and Year bird #605) and Black-headed
     Grosbeak (#606) before sundown.  Friday morning I headed back East
     with a pitstop at a small State Park on the Yellowstone River in
     Columbus, MT and added Bullock's Oriole and Western Wood-Pewee
     bringing me to the grand total of 608 for the year!  Over 3,000 miles
     this past week!  5 wks of birding!  64 life birds!  What a trip!

     -Greg Miller
     Lusby, MD