birding never sleeps: ALASKA 2024 part 4: Denali circuit (20-23 June)

ALASKA 2024 part 4: Denali circuit (20-23 June)

Thursday 20 June. We had breakfast just before 06:00 and left at 06:30 to drive to Hatcher Pass, a seemingly reliable site for White-tailed Ptarmigan (Birdquest having seen them well near the pass itself each visit in recent years). We ended up being driven to Independence Mine, a few km up a nearby valley that featured in some fairly recent eBird records. We arrived about 08:00 to find a barrier across the road a km of two short of the mine. The valley bottom looked unsuitable and we walked up towards the mine although were still some distance from any suitable looking habitat. We spread out and wandered around for a couple of hours, me without any great expectations. While looking our minibus appeared in the mine car park, the barrier having been opened, saving us a walk back down. We also discovered the recent sightings had been of birds seen distantly in flight over the valley sides and were told our best chance was to try just before the pass (as we'd originally suggested). We left for Hatcher Pass and from the car park before the pass almost immediately saw a male White-tailed Ptarmigan in boulders above. Nice through a telescope but some of us climbed up towards it where views and photos were much better. We left soon after 11:00 and continued to Sockeye Burn but couldn’t find Black-backed Woodpecker despite a couple of hours there. Two American Three-toed were some compensation. It was then a three hour drive to McKinley Cabins in Denali National Park. Birds I saw were 2 Goosander, male White-tailed Ptarmigan, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Bald Eagle, 2 American Three-toed and a Hairy Woodpecker, Merlin, Western Wood-Pewee, Alder Flycatcher, 2 Northern Shrikes, 2 Canada Jays, 2 Black-billed Magpies, 2 Violet-green Swallows, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, Swainson's Thrush, 3 American Robins, Common Redpoll, 6 Dark-eyed Juncos, 2 each of White-crowned and Golden-crowned and a Savannah Sparrow. Also 3 Hoary Marmots, 8 Arctic Ground Squirrels, Collared Pica and a Moose.

Arctic Ground Squirrel at Independence Mine

Independence Mine

view down the valley from Independence Mine

Arctic Ground Squirrel

Hoary Marmot at Independence Mine

Golden-crowned Sparrow at Independence Mine

White-tailed Ptarmigan at Hatcher Pass

Hatcher Pass

Hoary Marmot at Hatcher Pass

Northern Grey Shrike at Willow Creek

Greater Yellowlegs at Sockeye Burn

American Three-toed Woodpecker at Sockeye Burn

Denali Viewpoint

it had a helpful panoramic photo with the peaks marked (Denali partly obscured by clouds)

juvenile Canada Jay near Cantwell

Friday 21 June. We had breakfast at 06:00 and drove to Denali National Park visitor centre where we were booked on the 07:30 Transit Bus to East Fork - as far into the park as the road was open (about 40 miles). It was a hop on hop off service but we felt it best to stick together and as the bus stopped to see animals and birds nothing seemed worth hopping off for. The mammals were superb, a Moose with 2 calves by the road within the first five minutes and while watching them a Canadian Lynx crossed the road although didn't linger. The highlight was undoubtedly a mother Grizzly Bear with two cubs seen about half way out and again on the opposite side of the road on our return. They really blew me away. The scenery was very impressive too. We were back at the lodge at 12:50 and were out on the western part of the Denali Highway in the afternoon where we finally found a Black-backed Woodpecker. That evening Nick and I shared a large cheese pizza with some left over. Birds I saw were 3 Trumpeter Swans, 5 Shoveller, American Wigeon, 3 Pintail, Green-winged Teal, White-winged Scoter, male Bufflehead, 2 Willow Ptarmigan, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-tailed Skua, 4 Short-billed Gulls, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, Short-eared Owl, Black-backed Woodpecker, Merlin, 2 Canada Jays, 3 Black-billed Magpies, Raven, 2 Grey-cheeked Thrushes, 3 American Robins, 3 Bohemian Waxwings, Common Redpoll, Dark-eyed Junco and 2 White-crowned Sparrows. Mammals seen were 3 North American Red Squirrels, 5 Arctic Ground Squirrels, Snowshoe and Alaska Hares, Canadian Lynx, a female Grizzly Bear with 2 cubs, 7 Dall's Sheep, a female Moose with 2 calves and 2 Caribou.

Moose crossing the road in front of the bus

Teklanika Rest Stop, Denali

Short-billed Gull at Teklanika Rest Stop

Grizzly Bear mother and larger cub (born early 2022?) at Sable Pass

mother and smaller cub probably born in January or February (i.e. 4-5 months old)

I was on the wrong side of the bus but managed to take most photos through an open window

East Fork and the end of the road for most vehicles thanks to a landslide

the Grizzly Bears had crossed the road while we'd been away so I was still on the wrong side of the bus

female Willlow Ptarmigan

male Willlow Ptarmigan

adult Canada Jay by Denali Highway

Bufflehead off Denali highway

lake by Denali Highway

Grey-cheeked Thrush by Denali highway

Common Redpoll by the Denali Highway

Saturday 22 June. We had breakfast at 06:00 and left McKinley Cabins at 07:15, driving south down the Parks Highway to Cantwell. From there we turned east and slowly drove along the dirt Denali Highway to Maclaren River Lodge making several stops along the way, notably for singing Arctic and Tennessee Warblers (a good find by James) and Red Fox Sparrow (my 7998th species). We arrived at Maclaren River at about 13:00 having past many runners heading west. Unbeknown to us the 48 hour Denali 135 Endurance Race had left Paxson at the eastern end of the Denali Highway the previous day. It was a 131 mile race to Cantwell (the 4 mile difference being paved sections excluded at either end) and was restricted to a maximum of 50 experienced entrants. They would have been running through the night although most didn't look to have been. Endurance indeed. Very impressive, as was the scenery which was as good as one could possibly imagine, probably more so. It really was absolutely stunning. We left the lodge at about 14:00 and drove to the Tangle Lakes area where we'd been told to walk out between two small lakes for a km of so to a more swampy area where Paul had learned from Barry Reed that a Smith's Longspur had been singing near a post a week of so earlier. Another group had arrived before us and we could see some of them walking back, still some distance away, around one of the lakes. One of the group who'd decided to stay by the road told us he'd been watching an American Tree Sparrow (another new bird but decidedly commoner) in a nearby hollow. Did I have time to look for the sparrow and still catch up with the others, some who were still by the road, before they reached the longspur area? I decided I had 5-10 minutes in hand and quickly headed for the American Tree Sparrow which appeared almost immediately (7999), as did another on the hurried walk out from the road. The other group had turned back before reaching the Longspur area although they didn't sound as if they knew exactly where it was which was a little concerning. We continued for about a km or so to an area of cotton grass or similar but couldn't see an obvious post. It was a bit less boggy than I was expecting and we were about to line up to slowly walk through it when James arrived and impressively picked up one singing distantly further into the grass. We followed it up and Alan picked the bird out between tussocks. Panic ensued but we soon all got onto the bird and during the best part of the next hour it gave very decent views as it crept in and out of view between tussocks. The number of bird species seen is rather transitory, thanks to increasingly changing taxonomy, but at this point in time this stunning singing male Smith’s Longspur was my 8000th species following the latest IOC taxonomy (14.1). We were back at the lodge at 19:00 and I was out around it for an hour after dinner, the highlight being a Semipalmated Plover leading me for 100m or so with a broken wing distraction display. A brilliant day and certainly one of the best of the trip. Birds I saw were 13 Trumpeter Swans, 12 American Wigeon, 30 Pintail, Green-winged Teal, 6 Ring-necked Duck, 70 (Lesser) Scaup, 2 White-winged and a Black Scoter, 2 Long-tailed Duck, male Bufflehead, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Semipalmated Plover, 10 Red-necked Phalaropes, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-tailed Skua, 6 Short-billed Gulls, 6 Arctic Terns, 2 Red-throated Divers, Bald Eagle, 3 Ravens, 30 Cliff Swallows, Arctic Warbler, Grey-cheeked Thrush, 3 American Robins, 2 Bohemian Waxwings, Pine Siskin, male Smith’s Longspur, 2 American Tree and a Red Fox Sparrow, 3 White-crowned and a Savannah Sparrow, Northern Waterthrush, and single Tennessee, Yellow and Blackpoll Warblers.

White-winged Scoter on a lake by the Denali Highway

Lesser Yellowlegs by the Denali highway

Red Fox Sparrow by the Denali Highway

Bohemian Waxwing by the Denali Highway

Richard, Alan, Pete, Vaughan, Malcolm and Svetlana on the Denali Highway

Nick on the Denali Highway

Tennessee Warbler on the Denali Highway. James picked it up on song and thought it was a bit out of range?

the views kept getting better and better

Paul and Richard on the Denali Highway

Arctic Warbler by the Denali Highway

Maclaren River and in the distance Maclaren Glacier

Moose at Maclaren River

Yellow Warbler at Maclaren River Lodge

Arctic Ground Squirrel near Maclaren River

American Tree Sparrow near Tangle Lakes

Tangle Lakes area

Smith's Longspur near Tangle Lakes

Long-tailed Skua over Tangle Lakes

Grey-cheeked Thrush at Maclaren River Lodge

Beaver at Maclaren River Lodge

Semipalmated Plover at Maclaren River Lodge

Sunday 23 June. I skipped breakfast and wandered around by the lodge from 05:30-07:30 photographing American Tree Sparrow and Blackpoll Warbler. We left just before 08:00 and continued driving east along the Denali Highway. The scenery was still very impressive and we made several stops along the way. At Paxson we turned south onto the Richardson Highway and continued to Gulkana Airfield where we found 3 Rusty Blackbirds by small lake on the edge of the forest, one of the least impressive species I've seen but most welcome following several earlier failures. Also on the lake were a male Blue-winged Teal, a pair of Barrow's Goldeneye with about 7 small ducklings and a Solitary Sandpiper that I only saw as it flew off. We turned west onto Glenn Highway which took us back to Anchorage, me seeing what was almost certainly another Rusty Blackbird on a particularly busy section of road. All day we'd been looking out for Hawk Owl along the roads or stopping and scanning from potential viewpoints but with no success. One of our last throws of the dice was a lagoon by the Glenn Highway where one had been seen by another group that morning but no luck there either. We arrived back at America’s Best (still no Wi-Fi) at 18:00. We dumped our bags and Nick and Paul and I went to Subway and then on to Spenard Lake to relearning Scaup ID, at least until until next time! Birds I saw were 6 Trumpeter Swans, Blue-winged Teal, 22 American Wigeon, 2 Pintail, 2 Green-winged Teal, a Ring-necked Duck, 6 Greater and 30 Lesser Scaup, 2 Bufflehead, 3 adult Barrow's Goldeneye and 7 ducklings, 2 Red-necked Grebes, 4 Red-necked Phalaropes, Solitary Sandpiper, Long-tailed Skua, 15 Short-billed Gulls, 6 Arctic Terns, 2 Northern Harriers, Bald Eagle, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, Canada Jay, 3 Black-billed Magpies, 2 Ravens, 4 Tree, a Violet-green and 40 Cliff Swallows, Arctic Warbler heard, Grey-cheeked Thrush, 3 American Robins, Common Redpoll, 3 American Tree and a Savannah Sparrow, 3 Rusty Blackbirds and a Yellow and 2 Blackpoll Warblers.