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TRAVEL - ALASKA 2003
Note: All photographs on this page may be enlarged by clicking on them
KICK-OFF AT ANCHORAGE We kicked off our trip to Alaska by flying into Anchorage. A map of Alaska is reproduced below (courtesy Lonely Planet) - and it shows some of the well-known national parks/preserves in that state (some are not shown - for example, the Kenai Fjords National Park which is in the Kenai peninsula). We drove from Anchorage to Denali National Park (DNP), returned to Anchorage, flew to Juneau, returned to Anchorage, drove to Seward and areas near Anchorage, before our return.
WILDLIFE AT ANCHORAGE 1. Black-billed Magpies were somewhat common in downtown Anchorage and elsewhere. We spent some time at Potter's Marsh, on the outskirts of Anchorage. This was evidently a popular bird watching spot. 2. Two adult Canada Geese sighted along with a juvenile. 3. Two Greater Yellowlegs were in the shallow water and took off to head into the marsh. 4. A group of six small sized ducks were also sighted foraging under the shallow waters near tall grass. They were all brown, with mottled looking plumage and with a dark beak. The crown of their heads was dark and there was a dark stripe running through their eyes. There wasn't any green or blue patch visible on the wings (when they were on the water). The small size of the ducks initially made us think they were juveniles of some species, but it appears implausible that there would be 6 juveniles and no adults nearby. The eye stripes were not as sharply demarcated as those in a non-breeding adult Garganey or Masked Duck. The size and colors indicate that they were adult, non-breeding Blue-winged Teals. 5. This marsh appeared to be the breeding ground for numerous gulls, with Mew Gulls seeming to be the most abundant. As shown in the picture below, there were many juveniles/young gulls in the marsh, some in close proximity to the main road. It was not surprising then that walking alongside the marsh in their vicinity provoked seeming attacks by some of the adult gulls (weakly reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds). 6. Some Black-legged
Kittiwakes were observed (their black legs standing out).
7. We also spent our last-but-one day at Anchorage visiting Eklutna Lake. There we saw a group of Tree Swallows, with a male feeding about 3-4 juveniles sitting on top of a shrub on the banks of the lake. Unidentified birds (Potter's Marsh) a. Fairly large duck, dark grey head, yellow eyes, orange-reddish legs, large dark beak, brown "scaly" back, black patch at forehead and dark tail with a whitish rump. The duck was busily foraging under the water for food. (Potter's Marsh) b. Fairly large duck, dark head with greenish glossy nape, dark beak, somewhat mottled brown back (wing), whitish breast and rump and other brownish underparts. (Eklutna Lake) c. Plover-like birds (2), black streak through eye below light white streak, brown back/wings with white underparts and yellowish/beige colored legs. We were lucky to see the only Moose that we saw in the wild in Alaska in this marsh. A lone moose (without antlers) entered the marsh at the far north end and spent some time foraging. ANCHORAGE ZOO To kill time before our flight to Juneau we stopped by at the Anchorage Zoo. The interesting part about the zoo was that they largely held orphaned animals or those that had been injured in the wild. A couple of pictures below (which we can't claim are very representative of the zoo itself!)
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