From a small town to a big city...
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A Birding Blog
By Jared Conaway
From a small town to a big city...
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Hi all! You might be very familar with the title's date. That's right, Global Big Day! Also, if your in Alaska or have been there, you're familiar with Cook Inlet, the title's location. Something unthinkable, unexpected, unimaginable happened on that day; an unforgetable lifer. At around 5 A.M., we left to embark on my first Global Big Day! In the Lower 48, at 5 O'clock in the morning there's no sunshine, but in the Upper 1, there's plenty all summer long! Because a ton of explaining needs to be provided for the post's lifer, I'll skip ahead. We arrived at the Girdwood Gas Station at Turnagain Arm later in the morning. Because the place overlooks the inlet, it's a great place to get inshore water birds. A Northwestern Crow or 2, plenty of gulls, some Arctic Terns, or maybe a new shorebird species. I had a few lifers for that day, along with some uncommon but not rare count-birds. I had no extremities in mind, all very casual and common potential lifers. Except for... a Caspian Tern. For over 30 years, Caspian Terns have been found in the Cook Inlet area annually. They are not at all common, but they are my favorite tern species! That is why I scanned the inlet, for the world's largest tern. Unfortunately, no terns, but I did notice a peculiar looking bird surrounded by 3 gulls drifting away across the inlet. I thought, not a Caspian, but I'll give this bird a shot. When I raised my binos, almost immediately I targeted the peculiar bird. I said aloud, ooh, that looks like a Jaeger, or a Skua. This skua sp. had a heavy black, hooked bill & round black tail. wings were mostly black (white feather edges; base of wings light gray & black) with conspicuous white patches on primaries. Although slightly smaller than the gulls mobbing it, it had a heavier, bulkier physique than them. It's overall color was light ashy gray on the head, mantle and underside. That coloration is unusual for a Jaeger, they all have a black mantle that smoothly blends with the black wings. Even as barred juveniles their mantle is always the same color as the wings. Even from the first raise of my binos, to the moment I lowered my binos this bird looked highly unusual, so it came naturally that I study the bird for every last moment of my observation. I could of ran for the camera that was zipped away in a backpack in a likely locked car, but for all I new the bird could have been halfway to Antarctica by then. (That should be a clue). I decided it was better to stay put and collect as much details as I could to ultimately discover this unusual bird's Identification. At the moment I couldn't be sure what it was, just that I study it and consult an expert at the next Mat-Su Birders meeting. For some reason, I knew that those white wing patches were very important for ID'ing that bird. And, the lack of elongated tail feathers- characteristic of all Jaegers, even Juveniles- was quite puzzling. When molting, a Jaeger will be missing his central tail feathers, but this bird's tail was complete, the feathers were all even in length, although, I'm pretty sure it was missing some flight feathers. Other than that, its feathers looked fresh and even. I also have a theory for the bird being so far inland; The bird started out far offshore in in usual haunts, but followed a flock of gulls because the gulls were following a pod of Belugas because the Belugas were following a school of fish (talk about the food chain!). You see, Belugas are well known for following huligan into shallower water to feast on them, which ultimately cause a feeding frenzy among the birds. So, with that being said, all of those field marks became embedded in my mind permanently. When we got home later that evening from an awesome big day I flipped through my field guide, focusing on the Jaegers and the Skua. At that time, I had only the 2 Audubon guides (Eastern and Western), which don't show many plumages and some photos are choppy. Great Skua? No, east and too brown. Long-tailed Jaeger? No, too slender, elongated tail feathers, brown and barred as juvenile, black and white as adult, and too small of bill and size. Parasitic Jaeger? No, same as Long-tailed Jaeger. Pomarine? Like other 2, but at list with broader white patches on upperside of wings and larger and bulkier. Still, black and white face pattern, black mantle, patches still narrow, and build a little slender. South Polar Skua? OK, last one, gray mantle- yep, round black tail- yep, very bulky bird- yep, and a massive hooked bill, yes, and now we're getting somewhere! I am also aware that all Skuas have light and dark phases, and if that picture shows a smoky gray bird then the one I saw must have been a light morph, I thought. A month later on the 26th for my 15th birthday, I received the Sibley Guide (second edition)! Right after I got it, I flipped through and found the South Polar Skua- in multiple plumages and angles- nicely illustrated. The light morph bird so incredibly resembled my Turnagain Arm bird that it was almost creepy, even the way it held its wings up and angle it was flying (side view) was eerily identically to my observation. Thanks Mr. Sibley! Oddly enough I didn't consult the internet for pix of light morph individuals before recieving the new guide. As a Christian, I know that God gives us trials and that he performs miracles. I wasn't aware that he gave identification trials to birders! So, the South Polar Skua was a trial to test my identification skills, and a miracle from the Creator himself! If its identity is truly that of none other than the South Polar Skua (which I know it is) then this may be the farthest inland observation in North America, a definite Anchorage County first, and one of my rarest personal finds so far! I'm Jared Conaway, and stay tuned for my next adventure! South Polar Skua as shown in Audubon Field Guide. Although it exhibits a photo of one against its natural backround, this is the only picture in the entire guide, and a poor one at that. South Polar Skua as shown in Sibley's Guide. Although it's an illustration and the bird is against a white background, at least the illustrations are great, there's multiple angles and plumages exhibited as well. Bird at bottom left helped me settle the identification.
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