28 June 2019 Closer Look: Birds of the North Slope

Birds of the North Slope

Toolik Field Station, North Slope, AK
June 28, 2019

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Photo of the Day:

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I have been doing a great deal of birding in my free time up here in the Arctic. One of my favorite things about birding is how it varies so much based on where you are in the world. Over the past month, I’ve seen many birds that never show up in Texas. Some of the birds I’ve seen (a prime example being the long-tailed jaeger) are almost strictly pelagic, showing up on land only in the Arctic and only to breed. In addition, many of the birds I see in Texas during the winter months are up here now establishing breeding territory, in entirely different plumages and making different vocalizations.

Last week, I got the chance to go birding with Toolik naturalist Seth Beaudreault, who is a true master. Seth has worked at the Toolik Field Station Environmental Data Center since 2011, and he conducts regular bird surveys on the North Slope. He took me to many of his favorite birding locations near Toolik Field Station, and we got to see many of the specialty species of the area, including Arctic warbler, eastern yellow wagtail, and gyrfalcon.

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What I've Seen This Month

Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis)

Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)

Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)

Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis)

Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii)

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)

Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica)

White-winged Scoter (Melanitta deglandi)

Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

TundraA treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs. Swan (Cygnus columbianus)

Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata)

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)

American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica)

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)

Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)

Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus)

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea)

Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)

Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus)

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

Common Raven (Corvus corax)

Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)

Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia)

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)

Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)

American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea)

Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea)

Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus)

Smith’s Longspur (Calcarius pictus)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica)

Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis)

American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)

Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya)

Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)

Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata)

Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis)

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