American Kestrels can generally be found in the stretch of land between Alaska and Tierra de Feugo. These North American birds are also comfortable living in populated areas. American Kestrels are extremely interesting birds when it comes to their hunting tactics. A suitable perch to view the ground from is preferable, but they are not dependant on seating arrangements. These North American birds are very graceful during flight, and can reach high speeds quite rapidly. If an American Kestrel is hunting without being able to perch themselves, they are able to hover over a specific area. Hover-hunting is not favorable though, as they are easily spotted by their prey. American Kestrels are raptors, and therefore their prey usually consists of rats, mice, young squirrels and bats. They will also eat other birds, worms, beetles, crickets and dragonflies. Small reptiles and amphibians may also make it onto the American Kestrel’s menu.

During the winter months, it is believed that the females migrate south first, giving them the opportunity to find and establish territories during the winter months. The females prefer the open habitats, and the males are usually found in the more wooded areas. It seems that their winter homes are not by choice, but having to take whatever area is left unoccupied by the females.

The nesting period for American Kestrels starts approximately during mid-March, with the females laying their eggs, usually four to six, in the beginning of April. The incubation period for a female American Kestrel
is between 28 to 30 days. During this time, the male will hunt on behalf of the female. Another strange attribute exclusive to the American Kestrel, is its nesting habits. They are known to squirt feces on the walls of the nest cavity, which is left to dry. The feces together with the remains of half eaten prey does not make this nest the best smelling home in North America, and it is no surprise that the young kestrels decide to fledge the nest after 28 to 30 days.

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Being a coastal bird, the Arctic Loon can be found near the ocean or open lakes and will often be seen around tundra lakes in the summer. It feeds on aquatic foods such as crustaceans, fish and mollusks and is known to eat certain amphibians. They are often seen diving into the water, from the surface, to catch small fish. They will also fly to bigger waters, to find food. The Arctic Loons are migratory birds, and will migrate to the coastal areas around western Alaska for breeding. Arctic Loons are very awkward on land, and take to flight only from the water.

During the breeding season, Arctic Loons will construct their nests on the ground, and use soil and plants as building material. The female can lay up to three eggs, that vary between an olive green to brown color, and have black spots. Both parents assist in the incubation period of the eggs, which is approximately 28 to 30 days.

The Loon species has been divided into two categories, namely the Artic Loon and the Pacific Loon. Both are very similar in plumage, and were therefore considered to be the same specie for many years. The difference can be seen on their throats. Arctic Loons have a greenish plumage and the Arctic Loons that originate from Eurasia have a purple plumage, which is the similar purple color that can be seen on the Pacific Loons. It was also not unusual to see Pacific and Arctic Loons, working together off Japans’ coast, in order to secure food during the winter months. The fishermen used to call them heaven’s messengers, as they would locate the schools of fish, making life a lot easier for the fisherman. Due to the decline in the loon population, these amazing coastal birds no longer practice this survival skill. It is also believed that the change in fishing methods have also influenced this practice.

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Also known as the American Eagle, the bird can be found in much of North America and its range stretches all the way from northern Mexico to most of Canada. Those found below the 38 degree North latitude belong to the subspecies leucocephalus while those above this latitude belong to the subspecies washingtoniensis. The Bald Eagle gets its name from the word piebald which was used to refer to the dark and white colouring of the bird’s head and body. The immature Bald Eagle has speckled brown plumage and looks similar to the Golden Eagle. However, the Bald Eagle has feathers down its legs while the Golden Eagle does not. After two or three years, the Bald Eagle starts to reach sexual maturity and it develops its distinctive white head and tailm and its dark brown body. The average adult has a wingspan of about 7 feet (2m) and can weigh between 4.1 and 5.8 kg’s depending on gender. Wild Bald Eagles generally live between 20-30 years, although they may live as long as 60 years in captivity if their needs are well catered for. Nests may be as big as eight feet across and parents share nesting responsibilities. The female may lay between one and three eggs but it is rare for all offspring to fly successfully.

In 1984, the National Wildlife Federation listed hunting, electrocution, collisions in flight and poisoning as the leading causes of death. For many years there was controversy surrounding the effect of the pesticide DDT on the bird but after extensive research it was found that the chemical had little – if any – effect on the Bald Eagle. Today, after years of careful preservation, the species is no longer in danger. There is a stable population of eagles spread across the continent with steady growth being evident in certain parts of the country, and about half of all Bald Eagles being found in Alaska. Bald Eagles are protected by law and illegal possession of either dead or live birds is considered a felony.

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Despite its name, the Common Loon is quite striking in appearance. It has Red-eyes and distinctive black and white stripe-like and spotty markings on its neck and wings. Its head and part of its neck are black while its breast is white. After breeding season, the bird loses this striking appearance and becomes brown with a white neck. The Common Loon’s dagger-like beak is perfectly adapted for underwater diving and it can dive to depths of 90 ft. The adult Common Loon is 73-88 cm in length and has a 122-148 cm wingspan. Though graceful in flight, their take-off and landings are somewhat clumsy. During the winter months, the Common Loon is fairly quiet but during summer it becomes a noisy bird with quite an impressive range of sounds which many describe as ‘haunting wailing’, ‘yodelling’ or ‘laughter’. When combined, these sounds are known as a ‘tremolo’ call and they can be quite overwhelming.

The Common Loon lives mainly on fish, such as pike, perch, sunfish, trout and bass, which it catches underwater in lakes. When near the sea, the bird tends to live on rock cod, flounders, herring and sea trout. Unfortunately, large numbers of these birds disappeared from lakes in eastern North America because of acid rain and pollution. Their numbers also dwindled because of lead poisoning, industrial waste contamination and decreasing water levels. Today the bird is protected by the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA).

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The Emperor Goose is about 18 inches in length with a wing span of 43 inches. The body is gray and the feathers are tipped in black and white. The feet and legs are distinctively orange. Adult Emperor Geese have a notable white head and nape with a black throat and pink bill. The black throat of the Emperor Goose distinguishes it from the Blue Goose. Oftentimes the neck and head will be stained a rust color from the iron of the tundra waters.

Nest sites are chosen by the female Emperor Goose just before she is ready to lay an egg. The nest is carefully lined with dead vegetation and down feathers later added in. The male Emperor Goose keeps a watch on the nest and female, chasing other males off from the nest area. The brave males will even attack predators or distract their attention from the nest. Clutch size for Emporer Geese ranges from 3 to 8 eggs. Incubation by the female lasts 23 to 27 days. Young ones leave the nest in about 50 to 60 days. In the breeding season, Emperor Geese will feed on plant matter. In winter their diet changes to mostly marine vegetation and invertebrates.

As the population of Emperor Geese is reduced and their range is limited, this bird species is vulnerable to a number of threats, including oil spills. Their lower numbers could also be due to subsistence hunting. A number of conservation management guidelines have been created for the preservation of the species. One such guideline states that, should the population drop below 60,000 for a period of 3 years, all hunting must be halted. Large sections of breeding sites are under the protection of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Winter habitats are under guard by the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. If you are interested in assisting in maintaining populations of Emperor Geese, there are a number of conservation initiatives which you can support.

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With the silhouette of a large diving duck, the King Eider measures in at 18 inches in length with a wingspan of 37 inches. The males and females are distinctly different in appearance. During breeding season the male is easily identified by his gentle blue crown and bright orange bill and knob. His back, flanks, tail and belly are black, whilst the neck and breast are white with a spot of white near the tail. Female King Eiders are well camouflaged in gray-brown feathers with fine barring in black. When breeding season is over the males slowly change to a color similar to that of the females but with black wings and a noticeable white patch upon the fore-wing. You are likely to hear the King Eider before you see it. Males call with a low “croo croo crooo”. Females have a diversity of sounds including grunts and croaks.

The King Eider bird species has a cicumpolar distribution. Nests are built all along Canada’s Arctic Coast, on Arctic Islands and through Alaska. During winter these birds migrate towards the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the north of the USA. A gregarious bird, King Eidera form large migration groups, some numbering up to 10 000 birds. The King Eider is also found through Russia and Greenland, wintering in the Bering Sea.

King Eiders are marine ducks and thus are found feeding in the ocean’s waters. Their diet consists of invertebrates and mollusks such as mussels, sea urchins and sand dollars. They have even been known to dive to depths of 50 m whilst foraging. When breeding season arrives for the King Eiders the pairs will come onto land, but they will not nest in colonies. Nesting begins in mid June. The female bird will create a scraping in the ground with some shelter from vegetation. The female then incubates the clutch of 3 to 6 eggs for a period of about 23 days. The offspring are either left on their own after hatching or gathered up by remaining females.

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It has long been known that migrating birds embark on particularly long and grueling journeys when they cross the oceans. What hasn’t been known for sure is whether or not they somehow stop along the way – until now that is. A Bar-tailed Godwit has been bestowed with the title ‘endurance champion of the animal kingdom’ after completing his epic 7,200 mile flight across the Pacific Ocean nonstop.

It’s no secret that Bar-tailed Godwits undertake an annual migration from Alaska to Australia and various islands in the southern hemisphere each year to breed. What scientists really wanted to know was if they made pit-stops along the way. That was the goal behind a recent study wherein nine Bar-tailed Godwits (Limosa lapponica baueri) were fitted with electronic tags before setting off into the sunset on their mammoth migration flights. The birds flew between 4,355 miles and 7,258 miles, depending on which route they chose to take, with their journeys lasting 6-9 days correspondingly. What makes the research particularly interesting is that the flight paths reveal the birds were unlikely to sleep during the time and even more significantly – that they did not feed along the way. That means that their wings did not stop flapping from their point of departure to their point of arrival! This makes their journey even more remarkable, since it sets new precedents for endurance in animals. According to scientists, the energy required to complete this sort of migratory journey is the greatest in the animal kingdom.

The international scientific team, under the leadership of Bob Gill of the US Geological Survey, has said: “These extraordinary nonstop flights establish new extremes for avian flight performance and have profound implications for understanding the physiological capabilities of vertebrates.” According to Theunis Piersma of the University of Groningen (Netherlands) who worked on the study, the energy requirements of the birds was the greatest known energy requirement in the animal kingdom. During their week-long, non-stop journey, the birds would have been consuming energy at around eight times their resting basic metabolic rate (BMR). This is in sharp contrast with other measurements, such as a professional cyclist who may manage to function at around five times BMR for just a few hours. Piersma appropriately summed up the results with this remark: “There is something special going on here. For a vertebrate this kind of endurance is just extraordinary.”

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Each year the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival gives bird lovers the opportunity to become better acquainted with various bird species. This year will be no different and the festival theme for 2008 is “Shorebirds as International Ambassadors: Connecting Birds, Habitats and People.”

The Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival takes place each year in Homer, Alaska, where more than 25 species of shorebirds make their migration to Kachemak Bay in time for the arrival of spring. Here they join thousands of resident waterfowl, woodland birds and seabirds. This abundance of birds provides the perfect setting for the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. The festival is family friendly and caters to beginner, intermediate and advanced birders and even non-birders and the focus is on a fun, nature-orientated weekend celebration.

This year’s festival will give birders an opportunity to expand their knowledge of birds in both Kachemak Bay and in other places around the globe. If you are excited at the prospect of birding elsewhere in the world, you may be able to book your place in a birding trip to Bolivia or Taiwan. However, if you are only planning to keep it local, you will certainly not miss out! Birders attending the festival will be treated to speeches by a variety of expert naturalists, birders and guides, who will share their extensive knowledge and also guide you through the various field events and workshops. Presentations and boat tours will also be on offer, and participants can choose between shorebird viewing stations, hiking, guided bird walks, nature writing worships, kayaking, an educational workshop on optics and digiscoping, courses on shorebird identification through sound and sight, live bird presentations and tours of Homer’s Hot Spots.

But the fun and entertainment doesn’t end there! Once you have taken in all the sights and sounds of nature, you can settle down, relax and enjoy an evening of great entertainment. Live concerts, fashion shows, an art and education fair, multimedia performances, beer bashes, bird calling competitions, poetry readings and solo singing performances are just some of the great evening entertainment on offer at the Kachemack Bay Shorebird Festival. The 2008 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival will take place from 8 to11 May, so book your spot now and make the most of this impressive bird watching festival.

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The 2008 Alaska Bird Conference will be the thirteenth conference since its establishment in 1982, as the conference is held every two years. The very first Alaska Bird Conference was held in Anchorage, and this year the West Fairbanks Hotel and Conference Center, in Fairbanks, will host and accommodate the hundreds of scientists and bird specialists who will be attending. Not only will the conference dazzle those in attendance with new information, but it falls within perfect timing to watch the breathtaking Northern Lights perform their spectacular dance in the skies of Alaska.

With every conference, the Alaska Bird Conference attracts approximately two hundred people from the birding community, including researchers, educators, students and birding professionals. At this avifauna event, everyone has the opportunity to discuss various issues concerning the birds of Alaska, research results, future projects and any wildlife concerns they might have that influence the existence of bird species in Alaska. It is a vital event in the conservation of birds and the Alaska Bird Conference receives support and sponsorship from various businesses, organizations and agencies.

This year, the conference will be held from the 4th to the 7th of March 2008, with the key guest speaker of the conference being Scott Weidensaul. Weidensaul is the author of “Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds”, “The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Birds”, and “Of A Feather: A Brief History of American Birding”. His published work, including articles in the New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine, and the admiration he has received in regard to his knowledge and understanding of wildlife and conservation, make him a leading expert, and he will be hosting two presentations during the conference.

Sharing knowledge and working together to raise conservation awareness and to protect the avifauna of Alaska, is the aim of the Alaska Bird Conference. Through research and the tireless work of biologists, scientists and everyone involved in the protection of birds, the Alaska Bird Conference has become a vital tool in forming relationships and bonds between different agencies and broadening the horizon for all who attend.

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Alaska contains vast areas of unspoiled bird habitat, consisting of rich estuarine and marine ecosystems, interior boreal forests, coastal rainforests, alpine and lowland tundra, as well as coastal and interior wetlands. These diverse environments are home to more than 220 species of birds, many of which migrate to Alaska from the islands of the South Pacific, Asia, Australia, Central and South America, Canada and the United States, and many other birds which breed exclusively in northern regions. By means of research and education the Alaska Bird Observatory in Fairbanks, Alaska, endeavors to promote the understanding, appreciation and conservation of Alaska’s birds and their habitats.

Founded in 1991, the Alaska Bird Observatory is a non-profit organization which focuses on long-term studies of resident and migrant birds of interior Alaska, placing emphasis on conservation. As a non-profit organization, the Alaska Bird Observatory values its team of dedicated volunteers who are trained in a myriad of tasks. Some of these tasks entail bird-banding, which is an invaluable tool for monitoring bird populations and learning more about the ecology and migration of Alaska’s birds. Volunteers are trained to identify birds, open and close mist nets, safely remove birds from the mist nets, transport them to the banding lab and release them again. Volunteers are also taught to record data, monitor nesting boxes, mend nets and keep net lanes free from encroaching vegetation. Some of these tasks can be physically demanding and time-consuming, but volunteers agree that holding a tiny migratory bird in your hand and thinking about the arduous journey it is about to undertake can be a humbling experience – and they love it!

Among the many educational programs offered by the Alaska Bird Observatory is the mentoring program which is designed for 10 to 17 year-olds who have a strong interest in birds. Participants work closely with a professional biologist and participate in hands-on studies of wild birds with the objective of developing valuable field research skills as well as learning how to design and conduct scientific studies. Students have won awards and college scholarships based on the knowledge gained through the mentoring program.

The Arctic Moon Bird Club for children in the Fairbanks area meets once a month to enhance their birding skills. Activities include field trips, researching a specific bird species, making bird feeders from recycled materials and participating in a community projects such as the Christmas Bird Count. The Alaska Bird Observatory also organizes outdoor science camps that the entire family can participate in. In line with their aim of promoting education, the Alaska Bird Observatory makes teaching tools available to educators to encourage an interest in birds and impress on future generations how vital conservation is.

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