ALASKA!

During late July 2005 we found ourselves driving from Mtn Home AFB, Idaho to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska -- two kids, my wife, and I driving a Chevy Trailblazer and pulling a 21 foot travel trailer. Despite the horror stories of driving the Alcan Highway from folks in years gone by, we made it without incident. OK, we did have incidents, but they were incidents of sheer pleasure! The scenery is utterly spectacular, and we had a wonderful trip.

Around 3000 miles later we found ourselves in our new home (at right) in a town named Eagle River, about 10 miles north of Anchorage (where Elmendorf AFB is located). The boundary of Chugach State Park is just a hop, skip, and jump from our front door, and even in our neighborhood the scenery is incredible! We quickly put out a hummingbird feeder as well as various bird-feeders (from our second-story deck, within our fenced yard to prevent visits from maurading bears) and were quickly rewarded -- not with hummingbirds (yet!), but with ooodles of chickadees (both Boreal and Black-capped) as well as Downy and Hairy woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jays, Pine Siskins, and "Slate-colored" Juncos. Who knows what will show up later? In winter, we've even seen Dall's Sheep on the mountain across from the house as you see in the photo. Spotting scopes are good for more than just birds!

HUMMINGBIRDS!

My intense interest in hummingbirds begs the question: What is the status and distribution of hummingbirds in southcentral Alaska? I posed that question to the local Alaska birding listserv and a few select birding authorities and received varied responses. Most folks stated that hummingbirds are rare in the Anchorage bowl -- a region extending from the Turnagain Arm in the south to Palmer in the north, bordered by mountains on the east and the Cook Inlet on the west. Some folks claim, however, that hummingbird sightings are likely to increase over the next few years as more and more people pay more attention to them. I fully agree! Chance favors the prepared mind (thanks, Louis Pasteur).

My goal is to get you to do just that -- pay attention to hummingbirds and report them to me promptly. We tried that in Idaho during fall 2004 -- a time of year when Anna's Hummingbirds tend to wander from breeding areas in the Pacific Northwest. Sure enough -- in a state where there were about 20 "good" records statewide prior to fall 2004, we suddenly received confirmed reports of eight during fall 2004 alone! Seven of those were from within our "home" region, and we were able to band and release three of those (one shown at left). When people were made aware of the possibilities, suddenly they realized that what they were seeing was significant enough to snap a picture or alert someone who could come confirm it.

Is that the same situation here in southcentral Alaska? If we increase people's awareness of the possibility of Rufous Hummingbirds here in spring and summer (and Anna's or Costa's hummingbirds in fall), will they be noted in higher numbers than previously? Or are there simply so few hummingbirds in this area that we won't notice an appreciable increase in reports no matter how widely we publicize the possibilities? How about Anna's Hummingbirds specifically? There are a few records of this hummingbird for Alaska. Can we generate more just by encouraging people to report ANY hummingbird they see in fall? Hmmm! I think so. Let's try it!

SO -- if you see a hummingbird in the Anchorage bowl (shucks -- how about southcentral Alaska) at any time, please send an email to: stacy[at]trochilids.com. Replace the "[at]" with "@" of course! If you can get photos, send them along, too.

I won't kid you. I'm a federally licensed hummingbird bander (permit #23148), and part of my hummingbird research involves the opportunity to personally come to your yard to catch, measure, photograph, band, and release unharmed your hummingbird. We know extremely little about hummingbirds here in southcentral Alaska, and the potential contributions we could make through banding are very significant. How in the world do we catch and band hummingbirds? It's really easy -- See my Humbanding page for starters. But don't worry -- if you would prefer that I not handle the bird you see, all you need say is, "no thanks." I would still love to tally your report online, regardless. So keep the reports coming!

UPDATE: Summer 2007 -- I'm also excited to announce that Andy and Kate McLaughlin of Chenega Bay (on Evans Island in the Prince William Sound) have completed their training as hummingbird banders and are working with me on hummingbird research in that region. These biologists own McLaughlin Environmental Services and are currently studying Humpback Whales in winter and Rufous Hummingbirds in summer. Talk about both extremes! Andy and Kate are going to be an integral part of our Alaska hummingbird research group -- I fully expect them to band hundreds more hummingbirds than I will each summer in the state!