This winter large numbers of redpolls have been observed at bird feeders, from Fairbanks to Anchorage. ADFG reports that mass mortality events of redpolls have also been observed. ADFG advises homeowners not to handle dead or sick birds, and to prevent pets from coming in contact with them. Bird illness may be caused by a bacteria that could also affect people and pets.
This morning I heard and saw a robin in Fairbanks right near the fairgrounds. I have lived in Fairbanks for more than 30 years and have never seen a robin this early!
Warm temperatures are rapidly melting snow and creating ice, which creates difficult conditions for dog mushers. Migratory birds are arriving early, and a mosquito emerged months early. Small owls dead around the Goldstream Valley that looked unusually thin.
After a record-low last winter, the birds are making a comeback. Redpolls, seen in two varieties in Alaska — the common and the hoary — have attracted scientists’ attention because the birds survive super-cold temperatures. Physiologist Laurence Irving ranked redpolls’ feathers just behind pine grosbeaks for “apparent usefulness for insulation.”Redpolls have a secret weapon other small birds, including chickadees, don’t possess: food pouches on each side of their necks.
Peregrine falcon observed in interior Alaska in early January.
We've seen these birds in the Fairbanks area before but neither my wife or I could recall seeing one at this time of year.
Sunshine is abundant this time of year, but cooler temperatures this week have slowed the melting of a well above normal snowpack in Fairbanks. That’s affecting migratory bird’s arrival at a local refuge.
Never seen a grouse this size.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists collected the sample containing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N2 virus, or HPAI, from a mallard during a routine bird-banding activity. The HPAI virus is not considered a threat to humans, Alaska officials said.
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