ABA BIRDFINDING GUIDES

A Birder's Guide to Alaska

UPDATES as of 12/03

Page v: Under Chapter Authors – for some unknown and unacceptable reason, the names of three authors were omitted from this list. They are: Paul Baicich: former Editor of Birding and field trip leader to many places in Alaska including Attu, Jeff Bouton: birder of interior Alaska now living in Florida, and Terry Doyle: wildlife biologist at Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge and now manager of Ten Thousand Islands NWR in Florida. Our apologies to these three for our omissions.

Page 4: To the Maps, Guides, and Birding Tours section, add "Wilderness Birding Adventures – e-mail to wildbird@alaska.net."

Page 10: Butterflies – There are not hundreds of butterflies in Alaska. Ken Philip told me that there are only 85 species currently recognized. However, there are at least 230 species of moths and perhaps as many as 400.

Page 33: Anchorage Chapter, entrance to Chugach State Park. On page 33, second paragraph, line 4 where it says to drive south to Huffman Road is incorrect. It is better to reach the Upper Huffman and Glenn Alps entrances to the park by taking the New Seward Highway to the O'Malley exit, drive east and turn right onto Hillside (there will be a small sign at that intersection for the Upper Huffman entrance). Then go a few miles and turn left onto Upper Huffman Road and continue as in the guide.

Page 41: Hatcher Pass – paragraph 1, line 6 is not correct. The road is usually closed in winter by gates at 17.5 mile from the Palmer-Wasilla side where the road over the pass and the road to Hatcher Pass Lodge and Independence Mine State Park separate, and at mile 21.0 from the Willow side. The gates are closed when the road becomes dangerous because of snowfall, usually at the end of September, and is not plowed in spring. The gates may not be opened until the first of July.

Page 51: Petersville Road – paragraph 2, lines 1 and 2 - the road is now paved to mile 9.5.

Page 127: The Underwing Moth (Catacola sp.) shown at the bottom of the page does NOT occur in Alaska and should not have been included in the guide (author's mistake!).

Page 187: second paragraph, line 10. The telephone number for Sheep Mountain Lodge given in the text should be (877) 645-5121 – that is their toll free number. The local number is (907) 745-5121.

Page 188: Nabesna Road – There may be a few mile markers left on the road, but it is best to set your odometer at the Tok Cutoff and follow the text mileages from there.

Page 212: Nome Chapter – last line in the first paragraph – change "around mid-August" to "by late August."

Page 214: second paragraph – move the sentence starting "Staging waterfowl…lots of ducks." to page 216 and insert it on line 3 of the first paragraph before the sentence that starts "Shorebirds stage…"

Page 216: add a sub-heading before paragraph 3 "Solomon to Council" as the following paragraph to the middle of page 217 is not about late summer and fall birding at Safety Sound but a continuation of the route to Council.

Page 238: Gambell Chapter – The Cliffs – the elevation of Sevuokuk Mountain is 600 feet.

Page 244: Necessities – line 5 – should read "600-foot mountain."

Page 247: Pribilof Chapter – paragraph 1, line 4, change "including cormorants" to "including Red-faced Cormorants."

Page 248: Top of page line 5, after "visit during June" add "when seabirds are more numerous." On line 6 – 7, insert a parenthetical after "late spring (late May through early June)"

In full paragraph 2, line 1, insert after "many birding treasures but has received less attention than spring."

In line 5, delete the word "single."

In full paragraph 3, line 2, change "waders" to "shorebirds."

Page 249: First full paragraph, line 5, change "Arctic Fox" to "An endemic subspecies of the Arctic Fox, the "Blue Foxes" patrol."

Page 250: Paragraph 1, line 4, add "Eye-browed Thrush" to the list.

In full paragraph 3, add to the end of the paragraph "Check here for Sharp-tailed Sandpipers in August and September."

Page 251: Second full paragraph, line 10, rewrite sentence starting "A mass exodus." to read "A mass exodus of them from the cliff when the eggs of panicing birds are lost over the edge of the cliff is known as a "dread flight."

Page 253: Paragraph 2, add Siberian "Rubythroat" to the list of birds on lines 2 and 3.

In paragraph 4, add "Townsend's Warbler and Golden-crowned Kinglet" to the list on lines 6 and 7.

Page 254: Full paragraph 3, line 8, "yielded vagrant Asiatic passerines." add "The lake itself can host migrant shorebirds (Wood Sandpiper has been seen here a few times) and ducks, and the nearby collapsed lava tubes should be checked for migrants and vagrants as well (a Hawfinch was here in the spring of 2003)."

In full paragraph 4, line 6, after "experience by walking" add "the two-track path".

In line 8, after "Kittiwake Condos" add "just beyond the crest of the hill".

Page 256: In the Side Trip to Marunich box, paragraph 2, line 2 after "road to Marunich." add "Watch for Pacific Golden-Plover and Long-tailed Jaeger along the way in spring and fall."

In line 7, after "tattlers." add "and other shorebirds."

Page 259: In the last line of text on this page change "2001" to "2003."

Page 260: Top of the page, add to the list "Gray-spotted Flycatcher, Dusky Thrush (including Naumann's subspecies), Varied Thrush, and Red-breasted Nuthatch."

Page 271: Paragraph 2 under "Tern Lake to Seward," line 5, after "Sitka Spruce" add (mostly Lutz Spruce, a hybrid with White Spruce)" and then delete the words "Western and" as there are no Western Hemlocks here. Paragraph 3, line 3, delete the statement about walking on the glacier. This is an active glacier, has crevasses and has killed visitors who have gotten too close during calving.

Page 272: On the detailed map in the upper left, remove the words "ferry dock" at the south end of 4th Avenue. Move the ferry dock to the Alaska RR Dock at the end of Port Avenue.

Page 273: Line 5, remove the "lumber mill" as it is closed and the road to it is private. On line 6, change the "state prison" to Spring Creek Correctional Facility." The correct name of the Marine Industrial Center is Seward Marine Industrial Center abbreviated SMIC. On line 7, remove "The road is gated…Fourth-of-July Creek." and substitute "Public access to the area is gained by taking the first road to the left after the Correctional Facility by the oil storage tanks, then taking the second right on a dirt road to a "T" intersection. Turn right and follow the dirt road to the beach where you can park and walk to Fourth-of-July Creek." At the bottom of the page under SEWARD, line 3, delete the word "lumber" as the city no longer supports the lumber industry.

Page 274: Line 8, remove the words "near the ferry dock." The SeaLife Center features Steller Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Tufted Puffins, Red-legged Kittiwakes, Black Oystercatchers, and other seabirds. Line 13 (end of paragraph) change "destroyed much of the old town" to "destroyed most of the waterfront." Second paragraph, line 3, change "Old Airport Road" to "Port Avenue." Line 5, for security reasons you are no longer allowed to walk up on the railroad dock. Third paragraph, line 1, change "Old Airport Road" to "Port Avenue." On line 2, change "Government Road" to "Dairy Hill Lane." Make the same change on the next line and on line 8. Line 9, change "First, however,…small-boat harbor." to "From Benny Benson Memorial Park, turn right back onto the Seward Highway and continue south to the small-boat harbor."

Page 275: Paragraph 2, line 7 change "First Avenue" to "Third Avenue." Third paragraph, line 2, change "ferry dock" to "SeaLife Center." Line 4, change "The road ends…shoreline." to read "The road ends in a residential area, private campground, and Lowell Point State Park. Park in the upper parking lot and take a short walk to the beach. A hike on a well-maintained trail to Tonsina Point from the parking lot goes through coastal rainforest to the beach."

Page 329: In the discussion of birds found out of Dutch Harbor, we made an editorial change in your chances of seeing Mottled Petrel with Far West Outfitters that the chapter author did not have a chance to review. Instead of "regular," John Lucking reports that your chances of finding Mottled Petrels are much "less likely" rather than that printed in the guide.

Page 456: In the smaller-scale map on the left, remove the camping symbol and the words "Chilkat State Park" as there is no campground on the east side of Mud Bay Road. The campground shown on the detailed map on the left south of Letnikov Cove and opposite Kochu Island is correct.

Page 476: Annotated List - There are many, many additions to be made to the list. I hope to update the entire list over the winter and with permission of ABA, have an updated copy available for those who already own a copy of the guide sometime in December 2003.

Page 525: Gyrfalcon in the checklist. Place an "M" in the column for Nome.

Page 535: White Wagtail in the checklist. Change the "E" under Nome to "H."

Page 552: Add "Endicott Arm - northwest running bay from Dawes Glacier into Stephens Passage south of Juneau and E of Admiralty Island.".