On Might 10, 2025, Staff Sapsucker traveled to the spectacular Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, to catch spring migration at one of many Pacific Flyway’s key hotspots. In a primary for a Cornell Lab Large Day, this 12 months’s Staff Sapsucker included each a touring crew and a Large Sit crew that spent the complete day birding from a single location.
Beginning simply earlier than 2 a.m. and going straight by till midnight, the 2 groups reported 106 species—a tremendous complete for early spring in such a northern location. Standouts included three species of godwits in a single flock; a lone Northern Harrier that flew immediately over the Large Sit crew earlier than dawn, Aleutian Terns, and a Canada Jay late within the day that earned a spherical of cheers from the drained vacationers.
The surroundings was a relentless companion. Alongside the horizon, snow-capped peaks rose 5,000 toes out of Kachemak Bay and Prepare dinner Inlet. Dense boreal forest cloaked the land, strewn with scraggly spruce bogs and tiny lakes. Bear tracks traced their approach down grime roads and moose walked by city.
“The sunshine adjustments on a regular basis,” mentioned Wenfei Tong, a member of the touring crew. “Proper now the leaves are all small and greenish-gold and glittering when the solar is shining. Each minute you look out of the automobile, you wish to say wow as a result of it’s so lovely.”
Birding by Automotive, by Boat, and by Foot
The touring crew, Natalia Garcia, Wenfei Tong, Taylor Lengthy, and Gerrit Vyn, have been nonetheless loading up after they heard their first species, a Northern Noticed-whet Owl, at 1:58 a.m. They spent the following 22 hours looking out by automobile, by boat, and on foot all throughout the western Kenai Peninsula.
From three days of scouting they knew they’d have their work minimize out to get to 100 species; many migrant songbirds and shorebirds have been nonetheless on their approach north. The following few dead nights turned up a couple of winnowing Wilson’s Snipe and a few extra Northern Noticed-whet Owls, however little else.
Simply earlier than daybreak they boarded Sandollar, a small ecotour boat, and headed offshore to Gull Island. However the spectacular Tufted Puffins they’d been relying on had but to return to their nest websites. As a substitute, amid clouds of Black-legged Kittiwakes they discovered Black Turnstones and Pelagic Cormorants, plus Marbled Murrelets within the open water. By 6:00 a.m. they have been at 23 species.
Luck and some migrants discovered them within the boreal forest. A singing Townsend’s Warbler and a Lincoln’s Sparrow had most likely simply arrived that night time, together with boreal-forest stalwarts like Hermit Thrush, each kinglets, and Boreal and Black-capped Chickadees.
For a lot of the center of the day they scoured shorelines and open water—choosing out a few Black Scoters among the many Surf and White-winged; combing by tons of of hybrid “Prepare dinner Inlet” gulls in hopes of a pure American Herring; discovering a few Pectoral and Least Sandpipers amongst 1000’s of Dunlin and Western Sandpipers.
And whereas the day delivered traditional Alaska species like Pigeon Guillemot and Various Thrush, it additionally stunned with how onerous it could possibly be to seek out some acquainted species. The crew needed to scratch to get a single Downy Woodpecker, discovered one group of Canada Geese amongst many Cackling, and spied a lone Nice Blue Heron because it raised its head above the reeds for a second. Throughout scouting that they had marked out a patch of roadside with a reliably singing White-crowned Sparrow, just for it to remain silent on Large Day. (It was additionally one of many first species the crew heard the morning after).
They spent the night deep within the boreal forest with their day’s listing hovering at 99. Each little pond they handed appeared to have courting Crimson-necked Grebes or Barrow’s Goldeneyes on it—lovely, however not new. Round 8:30 they heard the buzzy notes of a Redpoll amid the whine of mosquitoes, after which a Noticed Sandpiper to convey them to 101. They spent the remainder of their time till midnight quietly cruising forest roads, stopping each 10 minutes to stare into the darkness and pay attention. Midway by, at 10:40, a Nice Horned Owl hooted within the distance: #102.
Camaraderie and Perseverance Throughout a 17-Hour Large Sit
Whereas the touring crew was masking greater than 100 miles of the Kenai Peninsula, the Large Sit crew spent their day birding inside a single 17-foot circle. They selected a sandy rise studded with driftwood on the south facet of Homer. It regarded out over each the sheltered water of Beluga Slough and the open expanse of Kachemak Bay. Over the following 17 hours they picked out 46 species.
Beginning at 4:30 a.m. the crew—Holly Grant, Jill Leichter, Noa Livernois, and Xavier Raick—have been greeted by a gaggle of 14 Sandhill Cranes. The stately birds have been shut sufficient to see their frosty breath within the morning air. Quickly after, a male Northern Harrier, or “grey ghost,” whispered overhead within the dim pre-dawn mild. A bunch of dainty Bonaparte’s Gulls made a detailed fly-by, and beautiful Horned Grebes bobbed within the water. A lone Whimbrel probed the shoreline, the sand tinged pink by the rising solar. About 150 sea otters floated within the distance with younger pups balanced on their chests.
“The primary few hours particularly have been actually magical,” Holly Grant mentioned. “Simply watching the solar rise over the mountains and to have that early morning calm in the midst of all these large mountains, with nearly no person on the market, and all these birds and otters.”
Large Sits, with their emphasis on birding a single location moderately than spending a day dashing from place to put, present an effective way for nearly anybody to do a Large Day. With the slower tempo, the crew received to know their environment. They chatted and shared scope views with passersby, together with Homer locals, guests to the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Pageant, and even a couple of Cornell Lab members. The crew took turns strolling the 2 blocks again to Homer for toilet breaks, or to select up a cardamom knot from the Two Sisters Bakery. For supper, they introduced a pizza over to their rely circle.
However that’s to not say Large Sits are straightforward; they will supply as a lot problem as any Large Day. Faraway birds are onerous to determine, and at a Large Sit there’s no solution to get a more in-depth look. The crew needed to keep vigilant, continually scanning the identical horizon options—open water, the perimeters of the marsh, the distant treeline—in case a brand new chicken got here into view. Nothing seen or heard from outdoors the rely circle qualifies, so despite the fact that the crew heard a Wilson’s Snipe from their driveway as they headed out for the day, they needed to depart it off their listing.
And so they wanted perseverance: the crew’s final new chicken for the listing got here simply after midday—a gaggle of Lapland Longspurs flitting across the higher seaside. The crew spent the remainder of the day valiantly scanning, holding out hope for a Pacific Loon to seem among the many Commons, or for a Steller’s Jay to circle over a constructing, whereas the relentless seabreeze blew into their faces for 9 hours straight.
At 9:30, in an echo of the morning, a gaggle of 35 Whimbrel flew in by the nightfall, as alpenglow turned the distant mountains pink.
Magical Moments
Regardless of the hardship and sleep deprivation, Large Days at all times have magical moments in them. At one level, the touring crew discovered themselves on their lonesome on Homer Spit as some 60 drained godwits—Bar-tailed, Hudsonian, and Marbled—flew in. This single flock contained vacationers from as distant as New Zealand (the Bar-tailed), Tierra del Fuego (the Hudsonian), and western Mexico (the Marbled)—all funneling by this one essential spot on the Kenai Peninsula earlier than reaching the wealthy tundra of the North Slope.
For the Large Sit crew it was the cranes, the harrier showing out of the mist, and shorebird flocks twisting within the distance through the lengthy afternoon. “After they fly within the sky, they sort of sparkle,” Jill recalled. “They flash between stomach and upperwings, and it’s like they glitter within the sky.”
Within the morning, because the tide ebbed, a Surfbird dropped in to a newly uncovered rock strewn with seaweed. This specialist of rocky shores had discovered the one appropriate habitat within reach of the Large Sit circle, and proceeded to wow the crew with its crisp, slate-gray chevrons and flashes of rufous on the again. It was a lifer for all 4 crew members.
Congratulations to Staff Sapsucker on a wonderful exhibiting of 106 species, and for his or her stamina, talent, dedication, and unflagging good humor. Examine their mixed eBird Journey Report for extra particulars. And we ship a particular thank-you to all of the individuals who adopted Large Day and who supported Staff Sapsucker with a donation to assist fund the Cornell Lab’s conservation work. We couldn’t do it with out you.
