Counting Ptarmigan with Dale

Still pretty dark - note the car headlights in the parking lot

Yesterday was the Audubon Christmas Bird Count for Kodiak.  The day when all the local serious birders get really serious.  The goal for the day is to see how many different species of birds and their total numbers can be counted in one day.  Every year Kodiak competes with other Alaskan towns to see who can count the most species.  Kodiak usually does pretty well and has gotten the high 'diversity' count in the state a few times.

Every year Dale and I, and a few other intrepid souls, are assigned to climb a mountain and find the birds found only in the alpine.  Basically it is our job to add ptarmigan to the species list, and if we are really good we will find both a willow and rock ptarmigan.

So yesterday Dale and I headed up the mountain just before dawn in search of ptarmigan.  Unlike the last few year's events it was a glorious day.  When we started out in the parking lot it was still pretty dark and as we climbed the mountain the sun came up.  It was a glorious progression from dark, to light pink, to sunlit orange, to blazing sunshine off of the snow.

The snow was pretty icy and the skiing was terrible, but the views worth the trip up.  And we saw 19 ptarmigan (including one certain rock) and 2 pine grosbeaks.

Mission Accomplished.  Patrick

Sun is starting to peek above the horizon

It's finally past sunrise!