Then we got into these…
Eagles. Homer is known for its Eagles and it did not disappoint. We headed out toward the end of the Spit and they were waiting right there for us. Wonderful. So we introduced ourselves and and asked them to model for a while. Homer Eagles are very accommodating and the photography was incredible. I don’t know if you can imagine this but we were less than six feet away from them at times. Very honored to be able to photograph these beautiful birds. There will be a couple images from this trip in the Spring Releases. This one might be one of them.
Breakfast
We stopped in at Two Sisters Bakery and had a great breakfast. The Mocha is to die for I can tell you that and the Blueberry scones are tops. Really enjoyed listening to the local banter too. Seafaring stories and all, it was great and we felt right at home. By the way they make a pretty good breakfast quiche too.
Off to Homer
We headed down to Homer for some good old fashioned bird photography. We were very successful in finding birds and good views. We started out at Bishops Beach watching the sunrise. The tide was low but not the big minus tide of the month. There were a few clam diggers out there and we enjoyed watching the eagles fly by on their way over to the spit. Great sunrise the first morning, looking south.
Homer Wheels
These cable wheels caught my eye while I was poking around the bouy area on the docks on the Homer spit. The Coast Guard was looking like it was making preparations to get underway and had a few of these on the main decks also. I didn’t try any stealth boarding attempts on the Coastie but I did overtly photograph these without fear. The seaside in general is a wonderful place to receive a bounty of visual stimulus and a dock area is really icing on the cake with all of the goings on there.
Buoys Awaiting Service
I am continuing this Homer Spit/Maritime theme for a bit because, well, I like it. This is another set of buoys being temporarily stored on the docks at the end of the Spit.
Homer Buoys
We were out on the Homer Spit and the Coast Guard was getting (somewhat) ready to put these buoys out. Some were freshly painted and some were apparently waiting for their upgrade. Very colorful and the lines were inspiring. The Homer Spit is not just a tourista trap, you gotta look around a little.
Homer, Alaska
We just got back from several days in Homer. The weather was very spring like so that brought some rain but also some very dramatic cloud formations. You know what they say, “Bad weather makes for good photographs.” The shore birds are showing up but the recent volcanic ash dump seems to have dampened the activity a bit. There was quite a bit of it, Homer got about a 1/4″ of an inch of accumulation. Didn’t eat here but I have plans…
Alaska Birding
The Alaska Birding Season is heating up. There are several resources for you to take advantage of if you are so inclined; if you are coming in from out of state the websites are great places to start.
Anchorage Audubon Society – http://www.anchorageaudubon.org/
Mat-Su Birders – http://www.matsubirders.org/index.html
Birding in Homer – http://birdinghomeralaska.org/
Birding in Fairbanks – http://www.arcticaudubon.org/
Juneau Audubon Society – http://www.juneau-audubon-society.org/
The Alaska Website with info on birding http://www.alaska.com/activities/birds/
Those are all excellent resources to begin with. Here is some information on the bird festivals in Alaska:
The Copper River Delta Shore Bird Festival that is held in Cordova
http://cordovachamber.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=44
The Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer.
http://www.homeralaska.org/events/kachemakBayShorebirdFestival/index.htm
The Bald Eagle Festival in Haines
Sandhill Crane Festival in Fairbanks
http://www.arcticaudubon.org/crane.html
Bird Festivals are a great way to get out and see Alaska and of course the wildlife. There are cruises that cater specifically to these festivals and to birding in general in the Bay areas and in the course of bird watching you are very likely to see a great deal of the rest of the wildlife that is present in Alaska.