>
I'll be passing through Homer, Alaska on August 4th, and then again on =
August 11 (taking the Homer-Dutch Harbor ferry) and wonder if a day's =
layover would be adequate to bird Homer. Any hot birding places in =
Homer--any good birds in August? =20

Thanks!~

linda bartlett<

Homer is a good birding spot, Linda. You pretty much have to have a
vehicle, but if you are taking a taxi from the airport to the ferry, you
might
be able to stash your gear at the ferry office and do a fair amount of
birding
along the Homer Spit. This is a long gravel bar that juts out into Kachemak
Bay and has a lot of public beach, esp. on the ocean side, where you
can look for sea ducks, loons, cormorants, murres, murrelets, etc. The
ferry dock is almost at the end of the Spit.

Other birding hot spots around Homer are Bishop's Beach, Mud Bay
(at the base of the Spit), Beluga Slough and Beluga Lake.

August is not as birdy a time as May - June and it may be too early
to expect the occasional rare fall migrant like Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.
But there are always birds around and chances for oddball things.
It will be nice if you have a spotting scope in Homer, but it probably
won't be too useful on the ferry. Too many vibrations.

I recommend ordering "A Birder's Guide to the Kenai Peninsula" by
George West (who might be subscribed to Tweeters right now. George?)
available from ABA Sales or from the Pratt Museum, 3779 Bartlett
Street, Homer, AK 99603.

Chris Maack
Anchorage, AK
CMaack at compuserve.com