アラスカその４ / Alaska Part 4 – Homer

2025年7月4日 Travel, Nature observation, Birds, Landscape photography

Continued from Part 3 (Seward – Kenai Fjords National Park)

We left Seward and drove for about three hours to Homer, a town at the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. Homer is known as a gathering place for artists. Perhaps because it’s the southernmost point reachable by road, it feels somewhat warm and has a bit of a special atmosphere. The sand spit area, Homer Spit, is bustling with shops and tourists.

Tern Lake landscape — Tern Lake, located at the junction for Seward and Homer when coming from Anchorage.

Rear view of a Black-billed Magpie in flight — A Black-billed Magpie spotted along the way. In my home region of northern Kyushu in Japan, magpies are common in winter, and they look identical, though this North American species is technically considered separate (though some treat it as a subspecies).

We arrived in Homer. The town has many art galleries selling works by local artists. Just browsing is enjoyable, but I found a beautiful painting and ended up buying it.

Up to this point, we’d been lucky enough to see plenty of wildlife. Birds, however, had been less abundant than I’d hoped. With one last chance, I headed out while my family was still asleep.

Grassland landscape with scattered driftwood at Beluga Slough in Homer — Beluga Slough Trail, near the base of Homer Spit. It lies between wetlands and the sea.

Orange-crowned Warbler standing among green trees in Homer — Orange-crowned Warbler.

Ring-necked Pheasant walking in front of dense green shrubs in Homer — Ring-necked Pheasant, an Asian species introduced for hunting that has become feral here.

Juvenile American Crow perched in a tree in Homer — A juvenile American Crow. I’d recently been hearing them calling loudly outside my house, and here they were making noise too.

Distant view of a misty wetland before dawn with mountains in the background in Homer — Morning mist over the wetlands.

Bald Eagle flying toward the camera against a dawn blue sky while being chased by two crows in Homer — Looking up, I saw a large bird approaching. A Bald Eagle was being chased by crows. It seems crows and raptors don’t get along anywhere.

Bald Eagle flying against a dawn sky in Homer

Two Bald Eagles perched side by side on a dead tree in a wetland, with one calling in Homer — Its mate soon arrived, and the two perched side by side on a fallen tree, calling loudly to each other.

Two Bald Eagles perched side by side on a dead tree, both facing the morning sun in Homer — Just then, the morning sun broke through. Staying crouched in the grass, I inched closer and fired away.

Wetland and grassland landscape of Beluga Slough in Homer — Bald Eagles could be seen on the right side of the water.

One Bald Eagle perched on a dead tree in morning light as another Bald Eagle flies in to join it in Homer — They moved to a fallen tree a short distance away.

Two Bald Eagles calling to each other from a dead tree in a sunlit wetland at Homer — They called to each other again.

Two Bald Eagles perched on a dead tree in a wetland during morning light at Homer — The female is larger, but telling the sexes apart is still difficult.

Two Bald Eagles perched on a dead tree on a mid-channel island in a wetland landscape at Homer

Two Bald Eagles perched side by side on a dead tree in a sunlit wetland with forest in the background at Homer — Considering I only had about an hour to spare, encountering this scene felt incredibly lucky.

Bald Eagle flying through dawn light with snow-covered mountains in the background at Homer — The Bald Eagle flew off.

Bald Eagle flying against a blue sky while bathed in golden morning light at Homer

Golden-crowned Sparrow standing on grass with white flowers in Homer — A Golden-crowned Sparrow hopping through the grass.

Savannah Sparrow perched on a dead branch in open grassland in Homer — A Savannah Sparrow.

Close-up of a Savannah Sparrow perched on a flower with a smooth yellow-green background at Homer — It wasn’t shy, so I could get a nice close shot.

One-eyed American Crow standing on a sandy beach in morning sunlight at Homer — An American Crow missing one eye.

Herring Gull with its chick peeking out from behind at Homer — I returned to the lodge, then went to the boat harbor at Homer Spit to look for sea otters. Many American Herring Gulls had gathered there. I didn’t notice at the time, but there was a chick in the background.

Portrait of a Herring Gull perched on a weathered wooden post against a blue sky with clouds at Homer — Another American Herring Gull, though in this region many are thought to be hybrids with the Glaucous-winged Gull, which has light gray wingtips—making identification tricky.

Sea otter swimming in the ocean at Homer — Still no sea otters. Scanning the open ocean side with binoculars, I spotted something swimming that looked like an otter. It was moving quickly toward somewhere, much faster than I expected, and I eventually lost sight of it.

Black Oystercatcher standing on a pebble beach at Homer — A Black Oystercatcher. They tend to be rather wary, and I’ve rarely been able to get close.

I returned to the boat harbor. I had already walked around here with my family earlier and was about to give up and head back when something swam right past me.