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This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of April 2023!
posted: April 30th, 2023

This page begins with sunrise colors on April 3rd. After that, we jump to April 8th with a trip out to Chena Hot Springs and several bird photos. Then there are two photos that were taken at home - they show the snow depth and extent. Then we show some photos of more birds on April 14th, more snowy photos at home, then a Boreal Owl at home. After that is a visit to Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge and several photos of waterfowl. Similar to past years April photos pages, the final item here is seven photos that compare snow depth in our driveway on April 30 in the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin April 3rd - 30th
  The two sunrise shots in this row were taken on April 3rd at 7:10 AM. They were taken from the east end of our front porch.
Apr03_1_SunriseTimeAtHomeRC
Apr03_1_Sunrise
TimeAtHomeRC
Apr03_2_SunriseTimeAtHomeRC
Apr03_2_Sunrise
TimeAtHomeRC

  On April 8th we went out to Chena Hot Springs for a relaxing day soaking in the hot spring lake, eating their food, and seeing what there was to see. One thing we saw in unprecedented numbers were Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis). As you can see, somebody put out some bird seed and they are quite happy to eat that free food.
April8th_005_ChenaHotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_005_Chena
HotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_021_ChenaHotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_021_ChenaHot
Springs_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_027Crop_ChenaHotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_027Crop_Chena
HotSprings_SnowBuntingRC

  Here are three additional shots of Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis). The only time of the year we see this species is during spring migration, when they briefly pass through Interior Alaska on their way to their nesting grounds.
April8th_076_ChenaHotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_076_Chena
HotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_007Crop_ChenaHotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_007Crop_Chena
HotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_130Crop_ChenaHotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_130Crop_Chena
HotSprings_SnowBuntingRC

  Here are the final two photos of the Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis). We hope to be able to see them again next year.
April8th_081_ChenaHotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_081_Chena
HotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_138Crop_ChenaHotSprings_SnowBuntingRC
April8th_138Crop_Chena
HotSprings_SnowBuntingRC

  We were most fortunate to also have seen a single pair of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis) - WOW! Kazuya had never seen this species, and I had only seen it once before in my life - back in 1977 at Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
April8th_146Adj_ChenaHotSprings_GrayCrownedRosyFinchRC
April8th_146Adj_ChenaHotSprings
_GrayCrownedRosyFinchRC
April8th_150Crop_ChenaHotSprings_GrayCrownedRosyFinchRC
April8th_150Crop_ChenaHotSprings
_GrayCrownedRosyFinchRC
April8th_155Crop_ChenaHotSprings_GrayCrownedRosyFinchRC
April8th_155Crop_ChenaHotSprings
_GrayCrownedRosyFinchRC

  The first photo in this row was taken looking south while standing in our driveway on April 13th. The second shot was taken out our west window and shows snow depth. Note that this is AFTER I have already climbed up on top of this pile once and knocked the top off it so that we could continue to be able to throw snow up there.
Apr13_DrivewayAtHomeRC
Apr13_
DrivewayAtHomeRC
Apr14_FromWestWindowRC
Apr14_
FromWestWindowRC

  On April 14th the Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) came to our neighborhood. One of our neighbors down the road has some Mountain Ash trees in their yard and those berries are the reason these birds visit our local area. Kazuya was most fortunate to have gotten these shots of them while they were in the area.
April14th_010_BohemianWaxwingRC
April14th_010_
BohemianWaxwingRC
April14th_016_BohemianWaxwingRC
April14th_016_
BohemianWaxwingRC
April14th_028_BohemianWaxwingRC
April14th_028_
BohemianWaxwingRC

  Here are two additional photos of the Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) when they visited our neighborhood. The final photo in this row shows something we tried as an experiment this year (more details in next row).
April14th_044Crop_BohemianWaxwingRC
April14th_044Crop_
BohemianWaxwingRC
April14th_054_BohemianWaxwingRC
April14th_054_BohemianWaxwingRC
Apr16_FromWestWindowRC
Apr16_From
WestWindowRC

  The first photo in this row shows the experiment upon completion. The center shot shows our house and woodshed from our driveway. The third shot shows this experiment a couple of days after completion. We did this to hopefully, give the snow-melt that is uphill from here some space to soak into the ground before it gets to our driveway. If the experiment works it may prevent our driveway from being so muddy during mud-month (spring breakup).
Apr18_FromWestWindowRC
Apr18_
FromWestWindowRC
Apr23_1_2_ReposPano_FromDrivewayLookingNorthRC
Apr23_1_2_ReposPano_From
DrivewayLookingNorthRC
Apr21_WestYardFromWindowRC
Apr21_West
YardFromWindowRC

  On April 18th I thought I saw something weird in the woodshed while looking out the window, so we went outdoors to study the situation. What did we find? Well, this Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus) is becoming a regular visitor to our porch, and now our woodshed. Maybe this summer it will grace us with some views of its young ones.
Apr18_4_BorealOwlInWoodshedRC
Apr18_4_Boreal
OwlInWoodshedRC
April18th_012Crop_OwlRC
April18th_012
Crop_OwlRC

  On April 25th we spent a few hours at Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge - the waterfowl migration is now in full swing. In this row you can see primarily Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) and Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons).
Apr25_11_CreamersFieldBirdsRC
Apr25_11_Creamers
FieldBirdsRC
Apr25_16_CreamersFieldBirdsRC
Apr25_16_Creamers
FieldBirdsRC
April25th_006_CreamersFieldRC
April25th_006_
CreamersFieldRC

  Here are three additional photos of waterfowl at Creamer's Field. In this row, in addition to swans and white-fronted geese, you can also see several Canada Geese (Branta canadensis).
Apr25_17_CreamersFieldBirdsRC
Apr25_17_Creamers
FieldBirdsRC
Apr25_19_CreamersFieldBirdsRC
Apr25_19_Creamers
FieldBirdsRC
Apr25_27_CreamersFieldBirdsRC
Apr25_27_Creamers
FieldBirdsRC

  Here are the final three shots of waterfowl at Creamer's Field. The final shot, by Kazuya, is pretty special, isn't it.
April25th_200_CreamersFieldRC
April25th_200_
CreamersFieldRC
Apr25_30_CreamersFieldBirdsRC
Apr25_30_Creamers
FieldBirdsRC
April25th_241_CreamersFieldRC
April25th_241_
CreamersFieldRC

  These two shots were taken from our East upstairs window on April 27th. As you can see, there's still a good amount of snow left here. Those animal tracks that are filled with leaves and birch seeds were made by the feral cat that roams the neighborhood every day.
Apr27_1_2_ReposPano_FromUpstairsEastWindowRC
Apr27_1_2_ReposPano_From
UpstairsEastWindowRC
Apr27_3_FromUpstairsEastWindowRC
Apr27_3_From
UpstairsEastWindowRC

  In this row we show you the first three of seven photos that were taken on either April 30 or May 1 over the years. These three photos were taken on April 30, 2017, April 30, 2018, and May 1, 2019.
Apr30Adj_iPhone_THE THAWRC
April 30, 2017
Apr30_1_2_3_AutoPano_Driveway_Yard_SnowRC
April 30, 2018
May1_1_2_3_AutoPano_AtHome_2WebRC
April 30, 2019

  Here are the next two comparison photos - April 30, 2020, and May 1, 2021.
Apr30_3_FromPorchRC
April 30, 2020
May1_2_3_SIPCrop_AutoPano_FromPorchLookingSouthRC
May 1, 2021

  And here are the final two shots, taken on April 30, 2022, and April 30, 2023.
Apr30_iPh_CropSIP_ComparisonPhoto_PreviousYearsRC
April 30, 2022
Apr30_iPhone_AnnualPhotoUpDrivewayRC
April 30, 2023

End April 30, End April 2023's Photos, Begin Our Publications Links

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Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 1: Mt. Daisetsu (Mt. Asahidake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 2: Mt. Chokai (Choukai) Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 3: Mt. Gassan Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 4: Mt. Hakkoda & Mt. Zao
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 5: Mt. Kumotori Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 6: Mt. Shirane (Kusatsu) Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 7: Mt. Shibutsu Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 8: Mt. Kiso-Komagatake
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 9: Mt. Kitadake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 10: Mt. Mizugaki Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 11: Mt. Shiroumadake (includes Mt. Shakushidake & Mt. Yarigatake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 12: Mt. Tate (Tateyama)
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 13: Mt. Yatsugatake (Mt. Akadake) Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 1 of 3 (Winter & Spring) Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 2 of 3 (Summer)
Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 3 of 3 (Autumn) Some Violets of Eastern Japan - 2nd Edition English - Ilokano AND Ilokano - English Dictionary English - Ilokano and Ilokano - English Dictionary - With Some Notes on Ilokano Culture
A Book of Anagrams - An Ancient Word Game A Book of Anagrams - An Ancient Word Game: Volume #2 Forest Resource & Allowable Cut - Fairbanks Working Circle (Alaska) Samurai Seasons Exposed: Nipponese Outdoor Rhapsodies
Heaven and Hell in the Philippines: Journal of a Peace Corps Volunteer All Calendars Wildflowers_of_Interior_Alaska Twelvemile: Summit to Summit

End Our Publications Links, End Page 1 of 1, April 2023

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