Date: 9/17/26 11:12 pm From: rainyday via groups.io <c_griz...> Subject: [AKBirding] Thursday, September 17, 2026 Two Golden Eagles at Exit Glacier!
Thursday, September 17, 2026 Two Golden Eagles at Exit Glacier!
Seward, Alaska
Two dark specks soared along the rugged rocky ridge above three Mt Goats at Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. Shreds of clouds occasionally obscured them until they emerged sailing gracefully along another section.
Binoculars and a telephoto camera lens revealed the broad wings, long tail, and short head: GOLDEN EAGLES! At least one of them sported the white underwing patches of a juvenile. The habitat was perfect, a rocky subalpine habitat with potential for Mt Goat kids, ground squirrels, or birds.
When I enlarged my photos at home on the computer, I saw 17 much smaller birds mobbing one of the Eagles as it flew close to the ground. Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches? Pipits? An assortment of angry birds? Who is still up there in mid-September besides the year-round resident Mt Goats?
Other than two BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES chasing each other through the cottonwoods along the lower trail, and a DOWNY WOODPECKER, it was very quiet.
Without the optics, the glacier, scenery and beauty would still have been spectacular, but the discovery of the speck birds elevated my experience to joy and wonder.
