Temps in the low 50s, overcast until late in the day, rain until mid-afternoon, Wind SW 20-40 mph diminishing late in the day
Weather, October 3, 2025
The day started out on a sour note. The power went out in the middle of the night again, but this time the backup generator at this set of houses wouldn’t start. Mark finally got it going later in the morning, but it made for a cold breakfast by flashlight to start the day.
As soon as it was light enough to see, I headed out, even though the conditions were not too freindly.
However, I was able to tally some birds and the weather turned nicer (but still not nice) later in the day.
The first highlight of the day was three Stellar’s Sea Lions off the Seawall. I had never seen three here (although I had seen a bunch on their rookery on our first Whiskered Auklet boat trip many moons ago) so it was a treat.
Stellar’s Sea Lions, Seawall, October 3, 2025
On my way back towards town I stopped at the Palisades Overlook and spotted a Yellow-billed Loon (trip bird). Of course it was too far for a decent photo, but even in an impossible to focus, waves bobbing, wind blowing photo, you can see the yellow bill and odd head shape.
Yellow-billed Loon, Palisades Overlook, October 3, 2025
Back down at the Sweeper Cove bay watch, five Black Scoters were not too far out.
Black Scoter, Kuluk Bay, October 3, 2025
I took an early afternoon nap and then ventured out again as the rain ended and the sun actually appeared for a (very) few minutes.
As I was scanning the waterfowl on Clam Lagoon, I spotted a large shorebird. It turned out to be a late Bar-tailed Godwit (I tried to make it into a Black-tailed…).
Bar-tailed Godwit (left) with Common Teal, Clam Lagoon, October 3, 2025
It was with a flock of 175+ Common Teal, which ebird said was too many… Their algorthym has never been to Adak!
Again, on the way back, at the Palisades Overlook, a Gyrfalcon posed nicely.
Gyrfalcon, Palisades Overlook, October 3, 2025
I leave Adak at 3 PM tomorrow and will be home Sunday afternoon.
My final post for this trip will be either Sunday or Monday, depending on how tired I am.
Temps in the low 50s, partly sunny, Wind SW 15-30 mph
Weather, October 2, 2025
Another nice day on Adak, but windy.
I usually start my day by going to the mouth of Sweeper Cove (at the base of the breakwall) and scan Kuluk Bay for alcids, etc. (still looking for puffins!).
No sooner had I raised my binos, than a flock of a few dozen Short-tailed Shearwaters filled my view. They were between me and the nearby rocky islands. I am guessing they were only about 1500 feet off shore. Very close for tubenoses.
They quickly ventured farther out in the bay. I went up to the Kuluk Bay overlook in hopes there were more, and there were, but they had moved much farther out. I watched for a while and saw more shearwaters, but no larger or smaller stiff-wings joined them.
I went down to the end of the closed runway to take my daily weather photo. I then scanned the runway and environs. Sitting in the middle of the runway were two Gyrfalcons, shortly joined by a third!
Gyrfalcons, October 2, 2025
I had never seen three gyrfalcons at once before. So this was a treat.
At Sweeper Channel, the Belted Kingfisher, which had eluded me since I saw it last Saturday, was present.
Belted Kingfisher, Sweeper Channel, October 2, 2025
The rest of the day was nice birding, but not for walking. I walked out the Clam Lagoon Peninsula (nothing new) but it was a slog walking back into 40 mph winds.
In the spring, Red-faced Cormorants are mostly seen off the Seawall, being careful to not get too close for decent photos… But in the fall, many of the young Red-faced have not yet learned that from their parents and venture elsewhere. My best Red-faced Cormorant photos are of young birds in the fall. They are very distinctive with white surrounding the bill (a feature not shown in most bird guides, by the way!).
There are always a bunch of cormorants roosting on the fuel dock — mostly Pelagics. Here is a young Red-faced mixed in.
Pelagic Cormorants and 1 Red-faced Cormorant, Fuel Dock, October 2, 2025
Temps in the 50s, mostly sunny, Wind WNW 15-20 mph
Weather, October 1, 2025
Another nice day on Adak. A little windy, but not too bad.
Up at Clam Lagoon, I spotted two Emperor Geese out on the flats.
I new that Vicky and Jen were in the area, so I called them and they arrived to add them to their trip list before flying home today.
At the Marsh, a Pectoral Sandpiper walked right up to my car.
Pectoral Sandpiper, the Marsh, October 1, 2025
I find many Pecs out here are rather tame.
After seeing the girls off at the airport, I headed up to the Loran Station. It was pouring rain last week when I tried, so I thought today might be a little better. And with the WNW winds, I thought maybe the seabirds would be closer in. NOT!
There were lots of Short-tailed Shearwaters and Laysan Albatrosses flying by, but way out. Identifiable in the scope, but not very satisfying. And no Black-footed or Short-tailed albatross…
On the way back, I stopped at the National Forest feeder. Too bad the rosy-finches don’t like my feeders…
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches, Adak National Forest, October 1, 2025
I had two Bramblings at the Thrush Feeder.
I don’t see many sunsets out here (cloudy), so tonight’s was special.
Sunset, October 1, 2025
And here is Kuluk Bay in the fading light. Note the moon.
Kuluk Bay, October 1, 2025
I am now the only hardcore birder on the island for the next three days.
Temps in the 50s, overcast, moderate to light rain all day, Wind SSW 5-10 mph
Weather, September 30, 2025
Another rainy day, but not as bad as the last one. Although it never completely stopped, many times during the day it was so light as to be stopped.
And the wind was not bad.
Only one trip bird today, but it was a nice one.
I finally caught up to one of the Eurasian Skylarks that had been reported. As usual, it was in the middle of the road. This photo was through the windshield in the rain…
Eurasian Skylark, Clam Lagoon, September 30, 2025
At the Seawall, I saw some more Thick-billed Murres.
Thick-billed Murres, Seawall, September 30, 2025
After not seeing any Oystercatchers the first week, I saw 12 today!
I had a Brambling at the National Forest this morning (one of many that are here right now).
I had Brambling on only 11 of my first 25 trips out here (although Bramblings were seen by others on some of those trips, just not by me.).
However, I have had Bramblings on the last 8 consectutive trips (Spring and Fall). They appear to be more regular now. I’m sure I just put the hex on next year’s spring trip…
Here is one of the many Peregrine Falcons hanging around.
Peregrine Falcon, Marina, September 30, 2025
As I mentioned a few days ago, the Wigeon population exploded. Well, so have the overall numbers of waterfowl. The numbers of Mallards, Northern Pintails, Greater Scaup, and Common Teal have all increased dramatically the past few days.
I have been here in other Septembers when the Wigeon numbers increaed dramatically at the end of September, but had not seen the other waterfowl increasel as well. I assumed that most waterfowl started arriving later in October. That is probably true, but this year it is certainly early.
Here is a photo of just some of the waterfowl on Clam Lagoon today.
Temps in the 60s!, mostly sunny!, Wind light and variable, changing to W 15-20 later in the day
Weather, September 29, 2025
Another beautiful sunrise.
Sunrise, September 29, 2025
We walked the marsh edge at Clam Lagoon this morning, but the only new bird was a Common Snipe.
Shortly after I left the girls, they had a flock of 11 Pacific Golden-Plovers fly over.
I had 4 Pacific and 1 Common loon today. And a flock of 60 Cackling Geese. Birds are moving…
We did not see the Tufted Duck today, but sunny days like this make for terrible lighting on Lake Shirley, and many of the ducks there were ensconced in the reeds.
I had another Gyrfalcon on the Seawall.
Gyrfalcon, Seawall, September 29, 2025
The lava dome on Mount Sitkin keep growing. Here are two photos showing the difference in the last few years.
Mount Sitkin, June 2, 2022Mount Sitkin, September 29, 2025Lava dome growth since 2022
Temps in the 50s, partly cloudy, no rain, Wind W 15-25 mph
Weather, September 28, 2025
The rescheduled flight arrived today and bore away Aaron’s group and Ivan.
So there are only me, Vicky, Jen, and Don birding the island. They will all leave on Wednesday.
I spent a lot of time at Clam Lagoon and environs today.
Out on the lagoon were a couple of Northern Shovelers. Along the Seawall, I finally caught up with a Black Oystercatcher.
But the best bird of the day was a female Tufted Duck (my favorite duck!) on Lake Shirley.
When I first spotted it, it was swimming about with its head up. Of course, once I grabbed my camera, it tuck its head in and took a nap!
Tufted Duck (Center rear), Lake Shirley, September 28, 2025
It was an interesting bird, in that it had white undertail feathers and some white around the bill. Both of these features are uncommon in Tufteds, but not unknown. The white undertail made it easy to pick out among all of the other female scaup present.
In late afternoon, I decided to take advantage of the sun to try and get a better photo of one of the Bramblings coming to the Thrush Feeder.
Success!
Brambling, Thrush Feeder, September 28, 2025
Not only that, but a Redpoll showed up and posed as well…
Temps in the low 50s, overcast, raining since last night until 6:30 pm, Wind S changing to W 10-15 mph
I forgot to take the weather photo today…
I thought today was going to be a complete washout (figuratively and literally).
And it was most of the day.
However, I went up to Clam Lagoon first thing and had a large number of waterfowl on the lagoon.
Overnight, a large flock of Wigeon came in. In the horrible conditions, I couldn’t tell much on them, but I returned later this evening and picked out a couple of American Wigeon.
I had a Brambling at the Thrush Feeder again and got a poor photo.
Brambling, Thrush Feeder, September 27, 2025
I didn’t get anything else to write about, so mid-afternoon, I returned to the house and watched the Oregon vs Penn State football game. It is a sad day in Happy Valley…
After dinner, the rain stopped, so I went back up to Clam Lagoon where I had the aforementioned Am.Wigeon.
I then continued around to the Seawall. As I was studying the gulls on the shoreline, a flock of 5 shorebirds flew in. A Rock Sandpiper, three Ruddy Turnstones, and a Dunlin (trip bird).
1 Rock Sandpiper, 2 Ruddy Turnstones, and 1 Dunlin, Seawall, September 27, 2025
I continued down to the end of the Seawall to check out the flock of turnstones and rocks that have been hanging out there.
After a few minutes, the other flock joined them.
Unfortunately, no other shorebirds joined the fray…
The sun was going down (the clouds were just starting to break up to the west). So I headed home.
By the way, today’s flight was cancelled due to the weather, so Aaron’s group got another (very wet) day of birding.
The trip list is 52.
My fall trips average in the high 50s, so having 52 after one week is pretty good. And I am missing a number of common birds (puffins, oystercatcher, etc.).
Temps in the low 50s, partly cloudy, some light mist first thing in the morning, Wind WNW 10-20 mph
Weather, September 26, 2025
Vicky, Jen, and I walked the Clam Lagoon marsh edge this morning.
When we arrived at the South Lookout, two Gyrfalcons were sitting out on the flats.
Gyrfalcon, Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025Gyrfalcon, Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025
Our walk turned up the usual Sharp-tailed and Pectoral sandpipers, but unlike my walk the other day, several of these did not flush as soon as we saw them, allowing some nice photo ops.
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025
Later, when I was sitting near the Thrush feeder eating lunch, the birds all scattered as another Gyrfalcon flew in and landed on a light-post.
Gyrfalcon, Thrush Feeder, September 26, 2025Gyrfalcon, Thrush Feeder, September 26, 2025
I added Horned Grebe and Common Loon to the trip list.
Common Loon, Seawall, September 26, 2025
A peregrine was in the water preparing to bathe when I happened upon it. It flew off rather than suffer the indignity of someone watching it take a bath…
Peregrine Falcon, Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025
And I found a dark-backed gull on the Clam Lagoon flats that I think is a Vega Gull. Earlier in the day, Aaron’s group had immature (first or scend cycle – I don’t remember which) Vega Gulls at Landing Lights and the Seawall. I did not see either of those, but I found an adult bird instead.
It was significantly darker than the Glaucous-winged Gulls it was with, but not as dark as Slaty-backed Gulls that I have seen out here. The photos do not do it justice to how much darker it was, but it was easily picked out with binos when scanning the flock.
Vega? Gull, (center rear) Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025Vega? Gull, (center rear) Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025Vega? Gull, (center rear) Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025Vega? Gull, (center rear) Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025Vega? Gull, (center rear) Clam Lagoon, September 26, 2025
I have been fooled before by lighting causing one gull to look darker than the others, but this gull was facing the same direction, in the same lighting conditions as the others.
Also, the primary tips were black, not gray.
However, with my poor record in gull identification, I may stand corrected…
Temps in the 50s, partly cloudy, a few intermittent sprinkles first thing in the morning, Wind WNW 10-20 mph
Weather, September 25, 2025
Yes! Yes! Yessssss!
I’ll have what she’s having…
If I can’t see your pipit I’ll find my own!
During the above-mentioned sprinkles this morning, a nice rainbow formed.
Rainbow, September 25, 2025
There were a lot of shearwaters passing by Kuluk Bay this morning, but very far out.
There have been at least three different Brambling sightings so far. I saw one of them this morning (no photo op).
At the Marsh, I saw a ptarmigan flying hell-bent-for-election and soon saw why. A Gyrfalcon. The ptarmigan got away…
I added Snow Bunting to the trip list.
There has been a lone Cackling Goose hanging around and from the looks I got it appoeared to not have the white collar typical for the Aleutian subspecies. However, I finally got photos of it today and can see just a bit of a white collar. So it is the Aleutian type.
Cackling Goose, Seawall, September 25, 2025
But the real excitement (for me, anyway) was a Siberian Pipit that I found on the east side of Clam Lagoon (not far from where I saw a Siberian Rubythroat many moons ago).!
These past few days, I have been driving very slowly, looking for lurking passerines along the edges of the road (a time-tested strategy out here).
I saw a small bird fly up from the road and into the grasses on the side of a bluff (it only flew up bout 10 feet). I didn’t see much white in the outer tail feathers, which is typical for the longspurs out here. But It still looked “different.”
I waited it out and it popped back out and flew up the road about 50 feet. I saw through my binos that it was a pipit and the bold eye-ring jumped out at me.
I got out of the car and started photographing it. It continued up the edge of the road until flying off into the grasses well off the road.
Note the following in these photos.
Dark back-streaking
Bold eyering,
White wingbars (as opposed to buffy)
Dark streaking underneath extending to as far back as the legs.
Not in the photos, but little white on the outer tail feathers.
These are all hallmarks of Siberian Pipit (as opposed to American Pipit).
Siberian Pipit, Clam Lagoon, September 25, 2025Siberian Pipit, Clam Lagoon, September 25, 2025Siberian Pipit, Clam Lagoon, September 25, 2025Siberian Pipit, Clam Lagoon, September 25, 2025
This was a lifer for me and number 171 for my Adak List!
What will I find tomorrow?
Vicky and Jen from Sitka arrived today for a week (well, 6 days because of the cancelled flight).
