A good day for “dickey birds.”

Temp in the 50s, partly sunny, light winds in the morning, becoming S 10-15 by late afternoon.

It is a rare day on Adak without wind, but this morning was the exception.

Overnight, the rain stopped and the wind all but vanished. It must have been a good night for small birds to migrate, as the Lapland Longspur population on the island crashed. Instead of seeing hundreds, we were seeing teens!

At Sweeper Cove, we saw another dolphin–just one this time. It was not frantically hunting like the pod from the other day, but was gently rising to the surface and going back under. We only got glimpses of it three times before it disappeared (no photos). The dorsal fin did not appear bi-colored like the White-sided Dolphins, and we did not see the lower half of the body for other markings. We will look it up when we get home, but it is unlikely that we will be able to identify it.

At Contractor’s Marsh, a Gyrfalcon has taken up territory, much to the dislike of the ravens and the Peregrine that had already staked it out.

Gyrfalcon, Contractor’s Marsh, Sept 17, 2013.

Common Raven chasing Gyrfalcon, Contractor’s Marsh, Sept 17, 2013.

We proceeded up to Adak National Forest and found a threesome of Pacific Wrens.

Pacific Wren, Adak National Forest, Sept 17, 2013.

While photographing these erstwhile little birds, another bird flew around to a higher branch. It was not a wren! It was a crossbill–as you can see, aptly named.

Crossbill, Adak National Forest, Sept 17, 2013.

We both identified it as a Red Crossbill (juvenile–hence no red), but got equivocal when we studied the photos. It might be a White-winged Crossbill. We have solicited help from experts and will let you know the results.

Crossbill, Adak National Forest, Sept 17, 2013.

In any case this is a terrific record. A Red would be a first for Adak and a White-winged a second!

At Haven Lake, a flock of ducks included wigeons, Mallards, and Common Teal. We also heard a snipe there.

At Clam Lagoon, only a few Sharp-tails and Pectorals were out feeding on the flats–and scooted back into the marsh.

The seawall was quiet, except for 15 Red-necked Grebes, 20 turnstones, and a Pacific Golden-Plover.

Pacific Golden-Plover, Seawall, Sept 17, 2013.

.At Lake Shirley, we caught a Peregrine bathing. It flew up towards the seawall, where we caught up with it shortly.

Peregrine Falcon Seawall, Sept 17, 2013.

We went over to a marsh near the road to Lake Andrew, where I walked to see what I could find. All I kicked up was a Pectoral. But while I was doing that, Barb took this picture of a moth that landed on the windshield (Lepidopterists, feel free to chime in!).

Moth, Sept 17, 2013.

Back at Adak National Forest, we tried again for the crossbill. No luck. However, we enjoyed the aerial antics of some Common Ravens.

Common Ravens, Adak, Sept 17, 2013.

We started checking all of the conifers that had cones to see if the crossbill showed up elsewhere. As we approached the Naval Admin Bldg feeder (seed thrown on the sidewalk under a spruce tree), we saw it was just about out of seed. So we pulled up next to it and as I reached for the door handle to get out, I looked up to see a Brambling not ten feet away! It promptly flew off. I scattered some fresh seed and we went to check on another feeder. Nothing there, so we returned to the Naval feeder and the Brambling was back.

Brambling, Naval Admin Bldg, Sept 17, 2013.

As I said, a good day for dickey birds!

Our trip list is 61, just one off our best September list.

A day and a half to go.

Falcons!

Temp about 50, overcast, rain in late afternoon, SW wind 10-20 mph.

As we were driving north on Bayshore Drive this morning, I spotted a falcon flying over the Water Towers Bluff. It “looked funny,” so we drove up to the bluff to try to get a better look. It had flown off by then, so who knows?

At the Elfin Forest, we were excited when a few ducks swam out of the nearby pond, as this is where the Baikal Teal hung out last September. Alas, it was not to be–just Common Teal and Mallards.

At Clam Lagoon, the Sharp-tail/Pectoral flock was again feeding out on the flats. I walked the marsh edge, but didn’t find anything new.

On the east side of Clam Lagoon, I spotted a Peregrine Falcon sitting out on the flats and then saw a larger falcon about 40 yards away, also standing on the flats. It was a Gyrfalcon–our first for this trip.

Gyrfalcon, Clam Lagoon, Sept 16, 2013.

Gyrfalcon, Clam Lagoon, Sept 16, 2013.

They both took off and interacted briefly over the nearby bluff.

Peregrine Falcon (left) and Gyrfalcon, Clam Lagoon, Sept 16, 2013.

On our return trip past the seawall, I noticed a falcon flying over the sea. It was hunting–what, I do not know. It would hover over a spot like a Kestrel and then dive at something on the surface. As far as I could tell, it came up empty-handed every time. It was not diving at birds, but some other sealife. We watched it for about ten minutes, and it never caught anything, but was very determined. It appeared to be the Gyrfalcon.

Gyrfalcon hunting over Sitkin Sound, Sept 16, 2013.

We continued north along the seawall, and while scanning the almost completely calm sea, spotted 20(!) Red-necked Grebes. A new high for us. Obviously, they were on the move last night.

Red-necked Grebes, Seawall, Sept 16, 2013.

The wind is forecast to be from the south, southwest, and west the next few days. The fallout last week came during a rain storm with strong south winds. Here’s hoping!

Lifer! Lifer! (well, not an avian lifer, but a lifer nonetheless!)

Temp in the 50s, partly sunny, SW wind 10-20 mph.

At Sweeper Cove this morning, we found a pod of about 10-11 Pacific White-sided Dolphins! A lifer for us. Trying to get photos was difficult to say the least. Trying to anticipate where they would next breach and snap the photo before they submerged was a real treat! However, I did manage to get one identifiable photo and a picture of them as they swam away into Kuluk Bay.

Pacific White-sided Dolphin, Sweeper Cove, Sept 15, 2013.

Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Sweeper Cove, Sept 15, 2013.

In Kuluk Bay, near Navfac Creek, we spotted a Common Loon, Oldsquaw, and both White-winged and Black scoters. Waterfowl is starting to move, as we are seeing new species and some birds in breeding plumage, not just eclipse.

At Clam Lagoon, a flock of 14 Sharp-tailed and 10 Pectoral sandpipers were out feeding on the flats. There was nothing out on the peninsula, but a nice juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper was joined by a “Songpiper.”

Pectoral Sandpiper and Song Sparrow, Clam Lagoon, Sept 15, 2013.

The Song Sparrows on Adak spend as much, if not more, of their time along the shoreline–both of the lagoon and the sea. We affectionately refer to them as Songpipers.

At the seawall, the sea was calm. The four Horned Grebes were still here, as was the Red-necked Grebe.

Horned Grebe, Seawall, Sept 15, 2013.

At Candlestick Bridge, the Harbor Seals were out sunning.

Harbor Seals sunning at Clam Lagoon, Sept 15, 2013.

Our trip list stands at 56, just six shy of our best September list.

Keep ’em comin’!

Lifer! Lifer!

Temp in the 50s, mostly sunny, west wind 10-20 mph.

After the usual Sweeper Cove/Creek/Feeders route, we headed up to White Alice (a hill west of town where the communication towers are located) and picked up a number of Snow Buntings.

We then headed to Clam Lagoon, where I decided to walk the marsh edge. I kicked out a number of Pectoral and Sharp-tailed sandpipers, some of whom landed on the flats, fed awhile, and then flew back to the marsh.

About halfway up, Barb called me about a few birds closer to her position up at the northwest corner of the tidal flats. She had three Pectorals and a peep and possibly the Mongolian Plover (I know! Its called Lesser Sand-Plover now, but Mongolian is way cooler!). Barb has nicknamed the plover “dumpy” as that is how it looks when first seen through the scope. I was still too far away to see them. They flew off and then appeared to return, but now it was a different mix of birds. There were still three Pectorals, but now there were two peeps–a small one and a larger one.

I finally got close enough to start photographing them and trying to identify them through my binos. The larger peep was an obvious Baird’s Sandpiper–one of the easier peeps to identify.

Baird’s Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, Sept 13, 2013.

The other (smaller) peep looked gray. As I got closer, I saw it had yellow legs! Now I new it was a Temminck’s Stint! A lifer! I photographed the heck out of it, and we studied the photos very carefully when we got back, and confirmed my initial impression. I know from past experience how faulty field observations and first impressions can be. However, the photos confirmed it as a juvenile Temmincks Stint.

Temminck’s Stint, Clam Lagoon, Sept 13, 2013.

Temminck’s Stint, Clam Lagoon, Sept 13, 2013.

I circled around the stint and headed out to the peninsula. Shortly after I rounded the bend, I saw movement ahead. It was the Mongolian Plover. This time, not so wary. The photos I got are still not Nat Geo quality, but much better than yesterday.

Mongolian Plover, Clam Lagoon, Sept 13, 2013

We also saw a Red-necked Grebe today to bring our trip list to 51.

Not a bad start to our second week.

Temp in the 50s, partly sunny, NW wind 10-20 mph swinging to the west.

At Clam Lagoon, the Mongolian Plover continues to hang in with a Semipalmated Plover and a Western Sandpiper. This trio will not allow close approach. The Mongol takes off first quickly followed by the other two. So, although I got better photos today, they are still from a great distance and greatly enlarged.

Mongolian Plover, Clam Lagoon, Sept 12, 2013

Mongolian Plover (left) with Semipalmated Plover, Clam Lagoon, Sept 12, 2013

Mongolian Plover (right) with Western Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, Sept 12, 2013

The only other shorebirds we had at the lagoon today were three Pacific Golden-Plovers. And 9 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers and 4 Pectoral Sandpipers briefly stepped out of the marsh to show themselves.

At the seawall, the surf was up!

Seawall surf, Sept 12, 2013.

We had mostly Rock Sandpipers and Sanderlings there, but also a nice juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper.

Juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper, Seawall, Sept 12, 2013

Also at the seawall, while scanning the shearwaters way off-shore, we picked out a Northern Fulmar and an albatross of undetermined species.

Lake Shirley, in addition to being a good place for waterfowl and an occasional shorebird, is best known as the gulls bathtub. It is a freshwater lake and the gulls come over from the saltwater Clam Lagoon to bathe. There is usually a steady stream of gulls coming and going there.

Gulls bathing in Lake Shirley, Sept 12, 2013

Rental vehicles on Adak are always iffy, but this trip we have a nice 2001 Honda CRV! It is quiet and everything works (except the clock and auxiliary power port)!

Honda CRV, Sept 12, 2013

The trip list stands at 48.

One week down and one to go…

Temp near 50, overcast, rain all day, NW wind 20-30, gusting up to 45+!

The weather was worse today than yesterday. We added no new birds to our trip list, but we got to see some of the birds from yesterday’s fallout in more comfortable conditions (from the car).

The usual places had few or no birds. After making the usual rounds, we ended up back at Clam Lagoon in late afternoon as the tide was coming in.

Many of the birds from yesterday were still hanging around, and as the tide filled the lagoon, the flats got more and more constricted to the northwest corner, where we could sit and watch from the car. Although the lighting, wind, and rain still made photography iffy, we were able to view many of the birds well with the scope.

There were Sharp-tailed, Western, Rock, and Pectoral sandpipers, both Red-necked and Little stints, Sanderlings, and the Mongolian Plover. All except the plover came to the near shore at some point. The plover was only seen briefly way out on the peninsula and I decided NOT to walk out there in these conditions.

One entertaining scene was shorebirds bathing–in the POURING RAIN!

Rock Sandpiper, Sanderling, and Western Sandpipers bathing, Clam Lagoon, Sept 11, 2013.

On our past September trips, we would only see one or two jaegers, as they generally leave by mid-September. So it was a treat today to see eight at one point. In addition, one was in some sort of intermediate plumage–mostly dark, but with some light patches around the head. We caught the following bird with dinner in hand (beak?).

Parasitic Jaeger (with dinner), Clam Lagoon, Sept 11, 2013.

It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow, so maybe there will be better photo-ops if any of the shorebirds stick around.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Temp around 50, overcast, light drizzle/rain in the afternoon, light S wind increasing to 10-20 mph by afternoon.

An uneventful morning. No birds on the Clam Lagoon Peninsula. No shorebirds along the seawall except Rock and turnstone. However, we did see a Herring “Vega” Gull at the seawall.

At Candlestick Bridge, a large flock of Eider and Mergansers was present.

Common Eiders and Red-breasted Mergansers, Clam Lagoon, Sept 10, 2013.

We came back around to the west side and I decided to walk the Clam Lagoon marsh edge from south to north. I got about a third of the way up when four shorebirds dropped from the sky onto the flats a short distance from me. They were Sharp-tailed Sandpipers! Not hidden in the marsh!

Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Clam Lagoon, Sept 10, 2013.

No sooner had I taken a few photos of them than they were joined by two Pacific Golden-Plovers. Then a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers appeared.

Then they flew up and away. I proceeded up the marsh edge, then out the peninsula. Out there were a couple of Western Sandpipers and a Rock Sandpiper. All of a sudden, a mixed flock of shorebirds flew by me, including at least one Sanderling. They circled back out to the flats, where they were joined by many others. Shorebirds kept appearing and joining the others scattered across the flats. I headed back towards the flock. However, ever since I started this walk the wind and rain had been increasing. As I approached the birds, they kept a good distance away, frequently flying up, circling and landing in a new location. These conditions prevented me from getting anything but very marginal photos and at a great distance.

However, in between trying to get photos, I scanned the flock trying to identify as much as possible. Barb also was scanning through them with a scope from the car.

The highlight of the flock was a Mongolian Plover (Lesser Sand Plover to you “young uns”)! I got terrible, but identifiable photos.

Mongolian Plover (front), Clam Lagoon, Sept 10, 2013.

Mongolian Plover, Clam Lagoon, Sept 10, 2013.

This was our second Mongolian Plover that we have had on Adak.

In addition to the plover, other goodies included at least two Red-necked Stints and at least one Little Stint. The birds kept moving and mixing, so it was hard to keep track of how many of everything.

The final tally (our best guesstimate) was 28 Sanderlings, 2 Pacific Golden-Plovers, 3 Semipalmated Plovers, 8 Western Sandpipers, 8 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 4 Pectoral Sandpipers, 2 Red-necked Stints, 1 Little Stint, 1 Mongolian Plover, 1 Long-billed Dowitcher, and several Rock Sandpipers. There may have been more.

In all of our trips out here, we had never seen a fallout like this. Not only was there a variety of shorebirds, they were out on the flats, not hidden in the marsh. The only bad thing was the conditions for photography.

Oh, by the way, did we mention that Adak had a 7.1 earthquake a week and a half ago and has been having aftershocks ever since? We had a 4.8 aftershock two nights ago and a 4.1 today.

.Keep those birds coming!

Temp in the mid-50s, mostly sunny, light to moderate NW wind swinging around to the west by afternoon.

Just another balmy, sunny day on Adak…

The morning started with two of yesterday’s Semipalmated Plovers which had made their way down to the Sweeper Channel.

Just up the road apiece, we spotted a Snow Bunting for the trip list.

We drove up to the Marine Memorial and found several (of the thousand) longspurs perched in the spruces.

Lapland Longspurs, Marine Memorial, Sept 9, 2013.

I walked across part of Contractor’s Marsh, but didn’t scare up anything. However, a young Bald Eagle was curious about my presence.

Bald Eagle, Contractor’s Marsh, Sept 9, 2013.

Even on nice days like this, Mount Moffet usually keeps some clouds obscuring its top.

Mt Moffet, Sept 9, 2013.

But, a few hours later, it showed itself.

Mt Moffet, Sept 9, 2013.

While walking through the Elfin Forest looking for stray Asian passerines, one of Adak’s giant Song Sparrows posed for me.

Song Sparrow, Elfin Forest, Sept 9, 2013.

I walked out the Clam Lagoon Peninsula, but had no shorebirds. We ran into scattered Rock Sandpipers and one turnstone as we drove around to the seawall and Candlestick Bridge.

On the way back, I walked the peninsula again, this time finding four shorebirds. There were three Western Sandpipers and a slightly larger bird that I was unsure about. The jizz said Dunlin, but I had never seen a Dunlin in this plumage before. So I was puzzled.

Dunlin and 3 Western Sandpipers, Clam Lagoon, Sept 9, 2013.

Once I got back to the car, a quick look at Paulson’s Shorebird Guide revealed that it was a juvenile plumage which is usually molted out of before migration and rarely seen south of the breeding grounds. So this counts as a semi-lifer (a new plumage that we had not seen before)!

Our trip list stands at 41. Hoping the weather changes and brings some new birds.

Temp around 50, mostly cloudy, light NE wind switching to moderate NW wind by afternoon.

We went down to Finger Bay and Creek this morning. No new birds, but had a lot of Pink Salmon spawning.

Worked our way north to Clam Lagoon and I walked out the peninsula to see if the Westerns were still around. They weren’t, but as I rounded the bend, three small plovers flew ahead of me a short distance. My adrenaline started flowing, as Semiplamated Plovers shouldn’t be here this late and Common Ringed Plover would be a lifer for us.

I radioed Barb what I was seeing, and she read the differentiating details from the shorebird book to me as I photographed them and studied them in the scope. Sad to say, all features pointed to Semis, not Ringed.

Semipalmated Plovers, Clam Lagoon, Sept 8, 2013.

Semipalmated Plovers, Clam Lagoon, Sept 8, 2013.

Semipalmated Plover, Clam Lagoon, Sept 8, 2013.

As with the number of Westerns yesterday, this was still a significant record, as we had never seen Semis on any of our previous September trips. So, no lifer, but a nice record.

We continued around to the seawall and had some Rock Sandpipers and four Horned Grebes, but nothing else significant. At Candlestick Bridge, about 50 Common Eiders (all females and immatures) were roosting on the beach.

We drove up the road towards Zeto Point in order to scan Lake Ronnie, where ducks like to hide. There were about 20 Mallards, 5 Greater Scaup, and 2 Northern Pintail.

We came back around the lagoon and I decided to walk the marsh edge, since it was two days since the last time. I don’t like to walk it too frequently, as it disturbs the birds (Although in some years, the birds don’t flush and don’t seem to mind! However, this year they seem very skitterish.). About a dozen Pectorals and 4 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers flew out along the way and one Long-billed Dowitcher stayed.

Pectoral Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, Sept 8, 2013.

Long-billed Dowitcher, Clam Lagoon, Sept 8, 2013.

We still had one Parasitic Jaeger hanging around.

We are up to 39 species for the trip. Our average for previous September trips is 51, so for the first few days, this number is okay.