Temp in the high 40s, partly to mostly sunny, Wind NNW 15-25 mph
At Sweeper Cove this morning, we found the “Vega” Gull near the breakwall.
There was nothing new at Sweeper Creek or the Airport Ponds.
At the Landing Lights, the small flock of Ruddy Turnstones and Rock Sandpipers continues. The godwit has not been seen since Thursday.
At Contractor’s Camp Marsh, we heard winnowing snipe and found 7 Pacific Golden-Plovers at their “usual” spot. ThereĀ is a semi-moist area towards the east end of the marsh that attracts golden-plovers every year. Although you can find them elsewhere, this is THE spot to find them regularly. Not a rarity, but aren’t they beautiful?
Nothing new on Clam Lagoon, but when we got to Shotgun Lake, we found what we assume was the Tundra Swan that had been on Andrew Lake. This was at 11:05 am.
We continued around the Lagoon, and at the northeast corner, had a Gyrfalcon fly by.
Although the gray/brown plumage was similar to the one we had seen down at the Hilltop Quarry, we never saw that one fly. So we don’t know if it was the same bird. The molting primaries certainly make this individual distinctive.
The Seawall produced a (another?) Surf Scoter.
At Lake Shirley, the Gadwall from yesterday had joined the flock of Greater Scaup. No tufted Duck today.
We continued down the east side of the lagoon and then went up to Lake Ronnie.
Much to my surprise, when I crested the bluff to look down on the lake, there was a Tundra Swan! This was at 1:00 pm. It looked like the same bird from Shotgun Lake. The same amount of darker plumage on the neck, etc.
When we went back around, there was no swan on Shotgun Lake.
By the way, I forgot to mention yesterday that the swan was also only our second record on Adak.
When we got back to the house, our tire was waiting for us! The “Tire Guy” found the leak and patched it up.
As I said yesterday, the flight was extremely early, so when we got to the airport to greet arriving birders, they were all gone.
We met up with one group today — Dale & Cheri Horkman and Jingyi — from Seward. We updated them on recent sightings and answered their questions. Later, I took them up to show them where the plovers were hanging out.
I have been unable to contact the other group — if they even arrived…
The trip list is 57.