They keep on coming…

Temps in the 40s, partly cloudy, Wind N to E 10-15 mph

I wasn’t even suited up to go out birding yet (7:15 AM), when Sam called to say he found the Fieldfare!

I threw my jacket on, grabbed my camera and raced out.

It was nearby, across from the Administration Building.

As I pulled up, Sam radioed me that it was up on the flagpole. Sure enough!

It flew down to a fence, where I got some identifiable (but not great) photos.

It flew off from there and we kept getting word out to the other birders in the area.

An army of birders quickly arrived and the search was on.

It was like whack-a-mole. It would be found in one place, but quickly fly off to be found again, and so on…

It eventually returned to the school parking lot where it was originally found.

I got a closer (but back shot only) photo there.

This was the pattern the rest of the morning. But it always returned to the parking lot.

Did I say it was a lifer?!!!

The plane was due today to take home the tour groups, but bringing in another bevy of birders.

Once they arrived, I gave them the info, and some headed right over, while others had to unpack some gear first.

Suffice it to say, after a wait, most got it.

I had put some mealworms in the area it was feeding most, hoping that would convince it to stick around. We will see…

This is the first record for Adak, and only the second record for the Aleutians (Shemya this past winter). St Paul had one in October 2024 and Gambell has had two records (1982 and 1985).

In other news, I finally got 2 of the 3 Siberian Whimbrels that had eluded me for several days.

The trip list is at 76.

I’ve had only 2 spring trips higher than this one. The highest was 81 in 2017.

You can see the total list at https://ebird.org/tripreport/525344?welcome=true