Thursday, October 3, 2024

Some day!

Temps in the 40s-50s, partly sunny, Wind WNW 20-40 mph

It was hard standing up when I got out of the car!

I met Aaron up at Lake Jean to look for the Common Mergansers, but there were very few ducks there and only two Red-breasteds out beyond Lake Jean.

I checked Andrew Lake, but the waves and spray made it impossible.

I decided t try the Loran Station one more time. Here is what the rock that Aaron found the Double-crested Cormorant looked like two days ago.

Loran Station Area, October 1, 2024

And here it was today…

Loran Station Area, October 3, 2024

Not many cormorants there…

I headed around Clam Lagoon and not far from Candlestick Bridge, I found a Brambling.

Brambling, East Shore Clam Lagoon, October 3, 2024

This was a differently plumaged bird than the one I had at my feeder.

On the way back, near the East Side Ponds, I had a nice Pacific Golden-Plover.

Pacific Golden-Plover, East Side Ponds, October 3, 2024

I headed back to town to tell Aaron about the Brambling. He decided not to chase it, but was headed down to Finger Bay. I was also planning to go there to look for the redpolls that had been reported a few days earlier.

I got to Finger Bay, drove to the end where the redpolls were reported and found one in a little spruce tree.

Common Redpoll, Finger Bay, October 3, 2024

I stopped at the cement pier to scan the bay and a Leach’s Storm-Petrel flew by!

Leach’s Storm-Petrel, Finger Bay, October 3, 2024

I met Aaron’s group as I was leaving and informed them and they also got it. It was a lifer for at least one of his group.

Little did I know that this was a premonition of things to come…

I went back to the house, settled in, made dinner, and was just finishing up when I received a text from Aaron saying there were “loads” of Mottled Petrels in Kuluk Bay!

I raced over there and yes, there were. Plus Short-tailed Shearwaters. They were flying in and out of the mist, but viewing conditions changed from minute to minute. After clearly seeing several Mottleds, I decided to run up to the Palisades Overlook to see if the view was any better. It wasn’t (and no wind protection).

So I returned to the Kuluk Bay Overlook where the guys were and Aaron said he had just had a Short-tailed Albatross! Well, I didn’t get that, but the Mottled Petrel was a lifer!

While searching for the petrels, I had taken a random number of photos of the bay in hopes of catching one. I did!

Mottled Petrel, Kuluk Bay, October 3, 2024
Mottled Petrel, Kuluk Bay, October 3, 2024

The wind is to continue blowing all night, but will not be so strong tomorrow. Who knows what else it brought in last night and today?

The Trip List is 62. The Year List is 92.

Today’s List: https://ebird.org/checklist/S197424964

Trip List: https://ebird.org/tripreport/277586?welcome=true