Second time’s the charm, almost…

Temp in the 40s, W wind 10-25 mph, overcast, sporadic rain.

The feeders have still not attracted much, although a few Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches have found a few of them. We added a lot of common — and one not-so-common — Adak migrants today, raising our trip list to 52.

There was nothing unusual at Sweeper Cove or Sweeper Creek. We tried for the Eye-browed Thrush again, but no luck. The Tufted Duck count at the Airport Ponds is up to 3. A quick run around Contractors’ Camp Marsh yielded our first Red-necked Phalarope for the trip.

We spent all morning around town and nearby, checking a lot of places. We planned to go up to Contractor’s Camp Marsh after lunch with Stefan’s group and the guys from Anchorage. It s always better to do such a large area with extra eyes and ears.

We met up with them and while Barb stayed back at the truck, I walked out with the others. At the edge where the drier section met the wetter section, one of the guys spotted the Yellow Wagtails in the marsh. Of course, they disappeared into thicker vegetation before I could catch up to them! However, they soon took flight, and both Barb and I got views of them in the air. They circled around and returned to the same area, but disappeared again as quickly as before. They flew two more times, but Barb and I never got up-close-and-personal views. But, it was good enough for now. No photos…

I plan to try again in the next few days when the wind subsides a bit.

While we were there, we also had a number of Wilson’s and Common snipe, and four Pacific Golden-Plovers.

Pacific Golden-Plovers, Contractors’ Camp Marsh, May 16, 2017.

We headed up to Clam Lagoon and played leap-frog with Stefan. He got to the Blue Building Feeder before us and found the Eye-browed Thrush there. Of course, it flew away before we got there! So another miss.

Along the northern shore of Clam Lagoon, a gray Gyrfalcon flew by us headed for Stefan. We called him and his group also saw it.

At the northeastern corner, there was a feeding frenzy going on.

Glaucous-winged Gull feeding frenzy, Clam Lagoon, May 16, 2017.

We saw the usual suspects along the Seawall and east side of Clam Lagoon.

We had one Bar-tailed Godwit at Clam Lagoon and saw 16 others down on Landing Lights Beach.

It was getting late, so we headed back to town. By the way, we have been running into several flocks of Bramblings up and down Bayshore Drive, as far north as Contactors’ Camp Marsh. However, they have been very flighty and haven’t hung around for photo-ops.

We checked the Seal drive feeder — nothing — and as we drove out of that area, Barb drove up one of the nearby loops that has a spruce tree at one of the abandoned houses. We didn’t see anything there, but as we rounded the bend, a flock of Bramblings flew out. This time however — maybe it was the pouring rain — they were a little more cooperative.

Bramblings, Adak, May 16, 2017.

11 of the 30+ Bramblings, Adak, May 16, 2017.

Bramblings, Adak, May 16, 2017.

Brambling bathing (in the rain no less!), Adak, May 16, 2017.

See? We weren’t making this up!

In addition to the 52 species we have seen so far, the other groups have also had Eye-browed Thrush, Peregrine Falcon, Common Redpoll, Black Oystercatcher, and maybe a few others.

The winds are supposed to switch back to a more northerly direction the next few days. Not the best scenario.

Regardless, we will be out there looking…

You win some, you lose some.

Temp in the 40s, overcast, rain and drizzle much of the day, some sun late in the day, Wind 15-30, NW.

We started out on our usual routine of checking feeders, Sweeper Cove and Channel.

We had just put out seed yesterday, so except for Rosy-Finch and Snow Bunting at the Sandy Cove Bluffs feeder, there was no action. At Sweeper Cove, we had our first Ancient Murrelet of the trip.

As we were driving up Bayshore Drive, we spotted the Brambling flock — but again, non-cooperative. We then got a call from Stefan that he had found an Eye-browed Thrush at the High School Spruces. We (and the other groups nearby) headed over there. The bird was not being terribly cooperative, and since we have seen them previously on Adak, we headed out to look for other stuff while the other groups tried to get better looks at the thrush. They eventually all got satisfactory views. We tried later in the day, but did not see it.

There is a fish-processing ship anchored in Kuluk Bay and it has attracted Laysan Albatross and Fulmars. These birds are coming in much closer to shore than normal, providing nice views through a scope, but not very good photos. I took some anyway…

Three Laysan Albatross and Glaucous-winged Gulls, Kuluk Bay, May 15, 2017.

Laysan Albatross and Glaucous-winged Gull, Kuluk Bay, May 15, 2017.

Laysan Albatross and Glaucous-winged Gull, Kuluk Bay, May 15, 2017.

Laysan Albatross and Glaucous-winged Gulls, Kuluk Bay, May 15, 2017.

We headed north. At the Navfac Creek overlook, there was a flock of 150+ Black Scoters.

We headed up to Clam Lagoon. The tide was in as we started around, so we headed over to the Seawall. There, we had 5 Pacific Loons, a Red-necked Grebe, and the usual sea ducks and cormorants.

We came back around Clam Lagoon. The tide was starting to recede and one Bar-tailed Godwit was feeding on the flats. As we were leaving the lagoon, we ran into Stefan who told us they had 14 godwits down on Navfac Creek Beach. He also told us Aaron had been trying to reach us because he had found two — not one, but TWO! — Yellow Wagtails at Contractor’s Camp Marsh! Our nemesis birds on Adak are wagtails. Both yellow and white have occurred on the island while we have been here, but we have always missed them.

So, although the birds had been seen several hours ago — and passerines tend not to stick around Adak unless at a feeder — we headed down to the marsh to look for them. By this time the wind had increased to 25-30 MPH and it was drizzling. We drove and walked around the area where they had been seen, but no luck.

So we continued south, tried briefly for the thrush, and then did Sweeper Creek and Channel. We drove up the channel, watching and listening to the resident Rock Sandpipers. At the place where the road ends,we stopped as usual and scanned the streamsides. No sooner had we stopped than Barb yelled “White Wagtail!”

Sure enough, a White Wagtail was actively feeding across the creek along the edge of the vegetation. So we didn’t get the Yellows, but this was nice compensation. We quickly called the other groups and they all started heading our way.

White Wagtail, Sweeper Channel, May 15, 2017.

White Wagtail, Sweeper Channel, May 15, 2017.

White Wagtail, Sweeper Channel, May 15, 2017.

As I was taking photos of the wagtail, I turned away for a second and lost sight of him. I put up my binos and scanned the streamside and spotted a little-brown-job with a distinctively-marked head pattern. I said to myself, “I’ve never seen one of those before!” and quickly alerted Barb to it as I started taking photos of this new bird. It turned out to be a Rustic Bunting. Readers of our previous blogs may remember that we had a Rustic Bunting in September 2014. However, that was a fall-plumaged bird, not striking like this guy. Also, that sighting lasted ten seconds at most and afforded no photo opportunity.

This was  MUCH nicer.

Rustic Bunting, Sweeper Channel, May 15, 2017.

Rustic Bunting, Sweeper Channel, May 15, 2017.

Rustic Bunting, Sweeper Channel, May 15, 2017.

Rustic Bunting, Sweeper Channel, May 15, 2017.

The wagtail and bunting worked their way down the channel towards Sweeper Cove. By the time the other birders arrived, the wagtail was gone, but the bunting was still visible. Most of them got good views, but the bird was very active and was hard to pin down. As they were watching the bunting, I walked down to the Sweeper Estuary (as I call it), and there was the wagtail. I radioed the others, and they came down and many of them saw it before it took off, heading towards the airport. We found out later that Stefan and his group — who were out of range when we found these birds — later found the wagtail in the estuary. But not the bunting.

Although we had seen White Wagtails in Europe last year, this was a North American bird for us. And the Bunting was certainly a more enjoyable sighting than our first one. The nice looks at albatrosses was also very rewarding.

Not a bad day.

So…

So far, there have been 5 species of Asian passerines. Unheard of! Two or three is what we usually expect. There had been very strong southwest winds for several days before our arrival, and we suspect that is what brought all of these birds here. Who knows what else lurks out there as I write this…

I mentioned yesterday that there were 18 birders out here. That might be a record. In any case, there’s High Lonesome, led by Stefan, with Joe and Susan; Wilderness, led by Aaron, with Kris, Steve, Luann, and Mike; 4 from Anchorage, Keith, Eric, Enric, and Andrew; and a group of 6 from Anchorage and California, Sue, Frank, Mark, Janet, and Susan — yes, there are three Sues!

Some of them are only staying until Thursday.  They certainly lucked out on the right week so far.

We started this trip on a bad note. Our limo driver overslept! Instead of picking us up at 2:45 am, he didn’t arrive until 3:30. With many apologies, he put the pedal-to-the-metal and got us to the airport at 4:30 for a 5 am flight. Fortunately, we had TSA PreCheck, so we sailed through security and arrived at the gate just as the last passengers were boarding. Whew!

We got to Chicago on time and the flight from there to Anchorage arrived a little early. We got the car, checked in at the motel and headed out to shop. On the way, we stopped at Spenard Crossing, having heard that a pair of Redheads were there. That would be a state bird for us. We got them.

Redhead, Spenard Crossing, Anchorage, May 14, 2017

Also there, Barb spied a Mew Gull nesting 20 feet up in a spruce tree! We still are not accustomed to seeing gulls and shorebirds up in trees…

Mew Gull on nest, Spenard Crossing, Anchorage, May 14, 2017

We got our shopping done, got supper, and crashed for the night.

Sunday morning, we headed up to Arctic Valley (as usual). Keith Confer, an Anchorage resident — a birder going out to Adak — had scouted the area out for Willow Ptarmigan — one of our nemesis birds. He had heard some up there and some friends of his had flushed some in recent days. So I walked up the trail and played the call and got a response! The bird was calling from a willow thicket that I could not get very near, as there were several inches of fresh snow and walking off-trail was treacherous. The bird did not call again and did not show itself. So my sum experience with Willow Ptarmigans at this point is finding feathers a couple of trips back and now hearing one. So I guess that makes it two-thirds of a lifer…

Although we didn’t see the ptarmigan, we did see a few of the regular species up there.

A very angry-looking Golden-crowned Sparrow.

Golden-crowned Sparrow, , Arctic Valley, Anchorage, May 14, 2017

A fairly cooperative Savannah Sparrow.

Savannah Sparrow, Arctic Valley, Anchorage, May 14, 2017

And plenty of Robins.

American Robin, Arctic Valley, Anchorage, May 14, 2017

Robins are plentiful in Anchorage, but I just hadn’t taken the time to photograph one before.

We also saw several Snowshoe Hares — already in their summer coats.

Snowshoe Hare, Arctic Valley, Anchorage, May 14, 2017

We birded several other locations. There was a pair of Greater White-fronted Geese at Potter’s Marsh — a new Alaska Mainland bird for us — and finally ended up at Lake Hood. There we found a pair of Barrow’s Goldeneyes and the friendly Red-throated Loon was back.

Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Lake Hood, Anchorage, May 14, 2017

Red-throated Loon, Lake Hood, Anchorage, May 14, 2017

On to Adak. Our flight left about a half-hour late.

We arrived, got to our house, and started unpacking. We go a call from Aaron Lang that there was a flock of about 30 Brambling up near where Isaac used to live! We had never seen more than one or two Brambling at a time out here and the maximum we had ever seen during our two-week stays was about six!

We finished unpacking, loaded up the truck with our birding gear and headed out. We set birdseed out at several of the usual locations. We had a pair of Tufted Ducks on the Airport Ponds. We did a quick run up to Clam Lagoon and Shotgun Lake. We didn’t see anything obviously different, so we headed back down to look for the Bramblings.

As we dove through the area, Stefan, from Hi-Lonesome Bird Tours was also looking. He went one way, we another. He called us shortly after we split up to say he had found them. We went to his location and watched as a large flock of Bramblings worked their way up the roadside and finally disappeared up a hillside. I was unable to get photos, as they stayed just far enough ahead and kept moving. Maybe tomorrow. It was still pretty exciting.

There are 18 other birders here besides us. Lots of eyes and ears!

It is midnight here so I am signing off and will fill you in with the details of the other groups here tomorrow.