Well, we got a stint today! Unfortunately, it was a Red-necked, not a Long-toed.

We birded most of the “usual” spots, seeing the expected species. Lots of young Lapland Longspurs, Aleutian Song Sparrows, Aleutian Gray-crowned Rosy Finches, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Common Teal, Mallards, etc.

The Bald Eagles, gulls, and ravens were feeding on the salmon runs which are just about over.

In mid-afternoon, Frank walked out the peninsula on Clam Lagoon and found four shorebirds; three Western Sandpipers and a dark-legged juvenile Stint. Having absolutely no experience with juvenile stints, he took a lot of photos in hopes of pinning it down later. Since it was possibly a Little Stint (a lifer), Barb trudged out to see it as well. Although we hoped it was a Little, we both felt it was probably a Red-necked. Later that afternoon, Isaac pointed out to us the salient features that confirmed our suspicions (but not desires) that it was a Red-necked.

Note the fairly pale coverts (Little has much darker) and the lack of streaking on the breast (it is more of a wash).

Our bodies are still adjusting to the time zone difference (5 hours), so we are exhausted at 6 in the evening! We will be well-adjusted just in time to return home…

Note: the date that I put on the Three-toed Woodpecker photo should have been 9/11, not 9/10.

We are here! Our flights were on time and uneventful.
On Saturday, when we got to the motel, we found that one of our bags (which we had shipped earlier in the week) was soaking wet! It was shipped on 9/6, just as Hurricane Lee was hitting he northeast, so it must have sat on a loading ramp at the Newark Airport in the driving rain. However, nothing was harmed, just wet.

Then Frank managed to hit his little toe on something and it got nice and big and black and blue. So we make a nice pair hobbling around looking for birds, what with Frank’s toe and Barb’s bad hip!

We birded around Anchorage Sunday morning and added two state birds to our list; Varied Thrush and Northern Three-toed Woodpecker.

The Adak flight left on time and when we got here, Isaac informed us of a Long-toed Stint up at Clam Lagoon which he found on Saturday. Isaac is the Alaska Airlines station manager out here and a superb birder. That’s who we rent the house and jeep from.
We quickly unpacked, got semi-organized, and headed for Clam Lagoon. The bird had been seen lingering in the marsh grasses that line the western shore of the lagoon, along with a dozen Pectoral and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers.
We walked the edge of the marsh and kicked out several Pectoral and Sharp-tails, and one Long-billed Dowitcher, but no stint. We will ry again tomorrow. The Dowitcher was the first of the season apparently, as Isaac had not yet seen any

Nothing else of note at this point. Hoping for better birds tomorrow.
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