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<\/a>Spruce Grouse, Arctic Valley, Anchorage, Sept 22, 2018<\/p><\/div>\n
Part way up, barb spotted a couple of Varied Thrushes out in the open, but by the time I raised my camera, they had scuttled back into the brush. We just have not had any luck with those…<\/p>\n
Once we reached the top (the ski area), we spotted a Dipper which cooperated by posing nicely for us.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Dipper, Arctic Valley, Anchorage, Sept 22, 2018.<\/p><\/div>\n
Potter Marsh produced nothing new for us, so we headed up to Ship Creek. As usual, the tide was out, so no shorebirds at the mouth. We drove upstream a bit to a parking area and in an impoundment next to the creek were three Wilson\u2019s Snipe.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Wilson’s Snipe (the third one was out-of-frame), Ship Creek, Anchorage, Sept 22, 2018<\/p><\/div>\n
We headed to the airport and arrived in Adak around 5 PM. Jon And Jim filled us in on what few birds were around. They had had Emperor Geese and Gray-tailed Tattler (both lifers for Jon) and another birder had a Baird\u2019s Sandpiper (w\/photos). They also had Pacific Golden-Plovers, several American Pipits, a Red Phalarope, and at least one Parasitic Jaeger still hanging around. Not much else to report.<\/p>\n
We did a quick run up to Warbler Willows and the flats at Clam Lagoon. At the flats, we had a flock of nine Sanderling.<\/p>\n
We called it a day.<\/p>\n
Sunday, Sept 23<\/strong><\/p>\n Temp in the 50s, partly sunny, west wind 10 mph in the AM increasing during the afternoon.<\/p>\n On Sunday, we started our usual route of Sweeper Cove, Sweeper Creek, feeders, etc.<\/p>\n At the Sweeper Cove breakwall, a small fishing boat was just off-shore (maybe 50 yrds) and a large number of gulls and alcids were present. However, none of them were extraordinary. Glaucous-winged Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Common Murres, Pigeon Guilemots, Pelagic Cormorants, Horned Puffins, etc.<\/p>\n At Landing Lights, we had several Rock Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones (this is where both the tattler and Baird\u2019s had been seen).<\/p>\n We met up with Jon and Jim at Clam Lagoon and the three of us walked the marsh edge. We found 4 Pectoral Sandpipers and 2 Long-billed Dowitchers. Amazingly, no Sharp-tailed Sandpipers! Up til that point, they hadn\u2019t seen a pectoral (they had been there since Wednesday).<\/p>\n Pectoral Sandpipers, Clam Lagoon, Sept 23, 2018<\/p><\/div>\n Long-billed Dowitcher, Clam Lagoon, Sept 23, 2018<\/p><\/div>\n At the Seawall, there were a lot of Red-necked Grebes (a couple dozen) and 6 Horned Grebes.<\/p>\n Lake Shirley hosted a couple dozen Eurasian Wigeon and one American, as well as a dozen Greater Scaup and 4 Northern Pintail.<\/p>\n As we neared Candlestick Bridge, I spotted a family of Emperor Geese \u2013 2 adults and 5 kids. When we drove back up to the Seawall another lone goose was out on Goose Rocks (and rightly so!).<\/p>\n Emperor Geese, Clam Lagoon, Sept 23, 2018<\/p><\/div>\n Just north of town, a flock of 16 Cackling Geese flew over.<\/p>\n The Sanderlngs, Emperor Geese, and Dowitchers were new birds for our Adak Year List (now at 83).<\/p>\n More tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Saturday and Sunday, September 22-23, 2018 My WordPress blogging software got corrupted somehow, so I was not able to do any posts the first couple of days. This is being posted on 9\/25. Temp in the 50s, partly sunny, west … Continue reading <\/a><\/a><\/a>