Another pleasant day on Adak, hence no new birds. We didn’t even add a trip bird!

The Red-necked Stint, Baird’s Sandpiper, and Ruff are still here, but the number of Pectorals has gone down to a few (from about a dozen).

One interesting note. Rock Ptarmigan are abundant on Adak and are seen easily as you drive around. They are out in the middle of the road or on the edges and flush, flashing their white wings. This trip, we saw one “chicken” on Sunday, and then no more until today. Isaac said they are more secretive when they have young around, but on past September trips we have seen them out in the open with a dozen young in tow (see photo on the Birding Adak link on my home page). So we thought it was highly unusual not to see but one!

Well today changed all that. We saw a couple dozen.

We have learned from our trips up here that no two visits are alike. The breeding birds in spring arrive at different times in different years and the migrants are all over the map; both in numbers and occurrence.

A good example is Wood Sandpiper. On our first trip (May 2005), we had half-a- dozen and they were tame and easily approachable. The following spring, Schutsky’s tour group (Bird Treks) had over a hundred. The following spring we had one! Subsequent trips produced none, one, and four. So what seemed from the first two spring trips to be an easy bird to get here turned out not to be.

Here’s another Red-necked Stint photo. However, this one is showing cleavage!

Bad weather, good birds. Good weather, no birds!

After three days of wind, rain, and clouds, today dawned bright, sunny, and calm. The calm changed through the day, but the bright and sunny did not.

We found fewer shorebirds today and the only rarity still here was the Red-necked Stint. We could not find either Common Sandpiper, the Ruff, or the Little Stint. Even the Red-necked’s companion Westerns were gone.

It was a nice day for taking pictures, but that was about it.

Isaac found a “Japonicus” American Pipit (we did not see it) and saw several interesting passerines flying by, but neither he nor we could find any on the ground.

So here are some pictures of common stuff.

We’re overrun with em!

Barb’s comment upon finding our second Common Sandpiper of the day/trip!

The day started with rain and fog. Just enough to prevent us from identifying the swarm of shearwaters in Kuluk Bay. The sun came out about a half-hour later, but the shearwaters were gone.

We headed up to Contractor’s Marsh, but just as Frank started to walk it, it started to rain again and he thought better of it.

So we headed for Clam Lagoon (where else?) and Frank walked the edge of the marsh. He kicked out about a dozen shorebirds including Pectoral, Sharp-tailed, Baird’s, and a Ruff.

After the walk, we headed around to the seawall, where we relocated the Common Sandpiper and got better photos of it. We also saw a Rock Sandpiper there, our first of the trip.

We continued around to Candlestick Bridge and back. When we got back to the western side of Clam Lagoon, Frank walked out the peninsula and found that the two Western Sandpipers and the Red-necked Stint were still there.

We went back down to town and checked Sweeper Creek channel. What did we find, but another Common Sandpiper! Hence Barb’s comment…

Isaac arrived shortly after we called him and got to see it also.

We then headed back up to Contractor’s Marsh and Frank began to walk it. He saw a couple of Pectorals and at least one Sharp-tail and two smaller shorebirds that flew away and could not be relocated.

Also on our trip around Clam Lagoon earlier we saw the Slaty-backed Gull that Isaac had told us about.

No lifers today, but still a good day all around.

Another day on Adak. Another stint!

The weather today was typical of Adak; 20-25 mph winds gusting up to 40, showers in the morning followed by steady rain in the afternoon.

By the time we got to Clam Lagoon in the afternoon, it was raining steadily and blowing hard. We were able to spot two of the Western Sandpipers and the Red-necked Stint from the road. We continued around Clam Lagoon, finding our first Ruddy Turnstones and a couple Pacific Golden Plovers. We continued on to Candlestick Bridge without noticing anything new. On the way back along the seawall, Frank saw a small shorebird fly in. It was a peep of some sort, but he was not sure what species. He started to take photos, while Barb tried to crane her neck to see through the other side of the car to see the bird. She caught a glimpse, but then the bird disappeared into the rocks.

Frank continued to scan the rocks for the peep, when what should pop up, but a Common Sandpiper! Frank yelled “Common Sandpiper” and started frantically to take photos. Barb was able to see this bird and got satisfying looks. This was our second Common Sandpiper on Adak. We had one on our first trip in May 2005, but this view (and photos) was much more satisfying.

This would be a lifer for Isaac, so Barb left me standing in the rain to keep tabs on the bird while she drove to a location where she could get cell phone reception to call Isaac. After several tries, she finally found a spot and got through to Isaac and he headed straight for our location. Of course, as soon as I got out of the car and Barb drove off, the Common Sandpiper disappeared!

Isaac arrive a short time later. While discussing the Common Sandpiper location with him, Frank showed him the photo of the peep. Isaac found it interesting, but did not commit an identification at that time. After about half an hour, Isaac relocated the Common Sandpiper and everyone was happy.

We returned to our house, Frank changed out of his soaking wet jeans, downloaded the photos to the computer and we tried to identify the peep. We had pretty much settled on Little Stint, when Isaac arrived and confirmed the bird, having relocated it as well!

With the sun having broken through the downpour, we hurriedly drove back up to the seawall, and after about twenty minutes, Barb spotted the Little Stint and got great looks at it (as did Frank).

This was a lifer for both of us.

We headed back to town. As we approached Palisades Overlook, we saw a new fishing vessel approaching the factory ship anchored in Kulik Bay. We stopped to look at it and saw a lot of bird activity around it. There were hundreds of shearwaters and gulls ahead of and trailing the ship. The shearwaters were mostly Short-tailed, but Barb thought she may have seen some with more white in the underwing, hinting at Sooty, but was not positive at that distance. However, Frank set up the Questar and quickly picked out a Black-footed Albatross! Another lifer for Frank and a more memorable sighting for Barb, as the lifer she had was while throwing up on a pelagic off Washington!

Not a bad day…

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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