Temp in the 50s, West wind, 10-15 mph, partly sunny.

First, a correction to yesterday’s post. The Taiga Flycatcher was a FIRST for Adak, not second. We “misremembered” a previous flycatcher report. (If you just read yesterday’s report, it says “first.” That’s because I just changed it…)

The Taiga Flycatcher is still here. As is so often the case, when we have a great day like yesterday, the following day is nothing to write home about. And so it was.

We added Common Snipe to the trip list. Had a cooperative Pectoral Sandpiper at Clam Lagoon (still no Sharp-tails!!).

Pectoral Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, Sept 21, 2015.

I mentioned the other day the improvement to the south lookout at Clam Lagoon. I forgot to mention the improvement in the roads. Since we were here in May, most of the roads that we regularly travel on have been graded, including the north and east side of Clam Lagoon (which hadn’t been graded in years). Also, they fixed a large sinkhole that was developing at the north end of the lagoon road where a culvert was washing out. Kudos to the new Roadmaster!!

The most exciting thing today (apart from seeing the flycatcher again) was a helicopter that flew in from the east, landed for only 10 to 15 minutes, and took back off to the west. And it wasn’t one of those Coast Guard long-range behemoths! Just a small one. We have not heard from the locals yet as to the story…

In our excitement about the tattlers and flycatcher yesterday, I forgot to mention that the Salmon run is still in full swing down at Finger Creek. It is ended at most of the other streams.

Salmon Run, Finger Creek, Sept 20, 2015.

Last, but not least, while walking out the Clam Lagoon peninsula the other day, I noticed some small holes in the mud/sand. They did not appear to go very deep, but were freshly excavated. Oddly, there were no tracks of any kind around them, coming or going! Here is a photo of one with my footprint for size comparison.

Mystery Hole, Clam Lagoon, Sept 21, 2015.

There were plenty of tracks, both bird and rat nearby, so the sand was soft enough to record them. Also, the tide had not reached this high in several days. Does anyone know what would create these? I am guessing possibly some type of flying insect hatching out? You can contact me at fhaasbirds@gmail.com.

The trip list is 44 (Our September average is 56).

How do you define crazy? Episode 2.

Temp in the 50s, light W wind building to moderate by afternoon, mostly sunny.

A few birds have found a couple of our feeders, but nothing unusual, yet. At Sweeper Cove, we could not find the auklet from last night, but there were more birds there this morning than the previous couple of days.

We headed down to Finger Bay and creek. There is section of Finger Creek that veers away from the road, but has a path along it that eventually meets back up with the road (it is only a hundred yards or so). Well, every trip, I walk that trail while Barb drives up ahead. This is because I expect to find a Common Sandpiper or Wandering Tattler — or who knows what else — along that stretch. So every year I walk it and find nothing. Until today!

Just as I got to the first bend, a pair of tattlers flew across in front of me, one landing on a rock in the middle of the creek and one disappearing around the bend. I quickly called Barb to backup and join me. She got to me shortly and saw the bird and then the other bird came out as well. They were not just tattlers, but Gray-tailed Tattlers (both immatures). We had only seen Gray-tailed once before, in 2007, when Bob Schutsky had found a pair (adult and immature) at Clam Lagoon. I guess they always come in twos!

Gray-tailed Tattlers, Finger Creek, Sept 20, 2015.

Note the short wings, white sides, and prominent supercilium.

We headed back north, finding nothing new at the usual spots. I walked out the Clam Lagoon Peninsula, but the Western Sandpiper was gone and nothing took its place.

As we neared the Blue Building Feeder, I spotted a small bird dart behind one of the spruce trees. It looked different. I got out of the car and walked up the back side of the trees while Barb walked up the front.

A small bird fluttered out, flycatching. My first impression was American Redstart, which also flycatches and has pale tail markings similar to what I was looking at. However, I knew American Redstarts do not get out to the Aleutians. It went from tree to tree, around the building and back again, giving me photo opportunities. It was a Taiga Flycatcher! The first record for Adak, as far as we know. And a lifer for us!

Taiga Flycatcher, Blue Building near Clam Lagoon, Sept 20, 2015.

Taiga Flycatcher, Blue Building near Clam Lagoon, Sept 20, 2015.

We continued around the lagoon. No shorebirds on the Seawall. The pond along the road to Zeto Point had a bunch of Pintails, Mallards, and one Northern Shoveler.

As we came back around, we stopped again at the Blue Building and the flycatcher was still there.

We headed back to town, checked feeders, and went down to Sweeper Cove to see if the auklet had returned for late-day feeding as yesterday. It had. It still wasn’t close, but close enough to get a photo to confirm it was a Crested, not Whiskered.

Crested Auklet, Sweeper Cove, Sept 20, 2015.

A great day!

The triplist is 43.

Temp in the 50s, partly sunny, west wind 10-15 mph.

No activity at the feeders, yet. At Sweeper Cove, a flock of Snow Buntings and Rosy-Finches were active. The Snow Bunting were mostly juveniles.

Juvenile Snow Bunting, Sweeper Cove, Sept 19, 2015.

We headed north, finding nothing at the usual stops. At an overlook between the Elfin Forest and Palisades Overlook, we found a Black Oystercatcher. At Clam lagoon, we had three young Peregrine Falcons sitting out on the mudflats. So this makes at least 4 Peregrines and 2 Gyrfalcons are here.

I walked the marsh edge and found two Long-billed Dowitchers and a Pectoral Sandpiper.

Long-billed Dowitcher, Clam Lagoon, Sept 19, 2015.

Pectoral Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, Sept 19, 2015.

I then went out the peninsula and found a lone Western Sandpiper.

Western Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, Sept 19, 2015.

At the Seawall, we had a flock of Ruddy Turnstones. We continued on up to Lake Ronnie and had a flock of Northern Pintails on one of the ponds along the road (as well as a Mallard and Eurasian Wigeon). Up at Lake Ronnie, we added Northern Shoveler to the list.

Back at the Seawall, we relocated the Turnstones and another Western Sandpiper.

Western Sandpiper, Seawall, Sept 19, 2015.

We headed back to town, not finding anything else new.

After dinner, we headed out for a quick check of feeders and Sweeper Cove.

In Sweeper Cove, we found an auklet, but it was almost sunset and the bird was at least one-third of a mile away and backlit! The best we could tell was that it was either a Whiskered or Crested. Last week’s group had an immature Whiskered Auklet feeding near the Sweeper Cove breakwater, so it may well have been the same bird. We will look for it again tomorrow in better lighting conditions and hopefully closer.

The triplist stands at 39.

What’s the definition of crazy? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome…

Partly sunny, temp in the 50s, occasional light shower, NW wind, 10-20 mph.

No lifers or new Adak birds today, but still interesting.

We started out filling feeders and checking Sweeper Cove and the channel and creek. At the channel, a Pelagic Cormorant was actively fishing and came up with what (to us) appears to be an eel.

Pelagic Cormorant (with eel), Sweeper Channel, Sept 18, 2015.

There was nothing on the Airport Ponds. We went up to Haven Lake and found 11 Eurasian Wigeon and two Greater Scaup. Lake Andrew was void, but up at the Adak National Forest, a pair of Pacific Wrens graced us with their constant activity.

At the Palisades Overlook, a Gyrfalcon playing with a Common raven entertained us. When we got to Clam Lagoon — side note: The south lookout at Clam Lagoon, since we have been coming up here in 2005, consisted of a small break in the weeds enabling a view of the flats. Just west of that spot, there is an interpretive sign about Emperor Geese that was hidden by uncontrolled vegetation. Well — now that has all changed! The area around the sign has been cleared and a nice pulloff space has been created for viewing the flats. Cheers to the FWS! — we spotted an adult Peregrine Falcon out on the flats.

Peregrine Falcon, Clam Lagoon, Sept 18, 2015.

As we turned around to continue around the lagoon, another falcon soared into view. It was a Gyrfalcon. The Peregrine rose up to play/fight with it. Then two more falcons appeared! It appeared that there were two Gyrfalcons and two Peregrines playing overhead all at once. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Gyrfalcon, Clam Lagoon, Sept 18, 2015.

Every fall, the Common Teal (Eurasian race of the Green-winged Teal) gather in flocks and hide out in a series of long narrow ponds parallel to the road on the west side of the lagoon. So each year I make one effort to see if any odd ducks are hiding with them. Since, as soon as they see me, they burst into flight and away to the next pond, my strategy is to take as many photos of the flock in flight and analyze them later. I have done this for multiple years now, and it has never yielded anything other than Common Teal…

Common Teal, Clam Lagoon, Sept 18, 2015.a

At the northern end of Clam Lagoon, we saw our first Rock Sandpipers of the trip. At the Breaches, as I walked out to the shoreline, there was a feeding frenzy of gulls, alcids, cormorants, and kittiwakes going on just offshore. I took some photos and, while wondering to myself what the object of the frenzy was — leftovers from an Orca kill?? — I scanned the bay for more birds and — lo and behold — an Orca surfaced briefly and disappeared as quickly! Only our second Orca in all of these years.

At the Seawall, we had a flock of 20 Ruddy Turnstones. As we came back around, I walked out the Clam Lagoon Peninsula, but found no shorebirds. At Contractor’s Camp Marsh, a short walk flushed a Pectoral Sandpiper.

Our trip list stands at 30.

We arrived in Anchorage on Wednesday, did our shopping, birded a little bit and settled in for the night.

Thursday morning, we headed up to Arctic Valley Ski Area. We didn’t see anything unusual on the way up, but found a pair of Northern Shrikes up at the top.

Northern Shrike, Arctic Valley Road, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015

One was young and the other an adult. On the way back down, we found a Boreal Chickadee.

Boreal Chickadee, Arctic Valley Road, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015

We headed down to Potter Marsh. It had started to rain, so we decided to forgo the boardwalk and drove around instead. We found a pair of Trumpeter Swans with an American Wigeon.

Trumpeter Swan and American Wigeon, Potters Marsh, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015.

Next, we went to West Chester Lagoon and the Audubon Bench (a viewing area just up the coastal trail from the lagoon). I walked up to the bench, while Barb scanned the lagoon. When I got there, a Great Blue Heron flew out and towards the lagoon. I phoned Barb and she managed to get a photo with her cell phone as it flew by.

Great Blue Heron, West Chester Lagoon, Anchorage, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015.

I also had an Osprey and Bald Eagle flyover, and two Sandhill Cranes bugling.

Sandhill Cranes, Audubon Bench, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015.

There were many Bonaparte’s Gulls on the lagoon.

Bonaparte’s Gull, West Chester Lagoon, Anchorage, Anchorage, Sept 17, 2015.

We headed to the airport. The plane left a little late, but arrived at the scheduled time (5 pm). We met Bob Schutsky and his group and a few birders from Tennessee at the Adak airport and got updated on what they had found the previous week. They were all departing today.

None of the rarities found had been seen in recent days (Little Stint, White-winged Crossbills, Slaty-backed Gull).

We headed to the lodge to unpack. As Estrella (the current lodge manager) was showing us how she had cleaned the windows in the sunroom, a flock of small birds appeared outside. They were Common Redpolls — six of them! We hadn’t even unpacked our binos or camera, yet! A nice start to the trip.

We did a quick trip up to Clam Lagoon, with the only birds of note being 3 Pacific Golden-Plovers.

The Northern Shrikes and the Great Blue Heron were new state birds for us.

21 species to start.

More tomorrow.