WARBLER! WARBLER! Well… let’s not  get too excited…

Temp in the 40s, sunny, south wind 10-15 mph

We woke up to something we had never seen on Adak — a clear sky! Not a cloud to be seen! Because of the clear skies and diminished wind, the temperature dropped to 32. We had to scrape the ice off the car windows. Mt Moffet received its first snow of the season — just a dusting, which melted off by midday. Mt Sitkin (1800 Ft higher) got more snow, which didn’t melt off.

While drinking her morning coffee and watching our birdfeeder, Barb saw a flock of 4 Redpolls come in briefly, but they moved on before I could get there.

At Sweeper Cove, just like yesterday, we found an immature puffin. Only this time it was a Horned.

Juvenile Horned Puffin, Sweeper Cove, Sept 29, 2015.

I walked much of Contractor’s Camp Marsh today and found exactly zero shorebirds!

The longspur numbers are diminishing rapidly.

We got up to the willows below Haven Lake (which we used to call the Boy Scout Cabins Willows — see below) around noon. As I walked over to the willows, I saw a bird flitting. I got on it immediately (while shouting to Barb “Warbler!”) and my first reaction was “Oh crap, a confusing fall warbler!”

Of course, we were hoping for a confusing Asian warbler, but it was not to be. It was an American warbler — a Blackpoll Warbler. Although common back home, this was not only a first record for Adak, but a first record for all of the Aleutians! Not bad.

Blackpoll Warbler, Warbler Willows, Sept 29, 2015.

Blackpoll Warbler, Warbler Willows, Sept 29, 2015.

Blackpoll Warbler, Warbler Willows, Sept 29, 2015.

Since this is where we had the Wood Warbler (4th North American record!) last September, we are christening these now the Warbler Willows.

The triplist is 53.

A day-and-a-half to go…