Temp in the 50s, overcast, rain, S wind 15-30 mph, increasing as the day went on.

Sweeper Cove and channel were pretty empty of birds. This was the highest tide we’ve had this trip, leaving little shorebird-attractive shoreline along the creek. The strong wind and rain didn’t help, either.

After checking the Warbler Willows, we drove out to Lake Andrew. As we drove along the shore, a Northern Harrier popped up and, with a 30 mph tailwind, quickly disappeared ahead of us. It was a female, but we never got close enough or photos to determine if it was the American or Eurasian race. The one we had in September 2009 was American.

After going back and forth on the road hoping the bird would circle back, we spotted three Eurasian Wigeon on the lake. So far this year, the wigeon have all stayed at a distance not suitable for photography, but these were much closer — albeit in lousy light conditions.

Eurasian Wigeon, Lake Andrew, Sept 30, 2015.

Eurasian Wigeon, Lake Andrew, Sept 30, 2015. Braving the wind-driven waves.

The wind was howling out at the Seawall, but the waves were smaller than yesterday. We finally found a Common Loon for the triplist. We also saw a parade of Albatrosses, just visible with binoculars, but just far enough out and with poor visibility as to make species identification impossible. We counted at least 8, and if we had scanned some more, we probably could have counted more.

The waterfowl flock on Lake Shirley continued with Greater Scaup, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintails, Mallards, and were joined by two Northern Shovelers.

Nothing else of note today. We ended earlier than usual because the weather was getting worse.

We leave tomorrow at 6 pm (Adak time) and expect to arrive home Friday around 5 pm est.

The final wrap-up post will be posted Saturday morning (unless the Anhinga at Tinicum is still being seen and we run down to get it!).

Triplist is 55.