Temp in the 50s, mostly sunny, Wind W 15-25 mph

We checked the feeders and Sweeper Cove. Nothing new. The high tide made Sweeper Creek shorebird-unfriendly.

So we checked the High School Willows (nothing) and then the High School Spruces. As I scanned the trees, I saw a gray shape that wasn’t there previously! I got the scope on it and discovered an accipiter. The bold facial pattern led us to believe it was a Northern Goshawk! But, after posting the photos to the IDFrontiers listserve, it was pointed out to us that it was a female Eurasian Sparrowhawk (which looks like a small Goshawk)! This should be the first accepted North American record!!!!! (John Puschock had one a few years ago, but it was not accepted by the Alaska Records Committee and there were at least two sight records from Attu.)

Eurasian Sparrowhawk, High School Spruces, September 21, 2016

Eurasian Sparrowhawk, High School Spruces, September 21, 2016

For more details about this sighting, go to http://www.franklinhaas.com/eusp/eusp.html

Not a bad bird for our penultimate day!

We checked every tree we could find today, hoping it would be perched in one of them, but no luck.

Speaking of raptors, you can never have too many photos of Peregrines. This one was circling me at Clam Lagoon today — I guess he couldn’t find any shorebirds to catch.

Peregrine Falcon, Clam Lagoon, September 21, 2016

At the Seawall, we had a flock of 30 Ruddy Turnstones. No other shorebirds today.

Also, at the Seawall, I spotted an albatross way out, but could not determine the species.

Our trip list is now 52.

We leave tomorrow around 6 pm and expect to arrive home late Friday afternoon.

I will post our wrap-up blog on Saturday.