Right church, wrong pew…
First a note about yesterday’s posting.
When we identified the warbler as an Arctic, we were going by the field guides on hand (all pre-2014). Unknown to us, the AOU split Arctic Warbler into three species back in 2014 — Arctic, Japanese Leaf, and Kamchatka Leaf warblers.
Study of specimens and other Arctic Warbler records from the Aleutians prior to 2014 shows that all identifiable records were Kamchatka Leaf Warblers. So ours is presumed to be as well.
However, separating these three species in the field is difficult, to say the least. Call is the best way to identify them, but ours did not call (and Barb has REALLY good hearing!).
I have put all 53 (yes, 53!) photos up on a web page at http://franklinhaas.com/Kamchatka/Kamchatka.html for anyone interested at trying to establish the identity of this bird.
It is still a first for Adak (and us)!
So pre-2014, it was an Arctic Warbler (the church), today it is a Kamchatka Leaf Warbler (the pew)…
Now back to today.
Temps in the 50s, mostly cloudy, ENE wind at 10-20 mph
We had nothing new on our usual morning rounds (feeders, Sweeper Cove and Channel, Kuluk Bay, etc. However, the previous afternoon, while up at Clam Lagoon, we met the captain and a Fish and Wildlife inspector from the Early Dawn — a crab boat currently in port. The captain offered us some fresh brown crab, just stop by the boat!
So, this morning, we stopped by and they not only gave us some crab, they cooked it for us, too! So our dinner was set.
We headed up to the Warbler Willows and Adak National Forest, and except for Pacific Wrens, had no birds.
At Clam Lagoon, I walked the marsh edge and peninsula and had 2 sharp-tailed Sandpipers and 1 Pectoral.
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, September 17, 2017
Barb had a lingering Parasitic Jaeger.
We headed over to the east shore of Lake Andrew. I got out and walked down to check the small ponds and two small clumps of spruces. As I was walking along, a bird flew overhead with the wings in a dihedral! At home this would be a Turkey Vulture! Then I thought of Northern Harrier! It was just a Short-eared Owl in a glide. Once it started flapping, it was obvious. It just shows how your mind works when you are not on your home turf…
Short-eared Owl, Lake Andrew, September 17, 2017
The owl was shortly joined by a Peregrine Falcon in order to perform some aerial ballet! The owl disappeared around the bend, but the Peregrine came back and flew around us before landing on a log at the water’s edge.
Short-eared Owl, Lake Andrew, September 17, 2017
Short-eared Owl (left) and Peregrine Falcon, Lake Andrew, September 17, 2017
Peregrine Falcon, Lake Andrew, September 17, 2017
Peregrine Falcon, Lake Andrew, September 17, 2017
As I continued on, a snipe flushed from almost under my feet and quickly disappeared into thick growth about a hundred yards away. I tried to find it again, but could not. So it is a snipe sp.
At the Seawall, Barb saw some Short-tailed Shearwaters. On the east side of Clam Lagoon, we spotted our first Emperor Goose for the trip. We also saw 6 small shorebirds flying across the lagoon heading northeast. They were too far away for us to identify them.
Back up at the Seawall, we had another feeding frenzy and, again, found a Pomarine Jaeger in the fray.
We saw at least three Peregrines today, and maybe four.
Our year’s list is now 89. One to go to tie our previous high.
The weather is forecast to be easterly winds for several days. Not the best for vagrants, but you never know!
PS: for those of you who have visited Adak, you will be puzzled to know that the Bay 5 restaurant is “closed for the season!” What season? We have no idea…
Where are we, the Hamptons?