Friday, May 28, 2021

Temps in the 40s, mostly cloudy, occasional sprinkle, Winds NNE 10-15 mph

Our last full day on Adak.

We checked the feeders, but found nothing new.

At Finger Bay, we had a Horned Puffin, Red-necked Grebe, and Common Loon among others. No tattlers on the creek…

The Red-necked Phalaropes are starting to set up territories on the small ponds.

Red-necked Phalaropes, Andrew Lake Ponds, May 28, 2021

I took Gabi up to see White Alice, where we got a pair of Snow Buntings. At Haven Lake, the Whooper is still there.

Whooper Swan, Haven Lake, May 28, 2021

At Warbler Willows, a pair of Pacific Wrens were singing.

We are in a high tide/high-low tide cycle, so not much in the way of mud flats at Clam Lagoon. The Bar-tailed Godwits have moved out to the sandbars beyond Candlestick Bridge.

Other birders reported a Sanderling and Ruddy Turnstone at Airport Creek Bridge. We missed them.

The Common Cuckoo is still here and hanging out in one place, so everyone had gotten to see it. And some heard it calling.

Common Cuckoo, Adak, May 28, 2021
Common Cuckoo, Adak, May 28, 2021

We decided to call it quits early today to get some packing done, get dinner, and then maybe go back out.

Shortly after we got back to the house than we got a call about a couple of Snow Geese over the closed airport runway. Gabi was too tired, but I went out. I headed to the upper end of the Airport Channel where I could overlook the runway. No sooner had I pulled into the road than the geese landed 50 yards in front of me! This was only my third Snow Goose sighting on Adak.

Snow Geese, Adak Airport, May 28, 2021

So, the trip list is at 64 (slightly below average).

We leave around 1:30 tomorrow afternoon and I hope to arrive home around 6 PM on Sunday (about 24 hours of travel time).

My wrap-up post will be done on Monday.