Thursday, May 27, 2021

Temps in the 40s, overcast, intermittent rain and drizzle, Wind SSE 15-25 mph

Hard to match a day like yesterday!

We checked the feeders first and saw the (or should I say “a”) Hawfinch at the Seal Drive Feeder. Yesterday evening, while cruising around looking for the Cuckoo, Gabi saw two Hawfinches there!

Hawfinch, Seal Drive Feeder, May 27, 2021

Some of the other groups re-found the cuckoo this morning. Some heard it calling!

About that initial sighting…

Charlie and Tatum were at the Underground Bar and Grill talking to the some of the locals, when one of them mentioned a bird he had just seen nearby that was “like a kestrel, but larger.” Charlie showed him a photo of a Eurasian Hobby, and he said that was it. And so the chase commenced… So it wasn’t any of the birders that identified the cuckoo as a Hobby.

After heading north, we checked the south end of Clam Lagoon. Still no Spot-billed Duck. But we saw the Brant again.

After checking Shotgun Lake, we decided to go over to Lake Andrew via that road. Good thing we did, as we found a Wood Sandpiper in one of the small wetlands along the way. A lifer for Gabi! Too far for a photo, however…

We returned to Clam Lagoon and at the Breaches had four cooperative Black Oystercatchers. Always a photogenic bird.

Black Oystercatcher, the Breaches, May 27, 2021

Gabi finally got a great look at a Red-faced Cormorant and several Aleutian Terns (both lifers).

Here is the Mandatory Annual Adak Rainbow photo…

Rainbow over Pistol Pond and Shotgun Lake, May 27, 2021

The trip list is 61 — below the average 67 — but not bad considering I missed a whole week!

One more full day and then a half-day Saturday.