Yes, that’s right.  Adak.  We should be on our way to Attu now, but the north winds that have been continuing the past several days — and today’s were the strongest yet — has slowed our boat’s progress.  It should be arriving sometime tomorrow, probably in the morning.

No new Asian birds today, but Eurasian Wigeons were in several locations, and other groups reported that the Smew is still here.  Another new bird today was a drake Common Merganser (i.e., not a Goosander) found by Mike “Tooch” Toochin.  A few shorebirds were around, too: a male Pacific Golden-Plover at Contractors Camp, and a Sanderling and four Bar-tailed Godwits (probably the same that have been around for awhile) at Clam Lagoon.  Clam Lagoon also gave us our first terns of the trip: two Aleutian Terns and at least four Arctic Terns.

Due to grocery shopping duties, I missed out on one of the most bizarre bird sightings on Adak.  While checking out a report of a possible Common Ringed Plover this afternoon, Rich MacIntosh spotted a Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel flying up Sweeper Creek, giving great looks to about 20 birders.  After that, Susan Clark found a Short-eared Owl hiding on a roadside cut bank.

p.s. The possible Common Ringed Plover turned out to be a Semipalmated.

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