The trip is now finished. Check back in a few days for a photo gallery…and of course keep an eye on the website or e-mail me for info if you’re interested in coming along next year.
Archive for the ‘Attu’ Category
At sea, June 1, Islands of Four Mountains to Dutch Harbor — The End of the Journey
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010At Sea, May 31, Amlia Island to Amukta Pass
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010There was a small fishing boat on the horizon, so we switched course to see if there were any birds around it. There wasn’t, but in the course of a radio conversation, that boat’s captain said we weren’t in a good area for Short-taileds. We knew we were in a good area — we were approaching Seguam Pass, a hotspot for them — so it was a nice ‘I told you so’ when we spotted the next Short-tailed within sight of that boat.
Over the next several hours, we encountered more Short-taileds. As we passed through the west side of Seguam Pass, the Short-tailed count approached 10.
At sea, Adak to Tagalax, May 30
Monday, May 31st, 2010We spent a good part of the day at Adak today, dropping off some of the Attu crew and picking up a couple of people for the run to Dutch Harbor. We went through Little Tanaga Strait again and had the usual five auklet species, but there hasn’t been much else of note.
At Sea, Amchitka to Tanaga, May 29
Sunday, May 30th, 2010A little while later, a small pod of Orca along with many albatrosses were ahead of us. As we approached, an adult Short-tailed Albatross suddenly appeared on our port side (and yes, I was sitting on the starboard side). It flew ahead of us but then sat on the water. It then started flying again and we lost it, but then I started chumming. Soon we had about 20 Laysans and one Black-footed behind the boat. Then Rich spotted the Short-tailed coming into the ship’s wake. Some of us had all three species in one binocular field of view. The Short-tailed never came close enough to grab some chum, but it did follow the boat for about 10 minutes. It was certainly the bird of the day.
At Sea, Buldir to Kiska, May 28
Saturday, May 29th, 2010This was a day of rest. Everyone was recovering from all the hiking and biking on Attu, so there wasn’t much effort put into looking for seabirds. We did see all of the expected auklet species, many Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, and there was at least one Laysan Albatross in sight for most of the day. The best bird was a Red-legged Kittiwake southeast of Buldir. We ended the day in Kiska Harbor looking at some of the remains of the Japanese occupation of the island during World War II.
Attu, May 27
Friday, May 28th, 2010Our last day on Attu — we’re heading out of Massacre Bay as I write this — and as you may expect, it was our best day (well, it’s tied with the day we found the Solitary Snipe) so we’re a bit reluctant to leave. Mike “King Toochinkhamun” Toochin came through yet again with a Red-flanked Bluetail at Tattler Creek and a female Siberian Rubythroat, a Rustic Bunting, and Bramblings in West Massacre Valley. Denny Hodsdon turned up a flock of Hawfinches in Navy Town. I also saw a Hawfinch flying overhead plus a female Brambling in West Massacre, and on the walk out of the valley, most of us saw a flyover Wood Sandpiper.
Attu, May 26
Thursday, May 27th, 2010Slow day today: a few Rock Ptarmigan, one Bar-tailed Godwit, a possible Siberian Rubythroat that got away, and a dead Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel. Winds still coming from the north.
Attu, May 25
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010Just a short update as it was a very long day: We hiked from Alexai Point to Navy Town with a detour up West Massacre Valley for reported Oriental Greenfinches, which we missed. We then moved the boat down to Casco Cove for a reported Mongolian Plover, which we also missed. What we _did_ see today included a Long-toed Stint, first spotted by Mike “Tooch and Go” Toochin on a pond at Alexai Point, and a Rustic Bunting along Gilbert Ridge.
Attu, May 24 – a “first” North American record
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010While looking up at it, Hermina Kramp and Rich MacIntosh spotted a snipe flying in overhead from behind. It landed along the beach in front of us and then disappeared into the grass. We flushed it back up to the road and then flushed it several more times before we could get a decent look at it, though each time it flew, it looked _very_ interesting…
I put “first” in quotes in the title because there was a report of Solitary Snipe from St. Paul island a few years ago. Even though it was photographed, the record was not accepted, though I hear it may be re-evaluated soon.
The winds are forecasted to remain from the north for the rest of our stay, but we have new hope for finding a few more birds before we have to leave.
Attu, May 21-23
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010After birding, we moved the boat over to Alexai Point.