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BIRD TREKS NEWS FLASH! #58 2 December 2007 ADAK ISLAND ALASKA, May 11 - June 1, 2008 Things are shaping up well for our spring birding tours to Adak Island in the Aleutians, http://www.birdtreks.com/itin/akad108.html. We have people registered for all three weeks: 11-18 May, 18-25 May, and 25 May - 1 June. So anytime during that period that you would like to join us, we're ready to help you search for Adak specialties and Asian strays. There are two round trip flights per week from Anchorage, Sunday and Thursday. So you can plan your stay on Adak for one week, 10-11 days, two weeks, 17-18 days, or the full three weeks. The accommodations are quite comfortable, the food is good, roads and vehicles are more than adequate, and the birding ranges from good to spectacular. Please read our trip report from September 2007 for a taste of birding on Adak:
ADAK ISLAND, ALASKA Excerpts from the trip report are given below. For the entire report, go to http://www.birdtreks.com/highlites/akad2.html 6 Sep Two weeks on Adak Island in the Aleutians, 1200 miles southwest of Anchorage, searching for strays from Asia. What could be more exciting than that? John Puschock had been scouting for a week prior to our arrival and had a good report when we met at the Adak Airport: Oriental Greenfinch had been seen earlier in the day. John had quick glimpses the day before and another birder had good looks today. This species was previously unreported on Adak. We picked up our luggage and, with an hour of daylight remaining, we were off to the National Forest on our first chase. We had Lucie Bruce, Nick Cooney, and John Odgers from Texas, and Bill Sugg from North Carolina, all eager to search for our first Asian stray. There are no native trees on Adak, so birding the National Forest is not quite what you might think. It is a small grove of spruces that you can easily walk around in 30 seconds. Down the road a short way is an even smaller grove that we call the State Park. No luck at either spot, or in the gravel road or the surrounding vegetation. We put down some birdseed in an attempt to attract the Greenfinches. We'd be back in the morning, and many times to come. 7 Sep After breakfast we checked the National Forest again, finding a Song Sparrow and a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, but no Oriental Greenfinch. Clam Lagoon yielded a juvenile Ruff and juvenile Long-billed Dowitcher in the grassy flats at the south end. Later in the afternoon as we continued around the 6-mile road that encircles Clam Lagoon, we discovered two more Ruffs and a juvenile Common Greenshank on nearby Lake Shirley. These are excellent birds. But 30 minutes later we hit the jackpot - - TWO Marsh Sandpipers on the Clam Lagoon flats near Candlestick Bridge. This was the 5th ABA record, and the only occasion on which two had been seen together. It was a life bird for the entire group except John Puschock who had seen it twice before on Adak. [I will refer to the ABA area several times in this report. ABA = the American Birding Association Area, basically the US, Canada, and surrounding waters.] We finished with a couple of Peregrine Falcons and an apparent adult hybrid gull, Glaucous-winged x Slaty-backed. Our first full day on Adak had been a good one, a very good one. 8 Sep Late in the morning the Common Greenshank was still on Lake Shirley, but the Ruffs were gone. After lunch we visited Sweeper Cove near the village of Adak, specifically the outflow from the fish processing plant. This is a major concentration point for gulls because of the abundance of food in the cove. John spotted the 2nd-winter Slaty-backed Gull that he had observed last week. We all had good looks as it rode on the water with the abundant Glaucous-winged Gulls. Even though we hadn't been finding anything, we felt compelled to check the National Forest again. This time it paid off, BIG TIME! John flushed an Oriental Greenfinch from the spruces. It flew down the road to the spruces at the State Park where some of us saw it well and others were still hoping for better looks. We knew of one nearby lone spruce that Nick had dubbed the Regional Park. As we slowly and carefully made our way to this solitary tree, there was the Oriental Greenfinch, perched on the very top. And it remained for everyone to see and photograph. Persistence paid off and our entire group was more than pleased. We spent late afternoon at Contractor's Camp Marsh. A Peregrine flushed a shorebird from the wet grasses, an almost definite Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. But the Peregrine did not catch it, which pleased Bill, who still needed Sharp-tailed for an ABA bird. We also saw a Common Snipe, the Eurasian version of our Wilson's Snipe. We ended the day with our first of many rainbows. 12 Sep Wednesday turned out to be another one of those spectacular days. It began with a juvenile Pacific Golden-Plover at Lake Andrew. This is not a rare bird by any means, but it is certainly a handsome one. A bit later in the morning we were making our daily round of Clam Lagoon. We spotted the flock of about 50 Sanderlings that was often accompanied by two Western Sandpipers. But now there was a third peep, smaller than the two Westerns. John and I both felt that it was a stint, most likely a Red-necked. We mobilized quickly for our walk across the flats. We were able to approach closely for excellent looks, but juvenile stints are not easily identified. John obtained fantastic photos, which he displayed on his laptop at lunchtime. It became very apparent that we had found a Little Stint, the first documented record for Adak. What an incredible find! We returned to Clam Lagoon after lunch for more photos and prolonged observations. Between 5 and 6 PM we saw the following species at Clam Lagoon: Little Stint, two Marsh Sandpipers, Common Greenshank, and Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. And Florida birders Ted Robinson and Greg Bretz were flying in tomorrow to join us for the second week. Hopefully some or all of these birds would hold tight for the next 24 hours. 13 Sep And we began our second week when Greg and Ted landed at the Adak Airport at about 7:15 PM. We whisked them out to Clam Lagoon, stopping for a great look at our first Gyrfalcon. They were able to see the two Marsh Sandpipers very well (ABA bird for both), along with the Common Greenshank. We ran out of daylight and ended the day quite content. 14 Sep Not long after seeing the Greenshank and Marsh Sands yet again, John spotted two Kittlitz's Murrelets on Sitkin Sound. This species is relatively easy in spring, but much more difficult by September, especially from shore. After lunch the wind had finally settled down, so we stopped at another grouping of stunted spruces that we had dubbed the Elfin Forest. We had seen Winter Wren there on earlier stops, plus the occasional Song Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. But today we hit the jackpot when Greg spotted a songbird atop one of the final spruces and John yelled "Oriental Greenfinch!" We had quick looks there, then it flew back to the other end of the trees where we had more looks. Then it disappeared into a nearby tree. Barb and Frank Haas had arrived from Pennsylvania on the Thursday flight with Ted and Greg. They put in a voluminous amount of time, scattered more birdseed, searched, played Greenfinch songs on their iPod, all to no avail. We were never able to relocate this bird. Whether it was the same bird we had seen last week, or the second of the two birds that John had seen before we arrived, or a brand new one, we'll never know. 20 Sep Our final day on Adak Island Alaska, and a short day due to our early evening flights back to Anchorage. But we still had plenty of good birding time and we took full advantage of it. Shotgun Lake is one of the small lakes near Clam Lagoon that we check regularly for waterfowl. Sometimes there are 100 birds on it, sometimes none. This morning there was a flock of five Eurasian Green-winged Teal, then a smaller flock of three. But one of the three looked different, with a few light markings on the face. We were just getting better looks at this bird when it disappeared behind some vegetation. After a quick drive to the other side of the lake and a few photos by Frank Haas, we felt confident that we had a Garganey, but by now the flock had flown. We relocated it in a small roadside pond, no more than 30 feet from the vans. We all had prolonged views of the Garganey in perfect light and point blank range. Very exciting! We moved on to Sitkin Sound and found our only loon of the entire two weeks, a Yellow-billed Loon. On the return trip to lunch we saw two Gray-tailed Tattlers along the edge of Clam Lagoon. And, after a grand chase and lots of trips around Clam Lagoon and across the flats, we found our final new bird of the tour, a juvenile Lesser Sand-Plover. Our tally for the second week was 57 species, with a total of 65 species seen during the two-week period. It was an excellent birding expedition to Adak Island with many exciting adventures. GIFT CERTIFICATES It's only 23 days until Christmas. A Bird Treks gift certificate is easy, and VERY enjoyable for the birder in your life. And we know how to keep a secret here in the office. TOURS GUARANTEED TO GO IN 2008 The following tours have at least the minimum number of participants needed for the tour to go, but still have one or more openings available for you to join us. Simply click on the web site address to view the detailed itinerary. Additional information concerning all of our tours is available by going to http://www.birdtreks.com/schedules/sched.html. This includes a short description of each tour, plus highlights, photos, and favorite species from previous adventures. Tour route maps are being added to the web site. Checklists from previous tours are being added as they are updated into the current taxonomic order. The following three tours are GUARANTEED TO GO:
Day-by-day itineraries and additional information are on our web site at www.birdtreks.com. Please contact the BIRD TREKS office if you need help accessing our web site or if you would rather have information mailed to your postal address. Many of our other scheduled tours are likely to go, but they cannot be guaranteed at this time. Please contact BIRD TREKS for more information or to register for the tour of your choice.
HIGHLIGHTS from COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA Our trip began with a 6:00 AM start from the Nottingham Inn in Pennsylvania. We made our way down the Delmarva Peninsula, passing many tempting birding stops en route to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Kiptopeke State Park was our stopover for a picnic lunch (and a Summer Tanager) before birding the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel complex, accompanied by the required CBBT police escort. Highlights included a Seaside Sparrow and a family of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, along with several species of gulls and terns. Our first stop on the Outer Banks was the Wright Brothers Memorial at Kitty Hawk looking for grassland sandpipers. Our next and final stop of the day was the Dare Haven Motel in Manteo, our home for the next five nights. Manteo is on Roanoke Island, the birthplace of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America in 1587. But it was not the end of our day's birding with the discovery of Brown-headed Nuthatch behind the motel and two Great Horned Owls begging for food from an adult, perched high up on a communications tower down the street from the motel. We saw at least one owl in the same spot every morning and evening for the next five days! For the next four days we explored the Cape Hatteras National Seashore from Nags Head to Ocracoke Island. Friday began with a quick look at the Great Horned Owl on the way to breakfast. We encountered a small flock of Magnolia, Black-and-white, and Prairie Warblers on the drive to Bodie (pronounced "body") Island. Bodie Island gave us our first looks at White Ibis, Little Blue and Tricolored Herons, Marbled Godwit, and Short-billed Dowitchers. Our next stop was Coquina Beach for Sanderlings, Willets, and Black Terns. We continued on to Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge with a stop at Oregon Inlet and the North Pond Wildlife Trail for Piping and Semipalmated Plovers, along with Western, Baird's, White-rumped, and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Black Skimmer, Least Tern, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, and Great and Snowy Egrets. And, of course, we had another look at the Great Horned Owl on the way back to our motel. Tonight was an early one in preparation for our 4:15 AM start the next morning. Saturday was our all-day pelagic adventure to the Gulf Stream off the coast of Hatteras, NC on board the Stormy Petrel II, captained by Brian Patteson. White-tailed Tropicbird flying directly over the boat was the bird of the day, but it was not to be outdone by Black-capped Petrel, Bridled and Sooty Terns, Pomarine Jaeger, Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Cory's, Greater, and Audubon's Shearwaters, and migrating Bobolinks. While we were watching birds, the crew caught Wahoo and Dolphin (the fish, mahi-mahi) on which we feasted for dinner - - an excellent end to an exciting day at sea! Our third day took us to Ocracoke Island, where legend has it the pirate Blackbeard plied his trade. On the way we stopped again at Oregon Inlet and Pea Island for more shorebirds. Our lunch stop at Buxton Woods Picnic Area gave us a Green Anole lizard that we watched turn from green to brown. The Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry brought us to the island and, after exiting the ferry terminal, a nearby pond produced a rookery of nesting White Ibis and Caspian, Royal, and Sandwich Terns. We stopped to visit the Ocracoke Ponies, a once roaming herd of wild ponies now corralled to protect them and the fragile island habitat. Legend has it that they are survivors of European explorers shipwrecked during the 16th and 17th centuries. These ponies are physically different from other ponies because they have a different number of vertebrae and ribs than other horses, along with a distinct shape, posture, color, and size. We drove through the picturesque Ocracoke Village before returning by ferry to Manteo. Our last full birding day started at Pea Island NWR where we saw several banded Royal Terns. A walk along the North Pond and New Field Impoundments yielded several female American Redstarts, Prairie Warblers, and Cedar Waxwings. Pied-billed Grebes were seen at the North Dike. The road to Bodie Island produced Prairie and Black-and-white Warblers, Great Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Vireo, and an early Red-breasted Nuthatch. An after dinner walk through a marsh a few miles from the motel gave us several Clapper Rails that were seen and heard responding to our taped calls. While watching for the Clapper Rail, we were serenaded with the hoots of Great Horned Owls calling back and forth. A fine ending to a fine trip! Tuesday was our travel day to return to the Inn at Nottingham. We had our final look at the Great Horned Owl after leaving the motel. After crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel, we stopped at the Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR for a quick stop for Clapper and King Rails, which eluded us. We arrived tired but happy after five rewarding days of seabirds, warblers, shorebirds & more shorebirds! COMING SOON . . . We hope that you have enjoyed reading about two very different tours, Adak Island and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Our next NEWS FLASH will describe a recent adventure to Guyana (a future tour destination) and lots of exciting tales from Kenya. The first Kenya Tour recently ended and the second one will wrap up this week. Please let us know if we can assist you with any additional information about our upcoming tours, or a gift certificate for the holidays. We're here to help you with your birding needs. And if you'd like a private, custom tour, that's our specialty! Sincerely,BOB BIRD TREKS--Quality Worldwide Birding Tours Robert M. Schutsky 216 Spring Lane Peach Bottom, PA USA 17563-4008 WEB SITE www.birdtreks.com VOICE: 717-548-3303 FAX: 717-548-3327 E-MAIL: info@birdtreks.com Back to FLASH menu page Back to main page Send comments or questions about this web page to the WebMaster. |