ADAK ISLAND, ALASKA
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Dates:
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Sunday, 13 May through Sunday, 20 May 2007
Sunday, 20 May through Sunday, 27 May 2007
Sunday, 27 May through Sunday, 3 June 2007
All tours are 8 days & 7 nights.
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You can go to Adak for one week, or save money and increase
your chances of seeing more Asian strays and other great
birds by staying for 2 or 3 weeks. We can even arrange a
10-day stay by using the Thursday flight from Anchorage.
Inquire for details.
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At certain times Alaska Airlines offers a significant savings on the
flight from Anchorage to Adak, as much as a $700 fare
reduction. If you wish to take advantage of this offer that is
often made for two weeks in October, contact the
BIRD TREKS
office. We will gladly pass the savings on to you. Please note that
this ticket will be non-refundable.
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We'll visit Adak Island in the central Aleutians, 1200
miles southwest of Anchorage, the westernmost portion of North America
that is accessible by commercial airline.
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Target Species include . . .
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Cackling Goose
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Glaucous-winged Gull
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Eurasian Wigeon
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Aleutian Tern (arrives late May)
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Tufted Duck
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Common Murre
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Common Eider
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Pigeon Guillemot (Aleutian subspecies)
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Rock Ptarmigan (Aleutian subspecies)
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Marbled Murrelet
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Laysan Albatross
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Kittlitz's Murrelet
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Northern Fulmar
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Ancient Murrelet
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Short-tailed Shearwater
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Parakeet Auklet
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Pelagic Cormorant
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Whiskered Auklet
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Red-faced Cormorant
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Horned Puffin
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Black Oystercatcher
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Tufted Puffin
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Pacific Golden-Plover
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Common Raven (Aleutian subspecies)
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Bar-tailed Godwit
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Winter Wren (Aleutian subspecies)
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Rock Sandpiper (Aleutian subspecies)
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Song Sparrow (Aleutian subspecies)
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Red-necked Phalarope
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Lapland Longspur
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Parasitic Jaeger
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Snow Bunting (Aleutian subspecies)
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Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Aleutian subspecies)
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Some of the more likely rarities and vagrants that we have seen or may see include . . .
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Bean Goose
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Slaty-backed Gull
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Emperor Goose
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Black-headed Gull
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Smew
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Long-billed Murrelet
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Garganey
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Sky Lark
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Arctic Loon
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Yellow Wagtail
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Gyrfalcon
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Olive-backed Pipit
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Common Snipe
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Eyebrowed Thrush
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Black-tailed Godwit
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Gray-streaked Flycatcher
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Wood Sandpiper
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Siberian Rubythroat
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Common Sandpiper
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Rustic Bunting
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Gray-tailed Tattler
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Brambling
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Common Greenshank
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Hawfinch
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Red-necked Stint
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Previous trip lists are available upon request.
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Likely mammals include Sea Otter, Harbor Seal, Orca, Sperm Whale, and Caribou.
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ADAK ISLAND, ALASKA
13-20 May 2007, 20-27 May 2007, 27 May - 3 June 2007
Adak is a 280-square mile island in the Aleutians. It is
located 1200 miles southwest of Anchorage and 400 miles east of Attu.
Until very recently, Adak was the site of a naval base, and
access was highly restricted. The Navy has departed, opening the
island to birders and leaving behind an infrastructure and
modern facilities not found at other western Alaska birding
hotspots. Please consider exploring it with us.
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Day |
Agenda
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1
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Your flight from Anchorage leaves at noon with a mid-afternoon arrival
in Adak. From the airport we'll make the short drive to our lodging
facilities, comfortable two-bedroom apartments that were formerly
housing for naval officers when the base was active. They are all
equipped with cable TV, telephone, a kitchen, and washer and dryer. As
soon as everyone is settled in, we'll begin birding. Our first stop
is an overlook of Kulik Bay to look for alcids and
cormorants. From there, we'll continue to Clam Lagoon,
THE hotspot on Adak - this location has yielded North America's
first Spot-billed Duck and Broad-billed Sandpiper.
Recently we have found Lesser Sand-Plover, Far Eastern
Curlew, Brambling and other good birds at the lagoon.
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Clam Lagoon, Adak Island
--John Puschock
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2-7
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One of the Asian vagrants that we saw in May 2006 was this Gray-tailed Tattler.
--John Puschock
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We'll spend most of our days looking for seabirds,
shorebirds, Asian vagrants, other migrants, and some of
the island's resident species such as Lapland Longspur, Snow
Bunting, and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. We'll check Clam
Lagoon at least twice each day, plus other areas such as the old Loran
station at the north end of the island to look for seabirds
that may include Laysan Albatross and Short-tailed
Shearwater. We'll visit Lake Andrew where we saw Common
Greenshank and Yellow Wagtail last year, and the town
itself where the few ornamental spruce trees are prime habitat for a
vagrant songbird. Part of the excitement of birding on the Aleutians
is that you never know what may show up where or when.
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8
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We'll take one more look at Clam Lagoon and perhaps a few other sites
this morning, then return to town to prepare for the early afternoon
return flight to Anchorage.
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Leader:
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This tour will be led by John Puschock, author of a chapter of
the ABA/Lane Birder's Guide to Alaska. John operated four
bird-banding stations in northwestern Alaska and has led several
recent very successful tours to Adak. John has now conducted six very
successful tours to Adak.
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Price:
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$4695 per person for one week, no increase over the 2006 tour fee.
Price may go up or down slightly due to factors beyond our control. We
will do our best to stick to the quoted price. If you stay on Adak
for longer than one week, the fee for the extra days will be reduced
based upon the price of the roundtrip airfare from Anchorage to Adak.
Also, dependent upon the rooming arrangements, we may be able to offer
a discount for any couple sharing a bed.
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Includes:
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Expert guide service, lodging for 7 nights, ALL meals, entrance
fees and permits, all ground transportation on Adak, and roundtrip
airfare from Anchorage to Adak. ALL tips are also included in
the tour fee, except for anything that you may wish to give to your
tour leader(s).
Does not include cost of airfare to and from Anchorage, Alaska.
BIRD TREKS
will, upon request, help you obtain the best airfare. Also not
included are the cost of alcoholic beverages and items of a personal
nature.
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Deposit:
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A $1000 deposit will assure your reservation on the tour. The balance
is payable 15 March 2007. Adak is a spectacular birding destination
that has only recently become accessible to the birding public. We
expect these tours to fill quickly. Send your deposit soon to insure
your reservation and to obtain the best possible airfare to Anchorage.
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Extra
Services:
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We offer the services of our exclusive
BIRD TREKS travel agent,
Lori Heathcote, in arranging your air travel. Lori has 21 years
of experience in the travel industry and is a veteran birder. Contact
her through Bailey Travel at 1-800-224-5399, or you can e-mail
lori@baileytravel.com.
By dealing with Lori you have the security of a 24-hour toll-free
telephone number in case of any travel emergency. She can also assist
you with all pre- and post-tour travel plans.
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Refund &
Cancellation
Policy:
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With written notice more than 90 days prior to the first day of the
tour, 100% of your deposit will be refunded, minus a $100 service fee.
With 30-90 days notice, you will receive a 50% refund of the full cost
of the tour. No refund can be made with less than 30 days notice. You
will receive a full refund if you provide a replacement for your spot
on the tour.
No partial refund can be given once a tour begins.
We strongly recommend that you purchase trip
cancellation insurance to protect your investment in case of injury or
illness to you or your family prior to or during a tour. Click on the
following link to Access America or contact
BIRD TREKS for information
on obtaining this coverage.
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Robert M. Schutsky
216 Spring Lane
Peach Bottom, PA 17563
Phone: 717-548-3303
Fax: 717-548-3327
e-mail: info@birdtreks.com
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