On Location from the Bering Sea Jun 21—Jul 05, 2006
Posted by Dion Hobcroft
Dion Hobcroft
Dion Hobcroft has been working for VENT since 2001. He has led tours to Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Bhutan, India, Southwest Pacific, Cambodia, Thailand, China, Jap...Related Trips
From onboard the M/V Clipper Odyssey
We had a great stop in Attu today. We explored the old runway area and kicked things off with a pair of Tufted Ducks. Shortly afterwards we found a Wood Sandpiper. But our best find was a magical pair of Falcated Teal. Then we had a Snowy Owl, followed by Kittlitz’s Murrelet, Mottled Petrel, Aleutian Tern, Cackling Goose, and Black-backed Wagtail. Great results in only four hours!
The best rarity, though, was last night on the Russian side, when we had mega-views of a Murphy’s Petrel?possibly a new bird for Russia, and only 50 miles from the U.S. border. We also enjoyed stunning views of a blue whale.
Our Russian visit went well with 80 species listed, including Steller’s Sea-Eagle, White-winged Black Tern, Middendorff’s Grasshopper-Warbler, loads of Siberian Rubythroats, Willow Ptarmigan, Yellow-breasted Bunting, Eyebrowed Thrush, Long-toed Stint, and displaying Eastern Curlews.
A good group, and good birds!