Day 8, September 14, 2006. Day 1 on Attu. Sep 07—24, 2006
Posted by Marshall Iliff
Marshall Iliff
Marshall Iliff, a lifelong nature lover, began birding at age 11 after attending a National Wildlife Federation Camp in the mountains of North Carolina. He attended VENT...Related Trips
We entered Massacre Bay at sunrise and spent much of the morning taking pictures of the rosy-fingered dawn as it first touched Attu—our home for the next week. Three emissaries from the Coast Guard Station met us on the ship for the Unexploded Ordnance Meeting, complete with a PowerPoint presentation and all.
Our disembarkation for the island finally came at about 8:30. In total, 96 people made ten plus zodiac runs to Alexai Point. Alexai presents some of the most varied habitats on Attu: short grass runways, marshy ponds, kelp-lined beaches, rocky shorelines, and sheltered thickets of rank undergrowth. We divided into four teams to try to cover the point completely. On the night before, the leaders had a lengthy meeting about the "what ifs," especially the "what if we find two good birds at once" issue.
Our first special sighting was waiting for us in the scopes as we first set foot on Attu. Although not officially split yet, "Kamchatka" Mew Gull is thought by many to be a species in its own right. The juvenile that Barry Zimmer found on the beach actually turned out to be the best bird of the day and one of few Attu records. About one hour later our highly ordered sweep for birds degenerated into complete mayhem. My group called in a Sky Lark, Barry Zimmer's group had found a Common Snipe, and Jeri Langham's group was looking at a Tufted Duck. While discussing who should go where, a "Black-backed" White Wagtail flew over. An amazing rush of birds within the first hour! More than half of the participants saw most of the birds, but few saw all of them. Such is the nature of birding Attu. The rest of our morning efforts produced, as well, a Ruff on the easternmost point and a Gray-tailed Tattler at the tip. One group tried for the tattler and missed it, and others had missed many of the other species, so we orchestrated an afternoon return for "clean up." Almost everyone who needed to "get" Tufted Duck, Common Snipe, or Gray-tailed Tattler succeeded. Unfortunately, the Sky Lark, Ruff, and wagtail were all MIA.
With everyone exhausted by 9:30, we packed it in. More news tomorrow, when we explore Navy Town, the Peaceful River, and Murder Point.
List of all birds seen on Attu (Alexai Point) ? 35 species
Sunny, calm in morning, becoming windy with 10-20 mph wind from the south or southwest.
Cackling Goose
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal (incl. one male carolinensis)
Tufted Duck
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Pacific/Arctic Loon
Red-faced Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Peregrine Falcon (1 pealei]
Sandhill Crane
Gray-tailed Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Western Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Rock Sandpiper
Ruff
Common Snipe
"Kamchatka" Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
"Vega" Herring Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Marbled Murrelet
Kittlitz's Murrelet
Tufted Puffin
Sky Lark
Winter Wren
White Wagtail
Song Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Sea Otter
Harbor Seal