Day 11, September 17, 2006, Day 4 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
Larry Balch has been to Attu approximately 27 times, so when Larry gets a life bird, you know you've had a good day. Today, we had a good day!
This was another day of rare birds creating excitement and chaos—just the kind of day we hope for here on Attu. The Henderson River Valley group disembarked first and sent one party south to the warehouses (hoping for Black-backed Wagtail) and the rest of the group to the north and the Henderson Valley. The northern group was faring pretty well, and as we approached Smew Pond we realized that the juvenile Spotted Redshank was feeding quietly in the south side of the pond. A careful approach gave us spectacular looks, and it was a life bird for some who had missed it on previous days. Then the call came, somewhat crackly since we were behind the Brambling Bluff ridge: "Baikal Teal at the warehouse." Larry Balch's party had found it, and Dave Sonneborn and I turned to our group, gave directions, and said "you're on your own—go as fast as you can." We were afraid it might flush, since Attu ducks are notoriously skittish. Amazingly though, everyone arrived and everyone had great looks. The bird even stuck around until 4:00 p.m. when Barry Zimmer (who had walked from Alexai Point) finally stumbled up.
During cocktails in the evening, Larry Balch recounted the amazing story of the bird's discovery. They had walked along the beach and searched all around the warehouse for the wagtail, and eventually decided to continue on to the south and look for it on the beach. As they headed south he noticed two ladies hanging behind, but eventually they caught up. The group found the wagtails, watched them in the scopes, had a bonus japonicus American Pipit (a distinctive subspecies from Asia) and prepared to continue birding. At about that point, Judy Sullivan and Diane Craig came up to Larry and said, "Would Baikal Teal be a good bird?" Larry, his curiosity piqued, said that it certainly would, since it would be a lifer for him as well as for 3 out of the other 4 Attu veterans on the trip. He couldn't help but inquire as to why they would ask such a question. "Well, we saw one back there." Ummm, where??? Judy and Diane started to describe the bird and then remembered that Judy had taken a picture. It apparently took a few minutes and quite a bit of teamwork to get the photo zoomed up to an identifiable image, but once that was done, Larry realized that their identification was correct and returned post haste to the spot. No teal. No duck of any kind. In fact, the pond was so small that it didn't look like it would ever have a duck. Someone suggested that the teal may have walked into the grass adjacent to the pond, which drew a crack from Larry that maybe a crake or a rail would walk in that grass, but not a teal. Never a teal. Nonetheless they started to walk around the pond to check and make sure, and as soon as one step was taken towards the grass, the teal walked out. "FREEZE!" Larry shouted, and the four people closest to the bird did just that. Larry must have had an authoritative tone, because when I arrived 45 minutes later those people were still frozen like statues on the edge of the pond while the rest of us watched the bird from a distance, exchanged high fives, and took photos.
Our standby rarities performed for other groups. Spotted Redshank was seen well several times. Wood Sandpiper was flushed up from Henderson Marsh. Two different Gray-tailed Tattlers were located along the beach. A Eurasian Wigeon was feeding in Smew Pond in the morning. "Black-backed" White Wagtail was located feeding along the beach and along the Coast Guard Station, and seen well by some. Two new birds created some excitement. As David Wolf disembarked at Peaceful River with a zodiac full of people, a small bird was seen scurrying on the beach. It turned out to be a Bluethroat, probably a young male, and one of few records for Attu. This is an Old World thrush that breeds in remote wilderness south of the Brooks Range, but was discovered around Nome in 1987 (by a VENT tour group, amazingly enough) and has since been found there consistently. A lucky few saw it before it scurried into the grass; they are extremely secretive and it was not a surprise that it was never refound. Another migrant passerine along the beach was an American Pipit. It was not just our standard American Pipit, since this one had well-marked streaking, a strong malar, pink legs, and faint streaks on the back. Sometimes called "Siberian" Pipit, the subspecies japonicus is a rare migrant in western Alaska (accidental in California) and a potential split. Leaders that heard the bird's call were struck by how different it sounded from "our" American Pipits.
Our day concluded with Don Wilkinson singing and Dick Spight accompanying him on piano. "Oh Danny Boy," "Old Man River," and "Some Enchanted Evening" were the three songs they performed. Don is a professional singer and his rich voice filled the cocktail lounge and drew thunderous applause and a standing ovation. Some enchanted evening indeed—the Baikal Teal was a life bird for everyone on the boat except for about four people who had seen the bird near Santa Barbara, California, last year, or the one near Seattle the year before.
Attu bird list for September 17, 2006:
Cackling Goose
Eurasian Wigeon
Northern Pintail
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Baikal Teal
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
White-winged Scoter, deglandi
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
Red-faced Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Peregrine Falcon
Pacific Golden-Plover
Wood Sandpiper
Spotted Redshank
Gray-tailed Tattler
Ruddy Turnstone
Rock Sandpiper
Common Snipe
Glaucous-winged Gull
"Vega" Herring Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Marbled Murrelet
Kittlitz's Murrelet
Ancient Murrelet
Tufted Puffin
Common Raven
Winter Wren
Bluethroat
"Black-backed" White Wagtail
"Siberian" American Pipit
Song Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
sea otter
Dall's porpoise
harbor seal
minke whale