Day 13, September 19, 2006. Day 6 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
Today was our last full day covering the greater Coast Guard station area and our three groups (the pipits, wagtails, and cuckoos) divided up to cover the three major sections. The morning was rather wet, and there were periods of wind and rain that almost recalled the weather that had been predicted for Attu. To be sure, our group was incredibly lucky with the wonderful weather conditions during our time there. The Spotted Redshank was again in position at Smew Pond; it seemed to have become accustomed to our presence and allowed closer approach-a welcome change from its first day when it would flush at almost any distance.
There clearly was an arrival of Sharp-tailed Sandpipers overnight, possibly migrant birds that were grounded by the inclement weather. The Smew Pond group had four Sharp-taileds, including at least a couple that literally "dropped from the sky" in front of them. Along Debris Beach we found three Sharp-taileds together and found them to be incredibly approachable. After prolonged scope views at 100 feet we closed the distance to about 20 feet while the birds unconcernedly foraged on the upper part of the beach. As we moved down the beach, a fourth Sharp-tailed appeared and joined the other three, and later in the day their number had swollen to seven. Photographers had a field day with these birds, which remained just as confiding throughout the day. Two groups had single Pectoral Sandpipers, and some people were able to study both species in the same day, comparing the brighter plumage, mostly unstreaked breasts, and streaked undertail coverts of the Sharpies.
Attu bird list for September 19, 2006:
Cackling Goose
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Greater Scaup
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck
White-winged Scoter (2 deglandi)
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel
Pelagic Cormorant
Red-faced Cormorant
Peregrine Falcon
Pacific Golden-Plover
Spotted Redshank
Gray-tailed Tattler
Pectoral Sandpiper
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Rock Sandpiper
Common Snipe
Glaucous-winged Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
Slaty-backed Gull
Common Murre
Thick-billed Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Marbled Murrelet
Kittlitz's Murrelet
Ancient Murrelet
Tufted Puffin
Horned Puffin
Snowy Owl
Common Raven
Winter Wren
"Black-backed" White Wagtail
"Siberian" American Pipit
Song Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch
harbor seal
sea otter
minke whale