Attu Cruise Sep 07—24, 2006
Posted by David Wolf
David Wolf
David Wolf is a senior member of the VENT staff and one of our most experienced tour leaders. After birding the U.S. and Mexico for over a decade, an interest in the mammal...Related Trips
A sense of excitement and anticipation was in the air as the full group gathered for our first lunch together and prepared to depart. Many had spent the previous day birding around Anchorage, highlighted by two male Spruce Grouse staying out at the road edge for all to see. Before long we were in Whittier and aboard the Spirit of Oceanus, and by dinner we were en route at last. A few intrepid observers spotted our first pelagic birds that evening. Seabirds and marine mammals would be a constant theme during the next five days, as "The Mother of All Pelagics" sailed west along the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands to fabled Attu. We thrilled to six or more pods of orcas feeding all around us, had fabulous looks at all three species of albatrosses "chummed in" to the ship (including 10 Short-tailed in one day), and spotted rarely-seen creatures like Mottled Petrel and Baird's beaked whale.
After a short exploration of Dutch Harbor, a diversion back through Baby Island produced good numbers of Whiskered Auklets in the rip tides, and then led us into a spectacular feeding concentration of humpback whales, with a carefully-estimated 1.5 million Short-tailed Shearwaters milling around them like clouds of smoke. While at sea we were surprised at the number of passerines that circled our ship, and pleased when an Orange-crowned Warbler and a Red-breasted Nuthatch utilized the Oceanus Memorial Forest, albeit briefly.
A brilliant sunrise over Attu our first dawn there heralded the gorgeous weather we would have all week. Our first explorations ashore, on Alexai Point, wore many of us out, but produced Gray-tailed Tattler, Common Snipe, Sky Lark, Tufted Duck, and more. By the time we visited Alexai again, days later, the walking seemed almost easy—and again this area produced, this time a Red-necked Stint. In-between these visits to Alexai we took zodiacs ashore from Massacre Bay on a daily basis, exploring far and wide on foot. Almost every day brought a new surprise, but hands-down the best finds were a lovely Spotted Redshank and a remarkably tame Baikal Teal. Other top birds included a Wood Sandpiper, stunning juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Snowy Owls, elusive White Wagtails, and a "Siberian" Pipit. The grand finale came as we explored ashore at the head of pristine Ettienne Bay in the southwest corner of Attu, "where no birders had gone before," and where Barry Zimmer discovered an odd passerine that proved to be the third North American record of a Yellow-browed Warbler. It took much patience and persistence, but eventually it was seen by most everyone.
Our final surprise came at sea in Russian waters, when at least nine Solander's Petrels were spotted amidst the commoner tubenoses, a rarely-seen species and difficult identification that was eventually confirmed by great photos and much study of several cooperative birds. All too soon we were ashore in Petropavlovsk, waiting for the plane to whisk us back to Anchorage and home.