Adak, Alaska May 14—22, 2008
Posted by Michael O'Brien
Michael O'Brien
Michael O'Brien is a freelance artist, author, and environmental consultant living in Cape May, New Jersey. He has traveled extensively throughout North and Central Ame...Related Trips
Adak is a remote island in the central part of the Aleutian chain, part of the so-called Andenof Islands. But unlike most other islands in this region, Adak has an extensive infrastructure due to military operations here between 1940 and 1997. During our visit here, we enjoyed the various amenities from an extensive road system, to a comfortable house, to a convenient restaurant where we could always count on a hot meal (Violet was just great!). Our van had seen better days but served us well throughout, suffering only one flat tire. And we were not alone on the island. Three other birding groups were there with us, all friendly folks (and indeed, several good friends) who freely shared their sightings with us. With so many eyes looking, whatever was out there—we were all going to see it!
Being situated roughly halfway between mainland Alaska and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, Adak, of course, is a place where American birders hope to see stray migrants from Asia that find themselves off course over the Pacific. The key ingredient that causes these migrants to drift toward Adak is wind from the southwest. As spring migrants push northward along the coast through Japan and the Kuril Islands, a southwesterly wind will drift some birds offshore, with the next landfall being the Aleutian Islands. As luck would have it, during our entire stay at Adak, the wind blew out of the northeast. It was therefore no big surprise that we didn't see a flood of Asian strays. The good news is that Adak hosts a wonderful selection of breeding and migratory birds, so our cheery group always had something interesting to look at.
Waterfowl accounted for about 30% of our species total on Adak, and the mix we saw had a decidedly Asian flavor. The highlight by far (and our only true Asian stray of the week) was the female Smew that we saw at Clam Lagoon. This bird proved most difficult to find, due largely to its highly skittish nature. It also changed companions constantly. Some people saw it with goldeneye; others saw it with scaup. We eventually saw it twice—once by itself and once with Red-breasted Mergansers! Another highlight was the group of two male and one female Tufted Ducks that hung around for much of the week at the Airport Ponds and Contractor's Marsh. Although regular in the Aleutians, there are few other places in North America where one can expect to see this species.
One of the most common waterfowl species we encountered was the Eurasian form of Green-winged Teal, regarded as a separate species by some European authorities. Every little wetland had a few, and most days we saw dozens. Picking through them regularly, we found only one "American" Green-winged Teal. Along the same lines, we also had good numbers of Eurasian Wigeon, but only a handful of Americans. Among the more commonplace waterfowl, it was wonderful to see such lovely species as Harlequin Duck, Common Eider, and Red-breasted Merganser, all quite numerous at Adak. We also enjoyed sifting through the Greater Scaup flocks and finally picking out a Lesser, and likewise, picking out a female Barrow's Goldeneye among the Commons. In both cases these are rarities from the mainland, perhaps attributable to easterly winds.
There were many other highlights at Adak. Some Alaska specialties we found included Arctic Loon, Red-faced Cormorant, Pacific Golden-Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Aleutian Tern. Our rarest shorebird of the week was a Common Snipe, which obliged us by perching on a post and raising its wing so we could see its diagnostic underwing pattern. This species is a regular migrant and rare breeder in the Aleutians. Marbled, Kittlitz's, and Ancient murrelets were each numerous and frequently offered wonderful views. Rock Ptarmigans seemed to pop up at every corner and were especially conspicuous as they performed their aerial displays. Rock Sandpipers were also numerous and we often saw them doing their wing-flash display. Bald Eagles were just everywhere and were amazingly tame; we saw every plumage imaginable (but as hard as we tried, couldn't turn any into a White-tailed Eagle!). And, on those quiet drives back in the hills, it was nice to have abundant Lapland Longspurs and the occasional Snow Bunting or Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch to keep us company.
Without a doubt, everyone's favorite part of the Adak tour was our boat trip to Little Tanaga Strait. Despite a forecast of moderately rough seas, we had a wonderfully calm trip with excellent viewing conditions. This allowed us to access the tidal rips near Silak Island where Whiskered Auklets feed. Captain Al Giddings expertly maneuvered his boat so it would drift through a feeding frenzy of these little alcids, and the views we had were spectacular! Thousands of these birds, whose range is virtually restricted to the Aleutian Islands, surrounded us, some flying by in tight flocks and others diving and popping up right next to the boat. Among them, we saw smaller numbers of Common and Thick-billed murres, Pigeon Guillemots, Ancient Murrelets, Parakeet and Crested auklets, and Horned and Tufted puffins. What a show! Along the way, we passed an impressive colony of Steller's sea lions and even watched a Peregrine Falcon pick off an auklet! To cap things off, before heading back we ventured a little farther offshore where we had nice views of a Laysan Albatross—a major improvement over the very distant views we had of this species from the Loran Station. And the only thing that could have made that day any better happened—we finally saw the Smew that afternoon!