Hello to all my Attu trip colleagues who are reading this. I arrived back in Anchorage Sunday night at about 9:00 pm and crashed in my motel. Here is a brief summary until I can find the time to update my daily blog entries.
I added seven (7) new Life Birds on the boat trip to Attu, on Attu and from Attu back to Adak to raise my Life List for the ABA Area to 804! I expected three (3) for sure. The Life Birds are: Whiskered Auklet, Short-tailed Albatross, and Mottled Petrel, within the first 24 hours of leaving Adak on the Puk-uk, the boat we took to Attu, and on Attu, Dark-sided Flycatcher, Common Cuckoo, and Gray-streaked Flycatcher, all on the same day after lunch on Gilbert Ridge near Alexai Point! A great period of birding! On the way back to Adak, at the Captains request, we stopped at Kiska, there I added Eye-browed Thrush (No. 804)!
NOTE: A White-throated Needletail was seen and photographed well enough for identification and documentation by Leader Jess Findlay on Weston Mountain. We looked for it the last day on Attu but our group did not find it.
My year list when I got back to Adak was 503 but have added four more already in Anchorage to yield 507, currently. Notable new specialty birds for Attu and for the year included Siberian Rubythroat, Gray Wagtail, Rustic Bunting, Wood Sandpiper, Far Eastern Curlew, Slaty-backed Gull, Bar-tailed Godwit, Arctic Loon, Rock Ptarmigan, Emperor Goose and all the Alaska alcids except Rhinoceros Auklet.
This Attu trip delivered what I expected and more! Excellent trip! Outstanding! Thanks to John Puschock, and leaders, Isaac Helmericks, Jess Findlay and Captain Bill Choate and his staff of Nicole Arevalo and Jake Schmutzler. More details later. Got to go birding!
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