I felt considerably more energetic the next morning, and set off after breakfast with Ray and Ruth, hoping to get a head start on the other guys (we figured they'd catch up with us eventually)! The stool came in handy for Ray during this trek, but we managed to pick up more longspurs and "Snowboos" at the Boneyard, and the rest of the gang scared a Hoary Redpoll and a Dunlin our direction! (The strategy was to form a "scrimmage line" across the Boneyard and hope someone scared something up...) Once we were all together a japonicus American Pipit flew overhead, but that was it for the land birds. A flock of Common Eiders flew overhead on the way to The Point.
Foggy morning on the way to The Point Snow Bunting in the
Boneyard on the way
there
Once down there it was glorious--you could actually see the white mountains of Russia! More seabirds awaited us, including many more Parakeet Auklets than the day before. More Common Eiders flew out over the ocean, but what got everyone excited was the Arctic Loon that flew over! (I couldn't really discern the white flanks, but I did see the stripes on the neck...) We also had several Slaty-backed Gulls, another pair of King Eiders, a couple of dark morph Pomarine Jaegers (along with several light ones), plus the regulars (the Least Auklets were particularly close to shore). I can't remember which day it was specifically, but the guys were very helpful in trying to discern young Vegas from young Slatybacks; I guess the primary pattern isn't as straight-forward as the NGG leads you to believe. They key thing to look for is apparently the bill (on first-year birds, anyway): bicolored in Vega and all black in Slatyback. After everyone started freezing we finally started back, but things kept teasing us!
On a clear day you can see Russia!
We set up shop for more seawatching (yes, this is a trick picture...)
King Eiders (female left, subadult male right) Thick-billed Murres in non-breeding
(left) and breeding plumages
Least Auklets 2nd-year Slaty-backed Gulls 1st-year Glaucous Gull
Chocolate and vanilla Pomarine Jaegers Ray and Merrill pose with one of the locals
Then we had lunch and did the list, and most of the gang headed back out to see Rock Sandpipers and whatever else would show up at the far end, while Ray and Ruth and I opted to stay behind and hitch a ride if something really good showed up. As it turned out, they did end up going twice (for a Wheatear and Ringed Plover), but I stayed and napped, and that did me well for the hike and Dovekie Watch after dinner. During dinner enough people had asked about this Paper Towel Tube business that Kevin finally told the story (and I'll let him and/or Barry tell it to curious readers)! I gave him an honorary tube later, and he explained how the thing is now in a protective plastic coating, it's been handed off so many times!
Anyway, only a handful of us went to seawatch, but it was lovely out, and we did end up adding Bar-tailed Godwit and Red-breasted Merganser to the list, although there were more Fulmars sailing around than ever! On the way back several native kids decided to play tag with us (Marshall was having a ball!), and then we arranged rides to the alcid cliffs. Merrill and I were the only ones to take Marshall up on his offer: apparently the best strategy for finding Dovekie (other than hoping one flies by as it did the day before) was to scan the cliffs late at night when they're most likely to be there, which is a chore in and of itself because the birds are waaaay up there! Once there, we spotted a Peregrine right away, then ran into another birder who had been there a week already on his own, but he hadn't found anything. We found some comfortable rocks to sit down and lean against and started scanning, enjoying yelling Least and Crested Auklets as they played in the snow and scurried to and fro. Took a picture of the guys at midnight (it was kind of overcast, so it felt more like late afternoon or early evening anywhere else), and at 12:30 the gal picked me up and brought me home!
Fulmar The guys in the background with the ATVs are
with another birding tour.
Walter against the sunset Merrill plays "tag" with the village kids on the way
back to the inn...
Marshall takes some of us out later to look for Dovekie (way later--these pictures were taken at midnight!) The idea is to scan the alcid cliffs and hope you find one among the dots!
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