Annotated Bird List
SPECIES, (# of days recorded/# of days of trip), notes
1. Emperor Goose (3/8) A lone Emperor Goose was seen on the rocky islets off the Clam Lagoon seawall on three days.
2. Cackling Goose (6/8) The first three days of the trip we saw several flocks of Cackling Geese flying over and frequently encountered groups grazing along the airport runway. The daily maximum was 160 on 13 May.
3. Eurasian Wigeon (7/8) We encountered up to nine Eurasian Wigeon at Clam Lagoon each time we birded there. We also found small numbers at Haven Lake and the marshes on the south end of Lake Andrew. The high count was 21 on 14 May.
4. Mallard (8/8) Seen everyday in many locations.
5. Northern Shoveler (3/8) On 13 May we found a female on pond along the east side of Clam Lagoon. On 15 May there was a male on Clam Lagoon and there were three (two female, one male) there on 16 May.
6. Northern Pintail (8/8) Seen everyday, primarily at Clam Lagoon, but also at Contractor's Marsh, Haven Lake and the Airport Ponds.
7. Green-winged Teal (8/8) Seen everyday in many locations.
8. Tufted Duck (4/8) A pair was present on the Airport ponds for the first half of the trip.
9. Greater Scaup (8/8) Seen everyday in many locations.
10. Lesser Scaup (1/8) On 15 May we observed a male Lesser Scaup with a flock of Greater Scaup on a pond along the east side of Clam Lagoon.
11. Steller's Eider (4/8) A female Steller's Eider associated with a flock of Harlequin Ducks near the rocks offshore of the Clam Lagoon Seawall throughout the week.
12. Common Eider (3/8) On three days we observed small numbers (up to 20) of Common Eiders in several spots along the coast between the Clam Lagoon seawall and Airport Creek.
13. Harlequin Duck (8/8) Harlequin Ducks were numerous and easy to observe nearly everywhere along the coast. A flock of over 200 were regularly seen from Candlestick Bridge, and nearly as many were off the Clam Lagoon Seawall.
14. White-winged Scoter (5/8) We found small numbers of White-winged Scoters offshore of the Clam Lagoon Seawall and from Palisades Overlook. On several days there was also a pair on Clam Lagoon.
15. Black Scoter (6/8) At least one tight raft of Black Scoters was offshore between Palisades overlook at Airport Creek each day we checked. The trip maximum was 120 on 16 May.
16. Long-tailed Duck (3/8) We observed a small group of up to 10 Long-tailed Ducks offshore of the Clam Lagoon Seawall on three occasions.
17. Bufflehead (8/8) We commonly found Buffleheads in many locations each day.
18. Common Goldeneye (4/8) A flock of up to 25 Common Goldeneyes was present in the southeast portion of Clam Lagoon on four days.
19. Smew (1/8) Our trip started with the fortuitous discovery of a female Smew on Shotgun Lake on the evening of 12 May, our first night. Despite much effort by all the birders on the island the bird was not relocated later in the week.
20. Red-breasted Merganser (8/8) Seen everyday in many locations.
21. Rock Ptarmigan (8/8) “Turner's” Rock Ptarmigan L. mutus atkhensis is endemic to the Central Aleutians and is common and easy to see on Adak. We observed the raucous growls of displaying birds on all days of the trip.
22. Arctic Loon (3/8) Arctic Loons were easy to find this year on Adak and we observed small numbers between Palisades Overlook and Airport Creek on three days. The high count was eight on 16 May.
23. Pacific Loon (4/8) Being able to compared, side by side, both Arctic and Pacific Loons was a highlight of this year's trip. Trip high count for Pacific Loon was six on 15 May.
24. Common Loon (4/8) We found Common Loons singly on Clam Lagoon, Lake Andrew and offshore of the Clam Lagoon Seawall on four days. All of these birds were in breeding plumage.
25. Yellow-billed Loon (1/8) On 17 May we got nice looks at a breeding plumage Yellow-billed Loon offshore of the Clam Lagoon Seawall.
26. Horned Grebe (6/8) Horned Grebes were seen off the Clam Lagoon seawall and from Candlestick Bridge on six days. The high count was eight birds on 16 May.
27. Red-necked Grebe (6/8) We watched Red-necked Grebes singly or in small numbers on Clam Lagoon, Lake Andrew and offshore of the Clam Lagoon Seawall.
28. Laysan Albatross (3/8) One of the regular highlights of birding Adak is the opportunity to view Laysan Albatross from land. Twenty knot winds from the northeast on 19 May brought at least 15 Laysans in close enough for excellent views from the Clam Lagoon seawall. We also observed a single bird there on 13 May and two from the Loran Station on 17 May.
29. Northern Fulmar (1/8) On 13 May we watched about 5 Northern Fulmars from the Clam Lagoon seawall.
30. Short-tailed Shearwater (2/8) On 17 May favorable seawatching winds brought at least 50 Short-tailed Shearwaters within viewing range of the Clam Lagoon seawall. Even more favorable winds on 19 May blew in at least several hundred in even closer on 19 May.
31. Red-faced Cormorant (5/8) We had great looks of up to four Red-faced Cormorants just off of the Clam Lagoon Seawall on five days.
32. Pelagic Cormorant (7/8) Commonly seen offshore Adak and on Clam Lagoon.
33. Bald Eagle (8/8) Seen everyday in many locations.
34. Merlin (1/8) From an Adak perspective one of the rarest birds of the trip was a female Merlin chasing Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches in the Adak National Forest on 16 May. The bird eventually perched on a power pole and allowed excellent scope views.
35. Peregrine Falcon (1/8) On 17 May a Peale's Peregrine Falcon was perched on a cliff near the Loran Station.
36. Semipalmated Plover (4/8) Observed in display flight over several appropriate breeding habitats. Maximum daily count was four birds.
37. Black Oystercatcher (7/8) We observed Black Oystercatchers on several rocky islets along the coast and in Finger Cove. The high count was a flock of six in Finger Cove on 15 May.
38. Wandering Tattler (1/8) On 17 May we watched two Wandering Tattlers on the Clam Lagoon seawall.
39. Whimbrel (1/8) On 16 May a calling Whimbrel flew over Clam Lagoon. We only heard the bird and so were not able to determine to which subspecies the bird belonged.
40. Bar-tailed Godwit (1/8) The only Bar-tailed Godwit of the trip was a female found on a rocky islet south of Airport Creek on 18 May. We watched a female later that evening at Clam Lagoon that may have been the same bird.
41. Ruddy Turnstone (4/8) A Ruddy Turnstone was on the Clam Lagoon seawall or the northeast shore of Clam Lagoon on each of the last four days of the trip.
42. Least Sandpiper (1/8) For the third year in a row we found a Least Sandpiper on Adak, a species unknown in the Central Aleutians prior to 2007. We kicked this year's bird out of Contractor's Marsh on our last morning.
43. Rock Sandpiper (7/8) We found Rock Sandpipers in a number of habitats on the island. Daily maximum was 7 on 16 May.
44. Wilson's Snipe (5/8) We flushed up to three Wilson's Snipe from Contractor's Marsh throughout the week. On 18 May another two were found in the marshy ponds at the south end of Lake Andrew.
45. Red-necked Phalarope (3/8) Red-necked Phalaropes were hard to come by this year on Adak. A high count of three on 18 May included two from Contractor's Marsh and one in a pond on the south end of Lake Andrew.
46. Black-legged Kittiwake (1/8) Strong northeast winds brought in a Black-legged Kittiwake to the Clam Lagoon Seawall on 19 May.
47. Glaucous-winged Gull (8/8) The default large gull on the island, we observed it daily in numerous locations.
48. Glaucous Gull (5/8) The trip high count was four birds on Clam Lagoon on 13 May. All of the birds seen were second cycle birds.
49. Aleutian Tern (5/8) We encountered small numbers of Aleutian Terns flying over Clam Lagoon, Contractor's Marsh or the Airport Ponds on five days. The high count was 14 on 19 May.
50. Arctic Tern (4/8) Seen in small numbers offshore and on Clam Lagoon. High count was seven birds on 17 May.
51. Pomarine Jaeger (1/8) On the final afternoon of the trip we had excellent views of a Pomarine Jaeger as it flew past the end of the harbor jetty. This is the first time we've seen Pomarine Jaeger from shore on this trip.
52. Parasitic Jaeger (8/8) Tallied everyday of the trip from Clam Lagoon and flying over Contractor's Marsh and Lake Andrew. The high count was seven birds on 13 and 18 May.
53. Common Murre (3/8) We observed Common Murres singly or in pairs offshore or on Clam Lagoon on three days.
54. Pigeon Guillemot (7/8) Commonly encountered along the rocky coasts everyday but the first day of the trip when we didn't bird this habitat.
55. Marbled Murrelet (7/8) Marbled Murrelets were common on Clam Lagoon and in numerous offshore areas each day of the trip. We found birds in both winter and breeding plumage.
56. Kittlitz's Murrelet (1/8) On 16 May there were at least 50 Kittlitz's Murrelets in the southeast portion of Clam Lagoon. Birds were in both winter and breeding plumage and we had very nice side by side comparisons with the similar Marbled Murrelet. As an added treat, both species were uttering their very different vocalizations.
57. Ancient Murrelet (7/8) Ancient Murrelets were found daily, often in numbers, from many offshore locations. the high count was over 200 on 19 May.
58. Whiskered Auklet (1/8) On 13 May those who opted for a small boat trip to Little Tanada Straight were treated to up-close views of this Aleutian Islands specialty.
59. Tufted Puffin (3/8) Twenty were seen on the boat trip on 13 May, four from the Clam Lagoon Seawall on 16 May and one was found offshore of town on 18 May.
60. Common Raven (8/8) Seen everyday on the island in many locations.
61. Pacific Wren (6/8) Newly split from Winter Wren, this species is resident in ravines, rocky areas, and cliffs throughout the Aleutians. We found birds singing and defending territories in numerous locations. The high count was five on 17 May.
62. Lapland Longspur (8/8) An abundant breeder on the island in all upland habitats. We were never out of earshot of the tinkling calls of the Lapland's aerial display.
63. Snow Bunting (5/8) Snow Buntings breed in the rocky hills and cliffs and Adak and we found them in small numbers on five days. The high count was six birds on 15 May.
64. Song Sparrow (8/8) Song Sparrows, subspecies maxima were fairly common primarily along streams, Clam Lagoon and along the coast.
65. Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (8/8) We counted the “Aleutian” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch L. tephrocotis griseonucha each day with a maximum daily count of about 40 birds.
66. Hawfinch (4/8) A highlight of this trip was at least one Hawfinch which attended seed feeders in the Adak National Forest 13-16 May and at the Clam Lagoon fire station on 19 May. This normally very shy and flighty Asian stray was especially confiding and allowed for great views and photos!
Mammals:
1. Harbor Seal
2. Steller's Sea Lion
3. Sea Otter
4. Caribou
5. Whale, possible Minke
Birding Focused
BIRDING FOCUSED
WILDERNESS WILDLIFE & BIRDING
INTERNATIONAL
