Attu Quick Update - FIrst Two Weeks (5/10 - 5/25)
Phil Davis (pdavis@ix.netcom.com)
Wed, 27 May 1998 00:23:58 -0400
Chatters, MD_Ospreyers:
About 36 hours ago (???) I left Attu with the first two-week group, as the
second two-week group came in ...
In case you are not following the status reports on the web site (www.
attu.com), here's a quick, unofficial summary:
Attu this year, so far, has been the "trip of the century". The weather
has been the worst ever (coldest, most snow, most wind) ... however this
has brought the best birds, yet ... most species and most number of birds.
Most birds were seen by most of the participants.
Red-throated Loon
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
YELLOW-BILLED LOON 1-2
Red-necked Grebe
LAYSAN ALBATROSS flybys
Pelagic Cormorant
RED-FACED CORMORANT breeders
WHOOPER SWAN several - with one parked on the airport pond
BEAN GOOSE one
EMPEROR GOOSE
Canada Goose (Aleutian subspecies)
Green-winged Teal (COMMON TEAL)
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
EURASIAN WIGEON tons
COMMON POCHARD several
TUFTED DUCK many
Greater Scaup
Common Eider
SPECTACLED EIDER one
Harlequin Duck
Oldsquaw
Black Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
SMEW up to eight
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Rough-legged Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
ROCK PTARMIGAN breeders
Black-bellied Plover
Pacific Golden Plover
MONGOLIAN PLOVER three
COMMON GREENSHANK several
SPOTTED REDSHANK three
WOOD SANDPIPER hundreds!
GREEN SANDPIPER one (!!!)
COMMON SANDPIPER about ten
Whimbrel
FAR EASTERN CURLEW two
BLACK-TAILED GODWIT 40+ !
BAR-TAILED GODWIT two - just arriving (breeders)
Ruddy Turnstone
RED-NECKED STINT several
TEMMINICK'S STINT 10+
ROCK SANDPIPER breeders
Dunlin
GREAT KNOT one - two days (!!!)
RUFF one male - breeding plumage
Common Snipe (EURASIAN form) 40-50 !
PIN-TAILED SNIPE one (!!!)
Parasitic Jaeger
BLACK-HEADED GULL two
Mew Gull (KAMCHATKA form)
SLATY-BACKED GULL one
Glaucous-winged Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
ALEUTIAN TERN just arriving (breeders)
Common Murre
THICK-BILLED MURRE one
Marbled Murrelet
KITTLITZ'S MURRELET several
ANCIENT MURRELET hundreds
TUFTED PUFFIN + (breeders)
HORNED PUFFIN several
Short-eared Owl
SKY LARK 5 - 10 (displaying and singing)
Common Raven
Winter Wren
GRAY-SPOTTED FLYCATCHER one (a week early)
SIBERIAN RUBYTHROAT one (early)
NORTHERN WHEATEAR one
EYEBROWED THRUSH hundreds (!)
DUSKY THRUSH one (one day)
YELLOW WAGTAIL 10+
GRAY WAGTAIL three
BLACK-BACKED WAGTAIL several
OLIVE-BACKED PIPIT hundreds (!)
PECHORA PIPIT 10+ (?)
RED-THROATED PIPIT many
American Pipit
Song Sparrow
Lapland Longspur
RUSTIC BUNTING hundreds (!)
Snow Bunting
BRAMBLING hundreds (!)
GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH several - breeders
ORIENTAL GREENFINCH one - stayed for 3-4 days
HAWFINCH 10 - 20
Not bad for two weeks, heh?
Phil
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Phil Davis
home: PDavis@ix.netcom.com Davidsonville, Maryland USA
work: PDavis@OAO.com Greenbelt, Maryland USA
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