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Bird Alert
August 9, 2003
Most Recent Alert View the alert for August 16, 2003 - RBA * ALASKA * St. Paul Island; Pribilofs * 8/9/03 * AKSPO308.09 -Birds Mentioned: Short-tailed Shearwater Greater Scaup King Eider Pacific Golden Plover Semipalmated Plover Wandering Tattler GRAY-TAILED TATTLER Ruddy Turnstone Western Sandpiper LITTLE STINT Least Sandpiper Baird’s Sandpiper Pectoral Sandpiper SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER Rock Sandpiper (ssp. tschuktschorum) Dunlin Red-necked Phalarope Red Phalarope Herring Gull (ssp. smithsonianus) SLATY-BACKED GULL Parasitic Jaeger Long-tailed Jaeger RHINOCEROS AUKLET Bank Swallow RED CROSSBILL Common Redpoll -transcript hotline: St. Paul Island, Pribilofs, Alaska (internet only) date: August 19, 2003 coverage: St. Paul Island compiled: 12:00am ADT, August 19, 2003 compiler and transcriber: Derek Lovitch (waxwing7000@yahoo.com) |
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This is the St. Paul Island birding update for August 2-9, 2003 sponsored by St. Paul Island Tour. For tour information or to make travel arrangements see www.stpaulislandtour.com or call 1-877-424-5637. Winds were easterly all week, mostly due east or southeast to be exact. That’s usually not the best winds for us to get birds from "the other side," but we did get a few treats. Seawatching was productive if you like tens of thousands of shearwaters streaming by. Southbound shorebirds continue to increase. The southeast winds associated with this week’s storm produced excellent counts of SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS. Over 18,000 were tallied on August 6th, passing at a rate of up to 150 per minute. 13,500 were counted on the 7th. A drake GREATER SCAUP reappeared again on the 5th, and has stuck around through the end of the week. The 5 subadult male and one female KING EIDER all continue. Our second LITTLE STINT of the season, this one a "textbook" juvenile was found on 8/8. An adult BAIRD’S SANDPIPER, our first of the year, arrived on August 5th, and was joined by two juveniles the next day. They remained through 8/7. Another juvenile was found on the 8th. Our first SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER of the year, an adult, also arrived on the 5th, and continued through week’s end. A juvenile DUNLIN stopped in on the 7th. A ROCK SANDPIPER of the mainland subspecies tschuktschorum was noted on 8/8. RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, especially juveniles, have noticeable increased this week, likely representing migrants as well as the local breeders. Other high counts for shorebirds this week: A third summer smithsonianus HERRING GULL has been hanging around this week, while the juvenile smithsonianus also continues. Our lingering 2nd and 3rd summer SLATY-BACKED GULLS continue, while an adult dropped in on the 7th, and a new third summer bird was noted on the 8th. A dark-morph adult PARASITIC JAEGER was spotted on the 7th, while an adult LONG-TAILED JAEGER cruised by on August 6th. Single RHINOCEROS AUKLET(S) were observed on multiple dates this week. After one BANK SWALLOW was observed on 8/4, more arrived daily until the 8/8 when 12 were tallied. 3 RED CROSSBILLS were seen on 8/8. COMMON REDPOLLS made news again. On the 8th, three fledglings were found, confirming Common Redpoll as a breeder here for 4 consecutive years, despite the lack of trees. There were only one or two previous breeding records for Common Redpoll on the Pribilofs before 2000. Also, a group of 8 Redpolls were seen on the 7th. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: As I prepare for the first ever fall bird survey on St. Paul (beginning August 25th), I am trying to compile notes and records from prior visits. If anyone has visited the Pribilofs in the fall, I would be interested in hearing from you. I can be reached via email at waxwing7000@yahoo.com. This is Derek Lovitch for Gavin Bieber, and Marfa Rukovishnikof of St. Paul Island Tour. Hope you enjoyed reading about our sightings . . . maybe we’ll see you out here! Until next time, Derek -end transcriptTo Top or Previous Alert |