Mention of gentian?

August is almost 1/3 completed already so what do we have to show for it?  I mean, does seeing a MALLARD on Antone Lake count?  Or five BANK SWALLOWS yesterday?  Ok, in terms of August surprises, there haven't been THAT many.

However, there was one surprise... this STELLER'S EIDER at Marunich:

I've long been fascinated with eiders, especially the two northern specialties.  In fact, this year marks the 10th year anniversary of when I first worked in Barrow with Steller's and Spectacled eiders.  Such a loooong time ago, it seems.

We certainly didn't have a Steller's this time of year last season (although they've been known to happen) so I was a bit surprised.  I was starting to wonder about this particular species for Ashley (who needed it) but luck was apparently on our side this week.

In 2014, we had SNOWY OWLS early in the season and then late in the season.  This year, however, things have been different.  Yes, we still had some early on but this year at least one has decided to stick around all summer.  Problem is, we can't pin it down most days... but some days it's plain and obvious for the world to see.  Here it is, sitting on a rock in Rocky Lake looking down at what we would assume was its reflection in the water (yeeeah, I'm kidding):

I've been excited at the notion that some mind-bending rarities could very well be around the corner this fall.  So when signs of summer (like the presence of auklets) disappear, it's both exciting and eye-opening.  It's true though, it has become quite difficult to see some species like Least and Crested auklets.  However, puffins nest a bit later and therefore, yes, the cliffs are still full of TUFTED PUFFINS:

... and with the wicked witch that is the wind, it makes for some magical tuft madness:

Although most of the ROCK SANDPIPERS have completed raising chicks and have moved from the breeding habitat to the coastal lagoons, I've seen a few stragglers.  For example, this adult was keeping a close eye on a youngster:

BTW, one clue in the above photo regarding the lateness of the season is the MONKSHOOD in the foreground.  Just so you know.

It's been interesting seeing some of the RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKES in molt including this bird retaining P9 and P10:

I won't mention the seals too much here other than yes, they're still here, and yes, this is a big male downhill from the Reef Seal Blind:

Oh yeah, speaking of big, the mondo COGA plane has been continuing in the area:

We often get asked if it's ever sunny here and ok, sure, it's dreary a lot but nice days DO happen.  A few days ago was one of those days; dead calm and sunny.  It was a nice day to head to High Cliffs and an even nicer day to take a panorama of the scenery:

And finally to answer my first question of this post, yes, the WHITISH GENTIAN is still one of my favorite flowers on St. Paul Island.  Here are some adjacent to the Low Cliffs on the west side of the island:

Early DUNL and other signs

One thing worth mentioning these days is how low the wetlands are this summer on St. Paul Island.  Pumphouse Lake?  It's a shallow puddle surrounded by expansive dried mud.  Tonki Point?  Most of the habitat is gone and it's just edged in some mud.  Sadly, many of these have been largely ignored by shorbs (or maybe we just don't have shorbs).  It's times like these that Saucer Pond is looking downright good and Rocky Lake might have the best shorebird habitat on the island right now.  

And yes, although August can have amazing passerines, I feel like the emphasis is often on shorebirds.  The spectacle of about a thousand shorebirds on Salt Lagoon the other night was humbling; one must get accustomed to sorting through hundreds of ROCK SANDPIPERS looking for the odd one out.  This DUNLIN fit the bill (and was flagged in eBird due to being a touch early):

When you see peeps here, you may as well sit down and study them awhile.  Well, you don't HAVE to but it's probably in your best interest.  Here's a LEAST SANDPIPER on Rocky Lake Annex:

It's getting on the late side but I spotted this young shorebird going for a swim the other day.  I smile not only because it's cute, but because if you know what a juvenile RED-NECKED PHALAROPE looks like, you'll recognize those orangey stripes on the back straight away:

Speaking of orangey, the LESSER SAND-PLOVER has continued recently.  Although I haven't spent any time trying to get better pictures of this bird, it's still an attractive one:

The flocks of LAPLAND LONGSPURS have really been building in recent days.  Most of the longspurs we have now are youngsters, ones born this year.  I will say that if you haven't spent time around young longspurs, the first one you see might surprise you:

No, it's NOT a rare bunting of some sort, it's just a plumage you don't see farther south.

Some SNOW BUNTINGS are also forming flocks.  Striking birds, they are, especially when they land in front of you on the seal blind:

Yet another sign of fall has been the arrival of a few pipits.  Pipits here can be fun; we'll get Red-throated and hopefully a rarer one like Olive-backed or Pechora.  Or maybe we'll get the first Pribilof record of Tree Pipit?  Anyway, here's an AMERICAN PIPIT that has been near the parking lot at SW Point for the past several days:

I bump into banded Red-faced Cormorants fairly often out here but this was the first time I had seen a banded THICK-BILLED MURRE.  Take a look:

I'm not sure if the photos are good enough to ID the individual but it's still a surprise to be scanning the cliffs just to see a big yellow band staring back at you!

The NORTHERN FUR SEALS remain a dominant feature on the landscape and will continue through September and into October.  Here's a great example of a harem with the dominant male in the middle with all his females around him:

If you've never been to the Pribilofs, this time of year hosts large yellow poppies lining the lush green roadsides of the island:

Ok, so who cares if they're all facing away from me?!  That's what I thought.....

The Great Halfway

For better or worse, we're officially half done with the 5 month guiding season here on St. Paul Island.  Actually, we're more than half done (this is my 80th day this season with about 77 left to go... not that anyone is counting).  This gives me a logical break to look at some numbers...

For starters, by this time last year, my season list had climbed to 117 species whereas this year, I'm 5 short of that.  That is actually a smaller gap than I had expected; I feel like I had considerably more species last year but that's probably due to me remembering the vagrants more than some of the more expected things I got this year (SACR and SAGU anyone?).

It's not surprising that the first half of last season delivered about 20 new ABA birds for me whereas this season it's delivered only 4.  Obviously, most of that is due to me needing things then like all the auklets, kittiwake, cormorant, etc.  People often remind me that I might have had more lifers this year if I hadn't done so well last year.  :-)

The beginning of last August didn't provide much in the way of island birds; my first of the month came on the 16th when I saw my first Wilson's Warbler of the fall.  However, we've missed a couple of birds so far this season that I think could/should show up any day.  Red-necked Stint, for one, has been missed by us so far this year.  Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is another.

But in looking back, it WAS in August that the fun really began.  On the 25th, I had a memorable day that started with my lifer Bluethroat and ended with a chase to Hutch Hill for a Willow Warbler.  Of course, it was on our way back from Hutch that a Gray-streaked Flycatcher was near Webster House!  So with that, I eagerly await some new surprises!

In the meantime, it's no surprise to see lots and lots of LAPLAND LONGSPURS still.  After all, this is by far the most abundant passerine on the island:

I mentioned in the last post that we've had a LESSER SAND-PLOVER around.  Indeed, it was around as recently as yesterday on the flats of Salt Lagoon:

We still have finches around too.  I snagged my first island RED CROSSBILL the other day and yesterday yielded some continuing PINE SISKINS, these in the main quarry bowl:

Not all unusual sightings of winged things are of birds.  We had this big boy rumbling overhead the other day; turns out it landed at the airport as well: 

Sometimes the planes that land here are private jets that don't belong to PenAir or Ace Cargo (at least I don't think they do).  Here's a smaller plane that we watched take off while we were at the top of Lake Hill:

I can't say that I had ever seen an ARCTIC FOX standing literally in the middle of Rocky Lake before.  I suppose it's pretty shallow!  Shortly after I took this, it turned tail and ran full speed through the lake away from us:

If you've spent a chunk of time here on St. Paul, you might know exactly where this panorama was taken yesterday:

On the weather maps, we're sitting in the Bering Sea with a giant "H" on top of us which means the days have been calm and evenings have been pretty.  We'll see how long it lasts...

Adorable award goes to.....

As July winds down, shorebird migration continues to gear up.  However, that's about all that's been happening on St. Paul Island lately.  And in truth, there haven't been too many shorebirds of note yet besides another LESSER SAND-PLOVER on Salt Lagoon just today (ok, sure, they aren't bad looking!).  

Is it just me or does this RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKE look really unimpressed?  Maybe that's because most of the kittiwake nests in the Pribs have failed this year.  I reckon I'd be frowning too.

 

The NORTHERN FUR SEALS continue to amuse photographers (most of our clients these days) with their antics.  One favorite pastime is to see if you can capture the seal out of the water when they porpoise (dive up out of the water).  Here’s one seal most of the way out of the water:

 

… and a second later, it’s coming back down just as another one is starting its jump:

 

Reef really is one of the best places on the island for photos.  I was there with photographer clients one recent evening and when the light improved... I got to work with my own camera.  First up, yet another TUFTED PUFFIN:

 

Some of the PARAKEET AUKLETS were ridiculously close.  This one landed right next to me, so close that I was worried my camera couldn’t focus on it:

 

And you know, looking at the above bird, I used to think Parakeet Auklets were decently cute but now that I have a close up of the bill... I’m not sure they're not terrifying.

I started to work a few RED-FACED CORMORANTS that evening including this adult.  It’s not saying much but it might be one of my better cormorant shots:

 

Then it stretched its bill open and turned towards me.... it’s hard to pass up that photo opportunity!

 

However, the cute award has to go out to these ARCTIC FOX kits that have been ridiculously adorable as of late.  A pile of sleeping foxes?  Why not!

Anyway, thanks for checking in and hopefully I'll have a good bird to update you guys with soon.  In the meantime, feel free to shoot me a line at:

arcticory@gmail.com

The Worried Wren and Fly-Bys

In past years on this date, St. Paul Island has hosted rarities like Little Stint and Terek Sandpiper.  Although those two species are near the top of my "Wanted List", we can't even find a Red-necked Stint!  Although we remain stint-less so far this year, I'm not worried.  Does this PACIFIC WREN at the Reef Seal Blind looked worried?  I don't think so.

Although seeing puffins and auklets perched on the cliffs are a main attraction, we also have ample opportunities for snapping shutters on devices focused on these species flying by.  Here's a TUFTED PUFFIN:

Sometimes the said puffin returns with food in its mouth (a sure sign that it has a youngster to feed):

Flight photography IS a lot of fun here though.  If the wind is blowing from the correct direction, you can stand on the cliff edges and have a variety of species just slowly float on by.  Here's a NORTHERN FULMAR in flight:

... and a RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKE:

Kittiwakes are gulls.  Another gull here is the much-bigger GLAUCOUS-WINGED:

I was out with a client yesterday when we crested a rise in the road near Telegraph Hill to find an adult PARASITIC JAEGER sitting there in the middle of the road.  It eventually took off and followed the road to the west before we lost it near the quarry:

I think this SALTMARSH STARWORT on the edge of Salt Lagoon was the first I'd seen there.  In fact, it's believed that this species is only found at two locations on the island, the other being Antone Slough.

Speaking of Salt Lagoon, this LESSER SAND-PLOVER the other day was a nice addition to the fall assortment of shorbs.  This was my 4th day this year with a LSAP:

We've had west winds for about a week straight though and I truly am hopeful that the next week will deliver another highlight or two.  Stay tuned!