Adak: The Whiskered Auklet tour
DATES
May 11 - 19, 2011
COST (PER PERSON)
DOUBLE: $4725 SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $450
DEPOSIT: $1250
Early signup discount of $350 if deposit received prior to October 1, 2010, and contingent upon discount by Alaska Airlines in October.
INCLUDES
From Anchorage, 8 nights lodging, all meals from first night dinner through final day’s lunch, pelagic boat trip, transport, guides, taxes, most tips.
Not Included: alcohol, personal calls, laundry, tip to boat crew/captain (optional); other personal expenses
PARTICIPANTS
Limited to 10 participants.
LEADERS
Forrest Davis (Second leader will be added for more than seven participants).
DIFFICULTY LEVEL
Easy, with 1 – 2 miles walking per day; most birding by vehicle or boat.
SLIDESHOW
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OVERVIEW
Adak Island offers the farthest western access to potential Asiatic species since Attu closed down in 2000. The old 1987 checklist from Adak lists 34 Asiatic species, but birding coverage in Adak has always been very sparse.
Last yearwe were able to find Taiga Bean Goose, Tufted Duck, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal, Wood Sandpiper, Common Snipe, Long-toed Stint, & Black-tailed Godwit and, of course, many thousands of Whiskered Auklets, and a dozen or more Laysan Albatross among other seabirds.
Resident birds include Cackling Goose; Red-faced and Pelagic Cormorant; Northern Fulmar, Short-tailed Shearwater; Black Oystercatcher; Common Snipe (species split); Black-footed & Laysan Albatross; Rock Ptarmigan; Ancient and Marbled Murrelet; Whiskered, Crested, Parakeet, Least & Rhinoceros Auklet; Horned and Tufted Puffin; and an outside chance for Mottled Petrel and Short-tailed Albatross.
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“Thanks for a great trip! Dave and you worked hard to get us great birds, and you took very good care of us. Integrity should be your middle name (we all appreciate the way you run your company) Enjoyed every minute! Especially the Whiskered Auklets!!!” ~ TC, Virginia |
Other birds recorded in the past include Whooper Swan; Falcated Duck; Spot-billed Duck; Garganey; Common Pochard; Smew; Lesser Sand-Plover; Spotted Redshank; Gray-tailed Tattler, Far Eastern Curlew; Common Sandpiper; Black-tailed Godwit; Great Knot; Marsh Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint; Long-toed Stint; Ruff; Temmink’s Stint; Pin-tailed Snipe; Common Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo; Dusky Thrush; Rustic Bunting; Common Rosefinch; Hawfinch.
Abridged Adak History
Adak was built up as a military base, beginning just after the Japanese bombing of Dutch Harbor in 1942 and for the subsequent invasion of Attu and Kiska in the western Aleutians. At its peak, 90,000 troops were housed on Adak to turn back any Japanese invasion of Alaska.
After the war, Adak became a strategic military communications and surveillance post. In 1995, the decision was made to close Adak as a military facility as a part of the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC). At that time, the population of Adak was over 6,000 military and support personnel and their family members. The title of the military property and facility officially changed hands from the US Navy to the Aleutian Development Corporation in April 2004.
Today, the permanent population of the island is only 60+ people. The town of Adak (Alaska’s newest incorporated community) is still searching for its future, relying on fishing, hunting, birding, and other recreational and tourist ventures; as well as some continued military presence, including a future role in the new “star wars” space defense initiative. The expansive abandoned facilities can seem strange and eerie at times; for example, when driving by the $11M Navy barracks building (complete with furniture and lamps visible in the windows) that was built in 1995 but was never occupied.
ITINERARY
DAY ONE: We meet at the Coast Hotel at 6:30 PM for our trip to dinner at downtown Orso, one of our favorite Anchorage Restaurants. After dinner, we do a bit of birding in the area, so be sure to bring your binoculars.
LODGING: Anchorage, Coast International Hotel, 907 243 2233.
DAYS TWO TO NINE: Depart for Adak about 3:00PM. Flight is about 2 hours on Alaska Air 737 (jetliner) or 3 hours if we make a fuel stop first. On the last day, we'll likely return to Anchorage by leaving Adak around 6:00 PM. However, times vary and these are only approximate.
We’ll be staying in fairly new townhouses that once belonged to the Navy. Each town house has two double rooms, 2 full baths, ½ bath, and a kitchen. We’ll be eating at Violet’s Bake & Tackle. She always has good food with a nice variety.
LODGING: Adak, Hotel Adak, (each townhouse has a private phone)
BIRDING LOCATIONS
There are many locations on the road system. These are some of the major ones.
CONTRACTOR’S CAMP: A marshland interspersed with numerous, abandoned buildings. The marsh area is good for shorebirds, and we will usually walk it twice a day.
CLAM LAGOON: Large lagoon about 30 minutes from our lodging. Many waterfowl including murrelets and ducks reside there. It can sometimes be a good location for shorebirds as well.
AIRPORT SLOUGH PONDS: A series of small ponds located along the runway. Smew, Tufted Duck, Eurasian Wigeon have all been found here.
MOUNT ADAGDIAK (abandoned LORAN station): Overlooks the ocean, and is an excellent location for spotting Laysan Albatross, Short-tailed Shearwater, distant Whiskered Auklet.
LAKE ANDREW: Large freshwater lake that sometimes has vagrant passerines and shorebirds.
PELAGIC TRIP. We have arrangements to use a small charter fishing boat for pelagic trips. Our Captain, Al Giddings of the Homeward Bound, is an excellent and very knowledgeable guide to the area. His boat can take four birders, in addition to the captain.
We have enough time during the several days on Adak to schedule boat trips in favorable conditions.
We are able to get very close to Whiskered Auklets that are calling and displaying. Laysan Albatross, Short-tailed Shearwater, Kittlitz Murrelet, Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel can usually be seen up close and personal as well.
CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT
Details provided closer to departure date.
SOME RECOMMENDED FIELD GUIDES AND BOOKS
North American Field Guides & Bird Finding Guides:
- Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition. 2006, Jon Dunn, et al., National Geographic Society
- Shorebirds of the North America, Europe, and Asia, 1993,
- Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide. Dennis Paulson, 2005.
- The Sibley Guide to Birds, David A. Sibley; Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.
- Seabirds of the World, Peter Harrison, 1997. (available soon again from ABA Sales)
Asian Field Guides:
- A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan, Wild Bird Society of Japan, 1982, Wild Bird Society of Japan
- A Field Guide to the Waterbirds of Asia, Bharat Bhushan, et al., 1993, Wild Bird Society of Japan
- Birds of Russia and Adjacent Territories, V. E. Flint, et al., 1984, Princeton University Press
- A Field Guide to the Birds of China, John MacKinnon & Karen Phillipps, 2000, Oxford University Press
European Field Guides:
- Birds of Europe, Killian Mullarney, et al., 1999, Princeton University Press
- Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East, Lars Jonsson, 1992, Princeton University Press
- The Handbook of Bird Identification for Europe and the Western Palearctic, Princeton University Press, 1998, Mark Beaman and Steve Madge
- A Field Guide to the Rare Birds of Britain and Europe, Ian Lewington, et al., 1991, Domino Books, Ltd.
- New Generation Guide Birds of Britain and Europe, Christopher Perrins, 1987, University of Texas Press
The Alaska Experience:
- Living on the Edge, Spike Walker. Wonderfully descriptive book about Dutch Harbor and crabbing in the Bering Sea.
- Arctic Dreams, Barry Lopez. Pulitzer Prize-winning non-fiction about the High Arctic. Beautifully written!
- Any book by Dana Stabenow, an Alaska mystery writer whose books are enjoyable a very informative about Alaska native life.
During your free time in Anchorage, don’t miss going to Wave Bookstores on Northern Lights or downtown on 5th Avenue. They have a great selection of Alaska fiction and non-fiction! In addition, there are some excellent restaurants downtown, including Orso, Glacier Brew House, Simon & Seafort’s, and Marx Brothers.
Above birding books can be obtained from Madison Audubon Shoppe, (888) 505-9056, with a 10% discount by mentioning High Lonesome BirdTours. ABA Sales and the various web book dealers are also sources.
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