Russia/Aleutian Is./Pribilof Is.Trip Notes
July 10 - 25, 2004

Tom Pavlik
Cheryl Pavlik

We went on this trip with the American Birding Association. There were 11 others plus our leader - Tony Leukering. The trip was almost entirely aboard an explorer ship from Clipper Cruise Lines. There were other groups on the trip as well including Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, Shearwater Journeys, St. Louis Zoo and other people who signed up directly through Clipper. The ABA, VENT and Shearwater Journeys were dedicated to birding whereas the other groups where there as general interest groups. Overall, there were about 100 people on the trip plus crew.

Saturday July 10
We were not schedule to meet our group until Sunday evening but we went out a day early to bird around Anchorage and help adjust to the four hour time difference. We went around to some of the local parks but nothing too interesting yet.

Sunday July 11
We made the drive to Seward (on the Kenia Peninsula) and back before meeting the group Sunday night at the Anchorage Hilton. The road was full of RVs. It must have been the time of year. We spent a week on the Kenia Peninsula several years ago but it was the third week of June. It seemed to be much quieter then. Seward was crowded and birding was a little difficult. Regardless, it was nice to see several birds at Potter Marsh on the way down and Townsend's Warblers and Varied Thrushes at pull-offs along the way.

Monday July 12
We were a little anxious to get this show on the road so a trip to the museum before our flight was interesting but not really what I wanted to do. Finally, we made it to the airport for our charter flight to Russia. We were informed there would be an extensive delay so Clipper did an excellent job of taking care of us. They arranged for dinner at a hotel in Anchorage plus an open bar. We made it back to the airport for some continued delays but we finally left at 1:00am for our five hour flight. At 2:00am local time we arrived at Petropavlosk, Russia. It took three hours to get through immigrations. Finally, we arrived at the boat at 5:00am. We passed over the international date line so most people had no idea what time or even what day it was.

Tuesday/Wednesday July 13/14 - Crossed International Date Line
After laying down for an hour it became apparent that sleep wouldn't be possible. Our body-clocks were out of whack and the excitement of being in Russia prevented me from relaxing. A couple cups of coffee and we were on our way.

The captain of the boat made some alterations to the plan due to our late arrival. We would cruise north in the morning and get to the Zhupanova River - an excellent location for Stellar's Sea Eagle. Along the way we started seeing several sea birds. Northern Fulmars were with us most of the trip and in good numbers. We also saw our first Short-tailed Shearwaters, Fork-tailed Storm Petrels, and Black-headed and Slaty-backed Gulls among a few other goodies.

The tall, black, triangular dorsal fins indicated we found a pod of Orca (Killer) Whales. All guests went on deck and we enjoyed the views for several minutes. We made it to the river and loaded up the zodiacs. Not too far up the river our zodiac captain notices the first sea eagle on a sandbar. It was an immature Stellar's Sea Eagle. After a series of pictures we continued up the river and encountered two adults.

We made a landing and we were able to walk along the river for a short distance looking for land birds. We didn't have much time but we managed a beautiful male Yellow-breasted Bunting. There were glimpses of other birds but the vegitation was thick and getting a good view was difficult in the short time here. We loaded back into the zodiacs and headed back to the ship. Along the way we saw some of the same sea birds including the local sub-specie of Common Tern as well as the abundant Arctic Tern.

Thursday July 15
This day we would head south of Petropavlovsk to the Chazma River. We encounterd many of the same sea birds along the way. Here we would spend much more time on land so, consequently, we added a number of land birds. The most memorable to me was a Pomarine Jaeger in breeding plumage hoovering over the tundra looking for rodents. A pair of cuckoos flew by and one was kind enough to stop on a snag in full view. The two cuckoos found here (Common and Oriental) are very similar. We got good enough looks to determine it was a Common Cuckoo.

We got back in the zodiacs and had enough time to make another stop on land but closer to the ship. This was a slightly different habitat that gave us looks at different species. The Stellar's Sea Eagle had to be the most memorable bird for many but the biggest target bird for me was the Siberian Rubythroat. One of the leaders informed us of a spot others had found one. Without much effort we spotted a male on the top a shrub maybe 100 feet away. In the next hour we were able to add a couple other passerines including Common Redpoll, as well as Yellow and Black-backed Wagtails.

Friday July 16
Today we would not be taking zodiacs - we were going to stay on the mainland the entire day. We visited a Husky Dog Sled farm that also consisted of several thousand acres of tundra and mostly birch forests. The birding was remarkable slow. We didn't see much but we did see some good stuff. The birch forests reminded me of northern Michigan. However, in northern Michigan in mid-July you would easily see 50-60 species of birds. However, you would not see Pechora Pipit, Willow Tit or Arctic Warbler as we did here.

We ate our sack lunch at a lake that was surprisingly quiet. After that we continued our adventure which remained fairly void of birds. However, one nice find was a Gray Bunting. It wasn't until we were back near the bus at about 4:00pm when things picked up. In a relatively small area there was a nice mix of activity consisting of Red-breasted Flycatcher, Common Rosefinch, and Eurasian Bullfinch.

Friday July 16 (again) - Crossed Back over the International Date Line
On our way to U.S. waters and the island of Attu, we regained the day we lost on our way to Russia. Since we would be at sea all day, this would truely be a day of pelagic birding. Most everyone remained on deck throughout the day looking for pelagic rarities and other new stuff. Short-tailed Shearwaters were fairly common. We also encountered our first Red-legged Kittiwake. I spent some time studying the differences with the more common Black-legged Kittiwake as both immatures and adults glided along side the boat. While Northern Fulmars were still adundant we started seeing Leach's Storm Petrels, though they remained faily uncommon throughout the rest of the trip. As for other sea critters we saw a variety of whales this day and continuous views of Dall's Porpoises.

Saturday July 17
As we awoke we were still a fair distance from Attu. At about 18-20 mph it took the boat a while to cover the distance from Petropavlosk to Attu. However, now in "ABA" waters the lister in me (and most others) was rejuvinated in the anticipation of adding to that list. Laysan Albatross was a given but we were treated to exceptional views due to a pod of Orca Whales feeding on a school of fish. The bird life was abundant feeding on the scraps. We estimated over 200 Laysan Albatrosses mixed in with Black-footed Albatrosses, Short-tailed Shearwaters, Fulmars, Kittwakes and Fork-tailed Storm Petrels.

After that display we continued on to Attu. Before long, we could see the western edge of the island and other pelagic birds started showing up. These included Pelagic Cormorant, Thick-billed Murre, Pigeon Gullemot, and Tufted Puffin.

We anchored off the piers knowing immigrations would need to board the ship and clear us through customs. The good news is that we could bird from the deck and there was plenty to see. Common Eiders were, well, common. Other nice additions were Red-faced Cormorant, Kittlitz's and Ancient Murrelets. We watched a dark Peregrine Falcon chase puffins around the bay. At the very last moment the puffins would dive and the Peregrine would miss by what seemed an inch or two.

Finally, in the afternoon we took the zodiacs to the island and walked several miles. We were warned that the variety of birds wouldn't be much because spring migration was over and fall migration was a few weeks away yet. This turned out to be true. Land birds were all but nonexistant save for the Lapland Longspur. One member of the group saw a pair of Snow Buntings but that was about it for Attu. While this may seem disappointing the scenery was fabulous. We ate our sack lunch/dinner among the beautiful tundra teeming with an abundance of flowers. At about 10:30pm we left the island but not before chatting with a couple of the Coast Guard guys and picking up a sweatshirt from their makeshift gift shop.

Sunday July 18
The journey to Kiska Island would not be far. We awoke to Glaucous-winged Gulls hanging motionless , keeping pace with the boat. Auklets began to appear and by the time we got to Sirius Point on Kiska Island the sight was unbelievable. Tens of thousands of Crested and Least Auklets filled the skies as we held a couple hundred yards off the island. Unfortunately, these birds are in grave danger due there now being rats on the island. Some estimate the population may not survive another 20-25 years.

Least Auklet

After lunch we made our way to the other side of the island and were able to make zodiac landings and explore a little. The hillsides still showed scars from World War II. We were warned not to stray from the beach since there was a chance that bombs still existed that were never detonated. The land birds picked up but only slightly. Besides the omnipresent Lapland Longspur we found our first Gray-crowned Rosy Finch and the local subspecie of the Winter Wren.

Monday July 19
Just when we thought the scenery could not get any better the ship made the slow journey between Adak and Kagalaska Islands. The cliffs on one side were well over 100 feet high and beyond it was a snow capped volcanic mountain. Through the passage we saw several birds including Harlequin Ducks, a Rough-legged Hawk and a Bald Eagle on a nest.

There would be no landing on Little Tanaga Island due to the terain. Instead we just did zodiac cruises around a part of the island. We saw a few Black Oystercatchers and our first Marbled Murrelet. However, the highlight of this area is the famed Whiskered Auklet. We were fortunate we see several. Among all these islands is the continuous activity of murres, cormorants, and guillemots.

Tuesday July 20
Today we would visit Chagulak Island, the last island we would visit in the Aleutian chain. As our director liked to say - "Chagulak Island is a veritable plethora of avian activity". He was right! We had seen more than our share of Northern Fulmar so I didn't know how excited to be about being at an island where an estimated 500,000 nest. It turned out to be quite a scene. Throw in several thousand gulls, murres, puffins and auklets and you have a pretty busy island. Steller's Sea Lions perched on the rocky shore made for a nice addition.

After lunch was an ice cream social as the boat headed for St. Paul Island. The captain came down and made an announcement that a large brown bird had been seen off the stern. There was no confirmation it was a Short-tailed Albatross but there was no confirmation that it wasn't. This was a bird everyone was after. The young, browner birds were more likely than an adult (which nest off Japan) but could not be seperated from the more popular Brown-footed Albatross at a distance. As it turned out, this too was a Brown-footed Albatross. Before long, I recalled the ice cream social and we made our way back to the day lounge. We didn't make it but one set of stairs when we walked by a person with a two way radio. The message was clear - "Short-tailed Albatross, 4 o'clock, heading left to right!". Four o'clock being the location in relation to the bow always being at a 12 o'clock location. Fortunately, we only had to head back up one flight of stairs to reach the deck and near the back of the boat. Behind the wake about 100 yards was an adult Short-tailed Albatross. The bird continued its course and was out of sight before too long. Some people choose to take naps after lunch. In this case they couldn't gather themselves quick enough to make it up to the deck for this sighting. This certainly reinforces the old phrase - You snooze, you loose.

Wednesday July 21
We left the Aleutians the afternoon before and headed for the Pribilof Islands. Today we would visit St. Paul. This is an inhabited island with working-class folks. We would track down the local bird life in a van which sounded nice compared to the miles we usually walked in our rubber boots (or, as the lady from New Zealand called them - "wellies").

Birding was excellent here as we added several new species. Of particular interest was shorebirds. We not only saw Wandering Tattler but also its cousin the Grey-tailed Tattler. Photo opportunities were also plentiful as we gained excellent views of cliffs at a reasonable distance. Red-legged Kittiwakes, Thick-billed Murres and Red-faced Cormorants posed nicely as several hundred digital photos were snapped among the group.

We continued around the island looking for some of the recently reported goodies, particularly Bean Goose, but all groups came up empty. We stopped here and there scanning the shorebirds as they presented themselves. Rock Sandpipers were the dominant specie but we also added Ruddy Turnstone to the list. Near the end of the day trip we stopped by the King Eider Hotel for a snack and a souvenier hat. The last new bird of the day was an ABA target bird which we saw near the dock - a Black-headed Gull.

Thursday July 22
This day we would trek the breeding grounds of the McKay's Bunting - St. Matthew Island. This is not a difficult bird to find once you're on the island. In fact, after unloading from the zodiac there were three flitting about the cliffs along the beach. We managed the steep walk up the hillside and overlooked the beautiful tundra on this island. While not a relatively huge island the "nothingness" seemed to go for miles in each direction. No buildings, no trees, no nothing except the occasional bird. McKay's Buntings were scattered among the area and the occasional Long-tailed Jaeger made a graceful appearance. Rock Sandpipers seemed out of place scurrying among the dry plateau some 50 feet above the sea behind us.

After a BBQ lunch back on board, the boat headed for the nearby Hall Island, another known nesting ground of the McKay's Bunting. However, this would be another island which we could only zodiac around. No one seemed to mind after several miles of tundra walking on St. Matthew Island. We cruised along the rocky edges and peeked into coves to see what we could see. It seemed every available ledge spot was taken by a kittiwake, murre or cormorant. The white giants of the north - Glaucous Gulls - seemed to have the highest perches as they watched over their maturing chicks.

The evening ended with the Captain's fairwell party and it seemed impossible the adventure was coming to an end. We would have one more full day at Gambell on St. Lawrence Island.

Friday July 23
Another island famous among birders is St. Lawrence and Gambell is the town most accessible. As I would learn St. Lawrence is every bit a rarity hot-spot as is Attu Island, if not moreso. The reason, of course, is it's proximity to Siberia which is less than 40 miles away.

The area is difficult to get around on due to it being almost completely loose stones. The locals get around on 4-wheel ATVs and will provide a "taxi" ride for about $5 depending on where you are headed. We chose to walk the first mile or so from the beach to the area near the dump. We scared up nothing along the way but once we made it to the fencing area we found a couple of perching birds. The first was a White Wagtail. An immature Lapland Longspur had me guessing for a moment. There was a small spot of shorebird habitat near the dump which produced a couple of Dunlin. Scoping the gulls along the top of the dump gave us the Slaty-backed Gull in ABA territory we were promised.

We walked through the bone yards on the way into town. I wasn't sure what this was about until it was explained to us. The locals are allowed to harvest a couple of whales each year. The bone yards were the unused portions of these huge mammals. It reminded me of something out of the dinosaur comics I used to read as a kid. I also wasn't real sure why we were walking along this area looking for birds. As it turns out, the nutrients from these remains gives the plants what they need to grow. As I looked around, sure enough, this was about the only plant life that could be seen. While only a couple inches high it provided the only cover for migrant song birds. Still being early for fall migration we came up with very little and nothing new.

We got to town and got a snack before arranging for our 4-wheel drive rides out beyond the airstrip. Here was mostly tundra with a couple of small lakes to scan. Along the way we stopped to observe and confirm the identity of a Ringed Plover. We spent a couple hours in the area but came up with nothing new except for a Greater Scaup on the far lake. We had a couple late arrivals from our group and they caught wind of a reliable Red-throated Pipit sighting. Our limo driver returned and directions were relayed. Unfortunately, some where along the line we zigged when we should have zagged and missed the location. I guess a return trip is in order.

We returned to the boat for the last time. That night the group got together and tallied up the lists.

Saturday July 24
When we awoke we were already in port at Nome. We had breakfast and gathered up our belongings for a ride to the airport. As luck would have it, we were on the second flight back to Anchorage and had some extra time. Once again, the Clipper team stepped up and arranged for a bus ride outside of Nome to do some last minute sightseeing and see if we could scare up that one last lifer. We were allowed to disembark the bus and wander around a marsh. I wasn't sure exactly where I stood on my ABA life list but I knew it was nearing 600. As it turned out the Yellow Wagtail I added on this side trip was 598, 23 new ones for the entire trip plus several non-ABA birds in Russia.

Closing Comments
The Good: Just about everything. The Clipper crew was focused on safety and to ensure their customers were well taken care of. The entire staff was top shelf.

The Bad: Nothing really. I can't think of a single reasonable thing that would have made the trip any better (except I did miss that Red-throated Pipit). Nearly two weeks with the same group of a dozen people was about the maximum. If it were three weeks that would have been testing a lot of people's patience.

The Ugly: I really saw the ugly side of listing. Knowing that it is unlikely many people will return here they seemed to mark down anything. At our team recaps that we had about every three nights there were a few people that just marked down everything. It was also a little disappointing that many people only cared about their lists. Most of the guides took the time to explain a thing or two about most of the birds. Too many people didn't give the least bit of interest. They were only interested if it was new. What a waste of time and money.

Specie List
Of course, other birds were seen in addition to what we saw. This list represents only the species seen by my wife and I. Bolded items are some of the cooler sightings.