The Robin Continues

I was able to re-find the now Siberian Blue Robin today, although it required my almost stepping on it. Once flushed it is extremely cooperative and easy to follow, but the initial flushing is tough!

Anyway, I paid close attention to the tail shivering. The bird essentially NEVER quit shivering the tail (and sometimes wings) the entire time I watched it. When hiding in the wormwood, when out in the open on the dirt, after being flushed and landing, the tail was constantly "shivering". I'm not sure how much shivering Rufous-tailed Robin does, but there is no way it could top what the bird was doing today.

Here is another picture from today. Tough to get good photos when the lighting is this bad.

The Robin...

People a lot more knowledgeable about Rufous-tailed/Siberian Blue Robin are questioning the identification of the Gambell Robin. I'm posting additional pictures for reference, and some of my field notes as well:

- I never saw a BRIGHT red tail on the many times the bird flushed. It appeared brown, but when sitting the rump had some rufous, the same color as the rufous on the wings.

- The bird frequently fluttered its tail/wings. This was especially apparent when I went back the second time to take more photos. When the bird skulked away, it hunched over and ducked its head while running. It reminded me of the ammodramus sparrows when running away.

- I was shocked at how small this bird appeared from the Catharus thrushes I am used to seeing.

- The bird was very active, moving quickly and making short flights. It did not seem particularly shy and often perched in the open and on rims of holes or bones, as apparent in my photos.

Below are some of the photos I took of the bird. I have more if needed. All taken 10/2/2012. The bird was not present 10/3.

I'd love to hear comments on this bird from those with experience. They can be sent to dtpavlik@hotmail.com

Mourning

Well, something happened that turned the "migration" switch on and now Gambell is flush with birds. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but finding 3 new arrivals yesterday (9/28) was quite exciting. First, the far boneyard held a flighty Orange-crowned Warbler, and then a much more confiding Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Then, in the near boneyeard, the second Gambell record and 6th Alaska record of Mourning Warbler looked quite out of place.

A drastic change in weather is predicted to hit in the next few days and last for quite a while. Winds will switch to the South and Southeast, and get strong for a few days into next week. Not the best weather for those vagrants from Asia, but it will be interesting to see what shows up from the mainland. Stay tuned.

Wind Storm

After having perfect weather for a vagrant to show up from Asia (light west wind and precipitation), nothing was produced. We checked every area multiple times for anything new and came up empty. Paul and I are the only birders left, and he leaves on October 1st. It is too bad I am here for the worst fall for vagrants on record, but I can't complain too much as I've seen 10 lifers and am being paid to be here. And I have a feeling this won't be my last time birding Gambell.

The lull in birds has given me time to focus a bit more on counting loons and photography. I'm pleased with this picture of a Rock Sandpiper, basically the only shorebirds left on the island, although a few Pac. Golden Plovers and Dunlin might still be around.

The wind has really, really picked up and is only going to get stronger. Right now gusts of 35mph from the NE makes birding the boneyards nearly impossible and the seawatch is the only thing worth doing if you can stand the cold. Winds of 45mph are predicted before finally breaking sometime Friday. With a drastic wind shift predicted for this weekend and into next week, I just might find something before I leave (if the predictions hold).

Keep checking back, one bird could change an extremely slow fall into a great success. It only takes one...

Still Turnover

We had a slight break in the weather as the north winds subsided and gave way to very light, variable winds on Thursday night and Friday. During this time two new birds showed up, another White-crowned Sparrow and a Yellow Warbler (I didn't see either). We worked the boneyards very hard yesterday and although calm winds can be good for Asian vagrants, we found none. Sunday night the winds may shift to a light WNW, and Monday may be calm as well. This could be good for some new birds if it holds true.

Work wise, the loons have been very slow. I'm here to conduct Yellow-billed Loon surveys. A few years ago, a native hunter claimed to have shot 100 Yellow-billed Loons on one of the subsistence harvest surveys, so the Alaska FWS is surveying to see if this number of YBLO could actually be harvested (it can't). I have only seen 6 or 7 Yellow-billed Loons since my arrival, although they are supposed to pick up later in the season. Pacific Loons are trickling by, but not nearly the number they are supposed to be, and I've yet to see an Arctic.

I'll update again soon, and hopefully I'll have something more interesting to report!

Dull Days

As you can probably surmise from the lack of posts, there ain't much happening. The most exciting thing in a while has been the now 4 Gyrfalcons frequenting the mountain in Gambell, wreaking havoc on unsuspecting auklets. The Gyrs are mostly the white flavor, my personal favorite, but also a gray.

Not much going on at the seawatch yet either. Loons are still very slow. Most of the landbirds are gone, and weather is still predicting north winds from now until forever. Maybe this cold, snowy weather will bring in the McKay's Buntings sooner? We will see...

A Pechora

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Gambell, and those are hard to come by. Even though we didn't have west winds, the winds were very light and somewhat variable, which can be just as good as west. Any time the wind dies is good.

The excitement started when Gary Rosenberg and I found 2 "flava" Horned Larks, along with a light faced bird that may be an "arcticola", or some sort of young, weird looking "flava". I'm not familiar with these subspecies, and Paul has never had a light-faced bird in the fall here. Interesting to say the least.

A "flava" Horned Lark

The light faced Horned Lark.

Things got even more exciting when Gary flushed an interesting, silent Pipit that took short flights and was extremely skulky. With diligent birders stalking the bird, we got good looks and pictures, clearly showing a Pechora Pipit. This species is proving to be annual on Gambell in small numbers.

Keeping with the "asian bird" theme, here is a picture of a nice adult Slaty-backed Gull found earlier in the week. They seem to be quiet sporadic this year, although I've seen a handful since my arrival.

Winds continue from the NE for the near future, and they may become quite strong. Seabirds should be picking up (eiders, loons) so I may do more seawatching. As always, more later.