No new birds for me today. The weather turned windier, with some fog and rain, and few birds were up and about when I was there (until about 4 pm, when my plane departed for Anchorage).
We birded many of the usual sites but the “good” birds that were seen yesterday, except for the Swainson’s Thrush, were not seen while I was there. Photos below are scenes from today, including a foggy view of distant mountains and the Lake Hill area, a fly-by Gyrfalcon, seals from a distance, and two views of the wild celery that birders on St. Paul regularly and often with some difficulty search for hiding little birds.
A few pictures of birders on St. Paul are also shown below: Laura Keene and John Weigel with me in the center (they are two of the birders doing an ABA big year this year), Susan Clark and Scott Schuette (St. Paul tour director), and Claudia Cavazos (one of the St. Paul guides) with me and David Greening. I have pictures of some of the other birders but they were a bit fuzzier (and I did not have their permission to use them) so I have not included them here.
I am glad I went to St. Paul, but I could not stay longer due to various deadlines and commitments back in Anchorage. Current plans are to bird the greater Anchorage area until I go to Barrow in October.
297 species so far
