Photo ABCs

Mew Gull

A Mew Gull, photographed in Anchorage, Alaska in June of this year.

Canada Geese

A family of Canada Geese explores Potter Marsh in Anchorage, Alaska. Photographed in June of this year.

Arctic Terns

An Arctic Tern chick says "feed me!" to its apparently empty-handed (empty-billed?) parent.

Photographed at Potter Marsh in Anchorage, Alaska in June of this year.

A few minutes later it is rewarded with a large, winged insect.

Arctic Terns

This Arctic Tern was being fed just a few feet from a busy bicycle and pedestrian path in a city park in Anchorage, Alaska. I'm not sure what it is being fed, possible a small snail? At other times it was being fed small fish.

Photographed in June of this year.

Arctic Tern

This June, in a city park in Anchorage, Alaska, various Arctic Terns were raising their young within a few feet of a busy bicycle and pedestrian path, apparently undisturbed by the hundreds of people that passed each hour, many stopping to take photos, almost all from a respectful distance.

Here is one of the babies, trying out its wings (but not flying yet!)

The telephoto lens makes it appear that I am much closer than I actually was.

(tap or click to enlarge)

Red-necked Grebes

A young Red-necked Grebe looks hungrily at its parent, who doesn't appear to have much to offer at the moment!

Photographed in Anchorage, Alaska, in June of this year.

Red-necked Grebe

A Red-necked Grebe, photographed in a city park in Anchorage, Alaska, in June of this year.

Like most birds I saw on this trip, it was another life bird!

St. Paul Island Wrap-Up

I spent June 20-26 of this year photographing birds on St. Paul Island, Alaska.

As you can tell from previous posts, the island is rich with birdlife and other wildlife.

In this post I'll try to summarize what the trip was like, and share a few more photos. I could easily spend the next three months sharing more photos from St. Paul Island, but I need to move on and start reviewing and sharing all of my other photos from the past six months!

Why St. Paul Island?

St. Paul Island is located in the middle of the Bering Sea, above the Aleutian Islands, a 3 hour 50 minute flight southwest of Anchorage. Check it out on Google Maps... it's really in the middle of nowhere!

The island has long been a hotspot for birders looking for species not easily found elsewhere in North America.

In the spring and fall, birders hope to see migrants, and other birds such as strays from Asia.

In the middle of summer, there is a more limited number of species, but what interesting species these are!

The stars of the show are the puffins, Tufted Puffins (my favorite-- great hair!) and the Horned Puffin. Please see my previous posts for lots of puffin pictures!

Puffins and other alcids (upright, penguin-like birds) spend most of the year at sea, and only spend time on land to breed during the spring and summer months. There is one other species of puffin, the Atlantic Puffin, which, as you might guess, is only found in the Atlantic. Next summer I hope to travel to Newfoundland, which is one good spot for finding the Atlantic Puffin.

Other alcids found on St. Paul Island are Common Murre and Thick-billed Murre, Parakeet, Crested and Least Auklets.

Other common birds found on the cliffs and shores were Red-faced Cormorant, Black-legged and Red-legged Kittiwakes, Northern Fulmar, Glaucous and Glaucous-winged Gull, and Harlequin Duck.

To see these birds, it's necessary to visit their breeding sites, located on sheer, tall cliffs. With each advancing year I find heights less and less pleasant... but it was worth the discomfort to be able to see and photograph these interesting creatures close-up. Our guides assured me that in 50 years, no visitor has fallen off of a cliff... I was hoping not to be the first!

There were interesting landbirds as well, with five being the most prevalent:

Rock Sandpiper, Pacific Wren, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Lapland Longspur, and Snow Bunting.

There are a few marshy areas on the island, where one can find Long-tailed Ducks and Red-necked Phalaropes.

What I notice about all of the above birds, is that for me, they are all life-birds! I only saw a few species on St. Paul Island which were not life-birds, but even they were special, such as the Semi-palmated Plover trying to keep track of her chicks running about!

What else makes St. Paul Island unusual?

The island is small, one of four Pribilof Islands, about forty square-miles. There are NO trees, just soft tundra, and hundreds of species of wildflowers. Lupines cover nearly the entire island during the month of June. The highest spots are small volcanic hills of about 650 feet elevation.

There is one hotel, connected to the airport, which is spartan and dormitory-style but comfortable.

All tours are led by the TDX Corporation, which is an Alaskan native corporation allowed to operate on the island.

While we were there, we were fortunate to have three wonderful guides, Sully, Claudia and Marc, all superb birders and all wonderful and fun people! Since there were only a handful of birders on the island while we were there, we (my fellow bird photographers Chuck, Tjie and I) had the guides nearly to ourselves. They took us by van to all of the island's best birding sites, and we returned to our favorite sites a number of times.

Before the trip, I was worried about the weather. While we were there, the weather was nearly always about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and usually cloudy and often misty. It was not nearly as cold as I had anticipated, but if you plan to go, it's critical to dress properly. As you are constantly walking through wet tundra, waterproof shoes, pants, and jacket are essential. My shoes were mostly waterproof, but if I go back I would highly recommend XTRATUF tall fishing boots. Our guide Sully swore by them and says that all the fishermen in Alaska wear them.

The misty, overcast weather was a plus. Sunny days mean the light is great around sunrise and sunset. On overcast days you can photograph nearly all day without harsh shadows, and except for meals, we pretty much photographed all day, every day!! Our schedule was EAT, BIRD, EAT, BIRD, EAT, BIRD, SLEEP. REPEAT.

Speaking of meals, they exceeded all expectations! They were fabulous! My friend Tjie can be, let's say, a dining critic. Even he was thrilled with the meals provided.

All meals were provided by the Trident Seafood fish processing plant cafeteria. I've eaten plenty of cafeteria food in my time, but this was the best! No margaritas or Mexican food (hey, we're in Alaska!), but lots of hearty and tasty fare. My compliments to the cooks!

While there I took a tour of the Trident Seafood plant. In summer, the plant processes halibut, and employs 30 seasonal workers. In the winter, they process and pack crab, and employ 300 workers. Photos of the plant interior were not allowed, but it was a fascinating tour. Trident Seafoods has many plants around Alaska, and provides much of the processed fish at Costco, including the Salmon patties which I ate for lunch yesterday, so I was glad to see the plant.

The island population consists of about 500-800 people, depending on the season, including native Alaskans, various US government employees, and fish-plant and airport employees. The island was unpopulated until Russians came in the late 1700s and developed a lucrative trade in Northern Fur Seal pelts. They enslaved and brought native Aleuts to the island, and about 500 of their (Aleut) descendants live there today. The only church on the island is Russian Orthodox.

Though the fur-seals were endangered for a time, they are now protected and abundant on the island in protected preserves. Arctic Foxes are also common. There are introduced reindeer which roam the island, but we did not see any.

Here are a few more pictures of St. Paul Island. Please see my previous posts for more. As always, you can click or tap on any photo to enlarge.

Flying into the island.

The village at St. Paul Island. Our tour van is parked in front of the one general-store on the island. The harbor is in the distance.

The Russian Orthodox church.

The supply ship, Coastal Progress, lands in the St. Paul Island harbor. For the next few hours the harbor area was a hotbed of activity loading fish onto the ship and unloading food and supplies for the town.

Unloading halibut for processing at the Trident Seafoods plant.

The typical volcanic landscape covered with lupines and other flowers. Note the volcanic cone in the background.

Large driftwood trees could be found a hundred yards from the ocean, lifted over a dune-covered area. The trees must have traveled a long way across the Bering Sea, and I'd not like to be there during the storm that lifted them this far from the shore!

Tjie (on left) and Chuck photographing puffins. See the cliffs in the background? That's how high the cliffs were (hundreds of feet).

Tjie and Chuck.

One of our stellar guides, Claudia, with her ever-present smile!

Marc Kramer is a veterinarian and professional birding guide, who is well-known in birding circles for the year-long birding expedition that he and his veterinarian/bird photographer wife Eliana took in their Volkswagen bus. They have a facebook page here.

A Tufted Puffin surveys its domain.

Another Tufted Puffin.

In North America, the Red-faced Cormorant is only found in the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea. They are also found in parts of Japan and Russia.

Parakeet Auklet.

Parakeet Auklet and Tufted Puffin.

Parakeet Auklet and Least Auklet.

A male Long-tailed Duck giving unwanted pursuit to a female, despite the fact that she was raising five ducklings at the time.

Rock Sandpiper.

Rock Sandpiper chick. We came across this chick and its mother while driving down one of the narrow paths on the island. The telephoto lens makes it appear that I am close to the chick, but I was at a safe distance.

Harlequin Ducks. These were a long way offshore, but it's the only picture I have of these life-birds.

Black-legged Kittiwake.

This Semi-palmated Plover has some extra pairs of legs, her chicks! Though she appears to be looking at me, I'm at a safe distance away. She was more concerned with a nearby Lapland Longspur, which she chased away.

Arctic Fox. Most Arctic Foxes are white, but in the Priblof Islands they are said to be blue, though they are actually brown, like this one.

Birders on St. Paul Island. The sign must be old, because at least 314 bird species have now been identified on the island. The gentleman on the far left is talented bird photographer Patrick Sparkman. Though we live only five miles apart, we met for the first time on this island in the middle of the Bering Sea!

If you've ever thought about going to St. Paul Island, do, it's a trip of a lifetime. The TDX guides are great, the food is wonderful, the lodging is comfortable, and the birding is amazing. The trip, by far, exceeded all of my expectations!

If you've made it this far in the blog post, my longest ever, congratulations! Let me know if you like the trip-summary format, maybe I'll do it again for future trips.

And don't forget, there are LOTS more St. Paul Island post (lots of puffins!) in the previous posts and on previous pages.

Soon I'll get to posting all of my other birds from the last six months (including a trip to Texas!)

Northern Fur Seal

Another Northern Fur Seal, photographed on St. Paul Island, Alaska, in June of this year.

Horned Puffin

A Horned Puffin, flying towards its cliffside perch on St. Paul Island, Alaska.

Photographed in June of this year.