I finally decided that 2024 would be the year, especially since I wasn't getting any younger and airline prices had greatly increased over the years since the pandemic. Back in December of 2023, the flights to the island were scheduled for Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Since landing at Saint Paul involves visual flight rules (no radar), flights are often cancelled due to foggy conditions, so I planned the trip so that the flights to and from Saint Paul Island would be on Sunday. That way, if the Sunday flight got cancelled, I would have the next day, Monday, as a backup flight. I checked to see if the accommodations for Sunday, May 26th to Sunday, June 2nd were available and then flipped the switch on the flights.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
On Saturday afternoon, May 25th, I left for the Philadelphia Airport. I stopped at the Cracker Barrel restaurant near the airport and ate a full meal since I knew that two tiny packs of pretzel braids and the small cans of soda weren't going to cut it for the 6-hour flight to Seattle. I got a few strange looks while going through security with my knee-high muck boots on, but it was my only choice since they would have taken up half of my suitcase and, if my luggage was lost and they didn't make it to the island, I would be really screwed. When I got to the gate, I found out that my 7 PM flight on Alaska Airlines was already delayed an hour. I was hoping this wasn't going to become a trend. I purposely try to schedule at least a three-hour layover between flights because of this, plus it also leaves enough time to get something to eat since you'll likely be hungry after getting off of the plane. The delay made this decision look a lot better. Instead of arriving in Seattle around 10 PM, I got there around 11 PM Pacific Time which, unfortunately, was when almost all of the eating places closed for the day. The time to get to my flight to Anchorage was reduced to an hour but wasn't an issue other than not being able to get something to eat. I slept most of the way on the 3-1/2 hour flight to Anchorage.
Sunday, May 26, 2024
I got to Anchorage around 2:30 AM Alaska Time and had 6-1/2 hours before the 9 AM flight to the island on RAVN Airlines, so I lightly slept across a row of seats and finally got some breakfast later in the morning. I walked out in front of the airport and checked out the view.
Thankfully, my flight to the island was not cancelled due to weather, so I boarded along with a group of other birders. We flew about an hour-and-a-half to the town of Bethel in southwestern Alaska, passing over snow-covered mountains along the way.
In Bethel, the plane got topped off with fuel so if we weren't able to land on the island, we would have enough to return to Bethel. After landing, the pilot told us that there was a minor problem in the cockpit, so there was about an hour delay there. We eventually took off from Bethel and landed at the Saint Paul Airport another hour-and-a-half later, arriving around 3 PM.
We walked off the plane, through the airport office, and right into the King Eider Hotel.
A fairly detailed map of the island was on the wall in the hallway.
I got the key to my room, which would be my home away from home for the next week. There is no TV in the room and no cell service on the island, but the hotel has a good Wi-Fi service that allows you to text, make phone calls, and check the internet while you are there.
After a short time to unpack, settle in, and dress accordingly, we met our four guides, who briefed us on all the pertinent things we needed to know.
I would later hear that we were lucky to get on the island as scheduled. Two of the birding tours never made it to the island because both the Thursday and Friday flights were cancelled due to weather.
The birders were split into two groups and we loaded up into two vans. Each van often went to different sites in order to cover the maximum number of areas on the island. Since no cell service is available, walkie-talkies are used to communicate between the vans. Seven of us went with Mariah. She said that the 'shotgun' seat was available, so I took it, especially since I don't do very well riding in the back of a car. My friends like when I go on trips with them because they know I would rather drive for hours than have to sit in the back of a car. It works well for all involved.
Our first stop was the Salt Lagoon to see if the Ross's Gull discovered on the 23rd was still there. It was! It was a brightly-colored first-summer bird. I had seen an immature bird way back in March of 1990 near Essex, Maryland, so it wasn't a 'lifer', but the pinkish coloration and mostly-formed collar made it seem like one. Unfortunately, it was pretty far out in the lagoon, so only distant photos could be obtained.
A thorough search of the lagoon turned up a Terek Sandpiper. Again, it wasn't a lifer. I had seen one in Rhode Island back in June of 2020, but this one was a lot closer, allowing for better photos than ones I had of that bird.
Nearby, a grassy area next to the N.O.A.A. staff quarters building produced a White Wagtail. I got some blurred, distant photos of it.
While looking at the White Wagtail, an Eastern Yellow Wagtail was spotted near it. Both wagtails, although distant, were in view for a few minutes.
Soon after, a Gray-tailed Tattler was briefly seen in the southern end of the lagoon.
We drove back to the hotel, had dinner, and then headed over to the famous crab pots that have harbored many exceptional records over the years. Both groups were present as the crab pots were strategically searched. I believe it was Luis who first spotted the Siberian Rubythroat flitting from one row to the other. I was surprised to see how its throat glowed like that of a hummingbird's gorget. I was able to get some documentation photos of this life bird before it disappeared back into the pots.
Also seen in the crab pots were a group of at least 12 Bramblings. I got photos of both a male and female.
From there, we headed for the Antone Slough next to Antone Lake. Along the way, we saw a Whimbrel of the "Siberian" race. All of the Whimbrel I saw throughout the week were of this subspecies.
There were a nice group of shorebirds in the slough when we got there. A scan through them revealed 2 Red-necked Stints, 2 Long-toed Stints, a Western Sandpiper, 4 Least Sandpipers, 2 Common Sandpipers, a Pectoral Sandpiper, a Wood Sandpiper, and 2 Semipalmated Plovers. Of the two 'lifers', I was only able to get documentation photos of the one Long-toed Stint showing its dark forehead, the split supercilium, yellow legs, and brightly-colored back.
Two Tufted Ducks swam out from the nearby shore of Antone Lake. The dark backs and protruding tufts were obvious.
Three Common Snipe flew out of the marsh and passed by, revealing the light underwings and thin, white trailing edge to the secondaries, separating them from Wilson's Snipe.
We circled the back of the slough and found another Terek Sandpiper walking up the channel towards us.
We got back to the hotel just before midnight. Keep in mind that sunset was a little after midnight there. I ended the first half-day of birding with four life birds! After travelling across the country from Saturday night through Sunday and walking a marsh late that day, a nice bed was a welcome sight.
