Senior Leader Paul Lehman has arrived for another autumn season at Gambell:

Back at Gambell for another fun-filled autumn season, and scheduled to stay this year until October 2. We’ll see how it goes!

It was a cool and overcast summer out here in western Alaska, with Nome having a day or two of snow in July. For the past two weeks, though, it’s been sunny, milder, and with continuous north winds (10-20 mph) here at Gambell, conditions forecast to continue for the foreseeable future. NOT quite what the doctor ordered for rarities, but hopefully things will change soon; otherwise it’s going to be a long fall out here!

As my flight approached the island, I could see over a dozen whales from the plane. My first check of the boneyards has yielded a reasonable number of landbird breeders and migrants, though nothing exceptional. The tally of eight White Wagtails is the highest count I’ve had here since 1998; also notable: six Eastern Yellow Wagtails (a low count), two Bluethroats, six Northern Wheatears, three Red-throated Pipits, and 23 Arctic Warblers (a typical peak one-day count for the season).

There will be a reasonable number of birders coming and going at Gambell during almost the entire period I am here. Coverage elsewhere on the Bering Sea islands and Aleutians this fall will include several folks at St. Paul (Pribilofs) into early October and at least a few people at Adak during mid-September. We’ll have to see what turns up!