From the Pribs, Alaska

This year’s trip out to the Pribilof Islands was amazingly productive (as always) for the diverse and stunning complement of alcids, fulmars and kittiwakes that clog the island cliffs in the summer time.  Views of breeding birds like these incredibly cute and yet still fierce Least Auklets, contemplative Tufted Puffin, graceful Northern Fulmar, flashy Crested Auklets and range-restricted Red-legged Kittiwakes were daily occurrences during our visit.  Landbirds are generally less diverse out here in the central Bering, but the island resident species like Pacific Wren have evolved to look quite different to their mainland cousins.   

This year we also managed to connect with a nice set of vagrant species such as an stunning male Falcated Duck, a flock of 5 Tufted Ducks, Eurasian Wigeon and Common Snipe and a very nice passerine stray in the form of the island’s first Amur Stonechat! We also were treated to daily views of the island’s cute Arctic Foxes, and even found a Pribilof Island Shrew, an infrequently seen species that is endemic to Saint Paul. 

Birding out on the Pribilofs during Spring can bring a host of surprises!