Our adventure to see the Macaroni Penguin a few weekends ago reminded me to post my piece that I wrote about chasing penguins in Alaska a few summers ago.
Penguins of the North.
Summer birding in Alaska.
The Pribilof Islands are five fog blanketed islands in the vast Bering Sea. The bleak and beautiful landscape is vegetated with lush tundra grasses and exquisite wildflowers. Summer home to hundreds of thousands of cliff-dwelling seabirds and the huge rookeries of northern fur seals. Permanent home to a hardy group of Aleut people, once slaves of the fur seal harvest, now integrated into an American lifestyle and running the tourism on St. Paul Island.
Our destination is St Paul Island, Alaska, in search of exotic birding and wildlife viewing. The PenAir flight takes us three hours from Anchorage, across the Bering Sea between Alaska and Siberia, to St. Paul Island. It is one of the 5 islands of the Pribilofs, with just on 500 residents it has Alaska’s largest population of Aleut people. It is also home to the arctic fox, the rookeries of northern fur seals, a reindeer herd and in spring and summer a unique destination for adventurous birders. Birders arrive on tours organized by Tanadgusix Corp., the tribal corporation for St. Paul village and owner of the island’s only hotel.
St. Paul’s main attraction for birders is the vertical cliffs high above the Bering Sea. Crowded on the rocky ledges are the thousands of nesting seabirds, amongst them the much sought after Alcids or penguins of the north, so-called because of their similar body designs. All of the twenty or so species of Alcids share a few basic features. The birds have stout, streamlined bodies; short, narrow wings; thick, waterproof plumage; short tails and feet set well back on the body. With the scope or binoculars trained on them they are beautiful to look at with their dapper black and white plumage patterns and their droll feathers.
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The nesting season on the islands is brief and one of the first species to return to the Pribilofs each spring is the Northern Fulmar, a stocky, medium-sized gull that glides stiff-winged. The swift flying Alcids arrive - the Horned and Tufted Puffins; Thick-billed and Common Murres; Parakeet, Least, Rhinoceros and Crested Auklets; Ancient Murrelets, and even though they are built for marine life they land to breed in vast numbers on the precipitous ledges, rocks and boulders of the islands. The largest of the Alcids are the Tufted Puffins; they are about the size of pigeons and weigh up to 1 kilogram. The Black-legged and Red-legged Kittiwakes, Red-faced Cormorants add diversity and noise to the colonies. Out to sea the Scaups and Harlequin Ducks demanded endless attention while the Steller’s Eider young males and King Eider females are challenging to identify.
The spring and fall migrations also attract a handful of hardy birders hoping for the thrill of a potential Asian vagrant blown off course by the notorious storm winds of the Bering Sea. Our knowledgeable guides mentioned that the best time to see the Asiatic migrants is late May and early June. Late August and early September are best for sighting unusual North American migrant land birds. More than 240 species have been identified here on the Pribilof Islands. The islands are the only accessible place some birds are seen such as the Red-legged Kittiwakes. Eighty percent of the world’s Red-legged Kittiwakes breed right here on the Pribilof Islands. Other species, such as the Red-faced Cormorant are rarely seen in such abundant numbers.
The elements are wildly extravagant on the Pribilof Islands. Summer on the islands is bleak and foggy, downright cold and the arctic July winds buffed our faces a ruddy red. The normal summer temperature range is from 2 to 10 degrees centigrade and we felt the cold because of the wind chill factor. The long daylight hours made each day feel like 2 days worth of birding, we were out for long stretches of time during the morning, afternoon and late into the evenings.
Less than an hour after our plane arrived, Andy our guide, along with binoculars, spotting scope and tripod had us hanging over the 30 meter cliffs at Tolstoi Point. In view were the puffins, we took a long breath and the arduous flight and the stressful waiting to leave the mainland was over, the shrieks and squawks from the cliffs almost as deafening as the surf and wind. The obsession with feeding and breeding is clear, the Tufted Puffins are particularly comical and I could see why the literature calls them “flying cigars” in flight. They move very quickly close to water and they feed by diving, and then flying under water with their wings in pursuit of small minnow-like fish. We also watched the Glaucous-winged Gulls pecking at seal carcasses which certainly help keep the beaches clean.
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The birds’ obsession with feeding was mirrored by our own obsession and the only restaurant in town, which is more like a canteen, is at the airport and became both the meeting place as well as the refuge from the endurance birding out on the tundra. Dana was running the place; she was on St. Paul Island on contract for the summer from Anchorage and cooked volumes of wholesome Alaskan food. It was not uncommon to find reindeer sausage, halibut, crab or salmon on the buffet menu. We chatted to Taiwanese photographers, Connecticut Audubon birders, scientists, researchers, biologists, Coast Guard and government employees and the like in this bustling meeting spot. Everyone here seemed to be on the island to probe and learn more about seals, birds, plants or people.
One of the many delights is watching the birds manage their eggs on the precarious cliff edges. The Thick-billed Murre lays one pale green speckled pear-shaped egg and its shape prevents the egg from rolling off the cliff ledges. The Horned Puffins choose large crevices for nesting while the Tufted Puffins nest in the cracks or scrape a burrow in dirt on the cliffs. The social hierarchy is evident on the cliffs. Each of the different bird species has its nesting preference which minimizes the conflict between the species. The Northern Fulmars dominated the larger ledges. The Parakeet Auklets find the tiniest of cracks higher up the cliff face. The nests of the Red-legged Kittiwakes, made of grass and mud seem to balance on non-existent ledges and it’s a marvel that they do not plummet to the Bering Sea below.
Our quest was for long walks along the windswept rugged coastline and when the fog lifts, the vistas across the tundra. St Paul is less than 22 km long and 13 km wide. The island has been shaped by volcanic activity and stripped down to bare rock and stunted tundra vegetation by wind. The walking is easy on the soft spongy tundra. Amongst the cottongrass tussocks and mosses are a profusion of tundra wild flowers, the prolific purple Arctic Lupines dominate but when we slowed down and started to pay close attention to detail we were thrilled to see Arctic Forget-me-nots, Chocolate Lilies, bright yellows Alaska Poppies and the many species of cinquefoil. There are no trees on the island although the guides take much delight in showing off the few stunted introduced trees that look out of place and rather miserable. The Snow Buntings, Gray-crowned Rosy Finches and the Lapland Longspurs entertained us with their beautiful series of tinkling notes along our walks. This longspur is one of the most common small birds on the moist tundra. Like the Snow Bunting, it has a long hind toenail and runs, rather than hops.
From the observation blinds at the Northern Fur Seal rookeries, Callorhinus ursinus, we watched mothers nursing pups, males fighting over females and all the rest of this raucous smelly scene. Even though the scene looks haphazard we were told that the seal rookery is a society ruled by protocol. The number of seals are overwhelming, experts put their numbers at anywhere between 600 000 and 800 000 mammals. Northern fur seals have short, pointed faces with large rear flippers. The pups are black at birth but as they mature they become dark brown in coloration, with a pale patch on the neck.
The first time I glimpsed the arctic fox, Alopex lagopus, its size was a surprise, standing about 30 centimeters tall and no bigger than our cat back home. They were scrawny and in summer a dark nondescript grey, brown colour. We kept bumping into the foxes on our walks as they sneaked around after bird eggs on the cliffs. They are agile and nimbly climb up and down the cliffs, carrying off an egg or two in their cheeks.
There is no short cut to get to the Pribilof Islands, seemingly endless days of flying time from South Africa, a disorientating 10 hour time difference but the effort is worthwhile to be part of this island culture and to experience all it has to offer the inquisitive traveler. Our summer bird list from St. Paul Island may not be extensive but is made up for in the pleasure of watching breeding birds on a truly wild and remote island.
Travel info
Pribilof Islands birding tours are available through St Paul Island Tours from mid-May to late August. Packages range from 3 to 8 days. Most birders stay for 2 nights and rush around the island seeing the specials. We would recommend at least 3 nights to get closer to the rhythm of the island, its people and the wildlife. Prices start from $1361 per person. Contact TDX Corporation, 4300 B Street, Suite 402, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. 1-877-424-5637. www.alaskabirding.com.
PenAir flies from Anchorage to St. Paul several times a week, 1-800-448-4226, www.penair.com
Bird List:
Northern Fulmar, Pelagic Cormorant, Red-faced Cormorant, Northern Pintail, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, King Eider, Steller’s Eider, Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Semipalmated Plover, Gray-tailed Tattler, Ruddy Turnstone, Least Sandpiper, Rock Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Glaucous-winged Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Red-legged Kittiwake, Common Murre, Thick-billed Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Ancient Murrelet, Parakeet Auklet, Least Auklet, Crested Auklet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Tufted Puffin, Horned Puffin, Common Raven, Winter Wren, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch.
Karoo long-billed Lark on the road from Spitskoppe to Erongo Mountains
Also good to chill and recharge after many days crossing this vast country.
The charming Rock Hyrax that keeps us awake at night here at Erongo with it range of strident calls.
Also good to chill and recharge after many days crossing this vast country.
The charming Rock Hyrax that keeps us awake at night here at Erongo with it range of strident calls.
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