White-tailed Eagle | Photo Courtesy of https://macaulaylibrary.org/photo/26861391
By Irwin Woldman
Any serious birder has certainly heard of Attu Island and dreamed of the exotic vagrant and expected birds found on the westernmost islands in the Aleutian chain of Alaska—i.e. North America. Unfortunately, few have had the opportunity to visit that isolated land to experience its unique avian presence. I was able to book a week's trip there in January 2–10, 1990.
Attu is the farthest island from the mainland in the chain stretching some 1600 miles southwest from Anchorage. It is volcanic in origin and we viewed steam from an after-blast during our flight from Anchorage, on one of those interim land masses. There are no villages, towns or other human presence there with the exception of a modern self-sustaining Coast Guard base structure and a crew to maintain it and guard access. During WWII, the Japanese took over the island for about one year, but abandoned it afterwards. Attu is about 300 miles east of the Commodore Islands owned individually by Russia and the U.S.
We, the week's participants, independently reached Anchorage and gathered at the designated hotel to meet and dine together. We were to be the final week's party of a four week outing by ATTOURS to Attu. Other birders had been there for all or part of the past 3 weeks.
The following day was spent birding in and around Anchorage under the leadership of local birders and other leaders familiar with the area and its more favorable birding locations. Some of the specialties were Arctic Terns, Boreal Owl, Rusty Blackbird, Willow Ptarmigan and Varied Thrush, all in their finest summer plumage.
After another night in the hotel, we transferred to the airport and boarded a chartered Reeves Aleutian Airways flight. After liftoff we basically followed the entire Aleutian chain as a guide to our destination. We did set down in Cold Bay to refuel, because Attu had no fuel or mechanic support, then on to its terminus. Upon arrival, the plane did not turn off their engines, as they would have had to send to Anchorage for a mechanic if the engines did not start again.
When we arrived at Attu and unloaded our equipment and personal gear, we were each issued a two-wheel bicycle that was our sole transportation for the coming week, and biked to our campsite. The quarters consisted of two Quonset huts, both generator heated, one for our living and sleeping quarters and the other for kitchen, dining area and quarters for the leaders. Our sleeping quarters also had a "drying room” where a generated heater dried our daily wet clothes and boots. A shower there was basic, but functional. A single-stall outdoor outhouse was our toilet. The unwritten, but verbal command was that, when a line had formed for use, that any arriving woman would go right to the front of the line, UNLESS, any line male is in "dire circumstances" for its use ASAP.
We ate breakfast in the dining unit where we discussed the day's outing and which leader was going where that day. After evening meal, we updated the day's checklist from the different parties' outings and discussed the next day trip offerings. Each morning we picked up a prepared box lunch which would be our midday meal and chose a leader to go with. During the day, each leader phoned the campsite hourly where they collected and disbursed vagrant bird information to everyone interested. If you wanted to add that bird, you could bike over to that site and hope that the bird or birds were still present. Many of the birding hot spots had names such as Murder Point, Navy Beach, Barbara Point, Town West Massacre Valley, Tattler Creek and more.
One day each week was devoted to a trek to Temnac Valley to see the only White-tailed Eagle in North America. There were formerly two, but one apparently died. To reach there we biked to the end of the runway, left our bikes there, hiked over many tundra hillocks, roped down the side of a hill, forded a stream and hiked another mile where we did have good scope views of the Eagle. In order to ford the stream and keep from getting our feet wet and cold, we were each given a plastic trash can liner. We stepped inside it, pulled the sides up to our chins and slowly and carefully walked across the foot high watery stream . On the way back we reversed the walk, forded the stream, roped up the hill and walked and biked back to campsite. I was "wasted" the next day and stayed in camp to recoup.
As for the birds, Lapland Longspurs were our common "backyard" species all in super nice breeding plumage and full song. Rock Ptarmigan were common and a daily tic. Glaucous-winged Gulls were ubiquitous with the rare and distant sighting of probable Slaty-backed Gull seen by many. Also seen were Black-legged and Red-legged Kittiwake Gulls. Laysan Albatross and Red-throated Loon were regular sights off shore. Pelagic and Red-faced Cormorants became the expected species observed and a great change from our usual California species. Single Short-tailed Shearwater and Emperor Goose were seen by several people. Aleutian Terns were often flitting above the runway or nearby shore .
Shorebirds seen by me were Rock Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit. Kittlitz's and Ancient Murrelets were also observed. Both Tufted and Horned Puffins were noted. Of the land birds, Common Raven, Rosy Finch, Winter Wren and the first documented nesting of Black-backed Wagtail in North America. Mammals consisted of small Island Fox (very tame) and some rats.
Other worthwhile birds seen during the 1st 3 weeks or during my week, but not seen by me, included Yellow-billed Loon, Northern Fulmar, Eurasian Widgeon, Tufted Duck, King Eider, Common Goldeneye, Wandering and Gray-tailed Tattler, all 3 Jaegers, Glaucous Gull, Think-billed Murre, Crested Auklet, Yellow Wagtail, Olive Tree Pipit, Rustic Bunting, Brambling, Common and Hoary Redpol, Hawfinch, and more Slaty-backed Gulls.
As it was near the summer equinox, we had daylight from about 2 AM to 10 PM. Temperatures varied from about 55 degrees during the day to near freezing at night. Rain visited us on 2 days and snow flurries were infrequent and light.
Since ours was the final week of that ATTOUR year there, we were responsible for packing all of the equipment, kitchen gear and storing of bicycles and the gas powered cargo hauler for succeeding outings there. Our Reeves flight arrived on time on the last day there. We efficiently loaded the cargo and our personal gear and bid goodbye to this unique land. It was unusually sunny when we took off, so the pilot circled the island giving us a rare view of the other side. Most of the island had been off limits to us, as there were possibilities of unexploded ordinance lying around from the War that had never been cleared by any of our armed forces.
Our leaders were from Chicago, Connecticut, Texas, Alaska and elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada. Sandy Komita held "court" each evening in the Barracks. At that time, he held the record for the most birds seen in a calendar year in the ABA area. He was at it again. Pete Dunne and his wife were also present from Cape May, N.J. One or two days that week he would park at Murder Point and watch/estimate the number of Laysan Albatross passing by the point.
We arrived back in Anchorage on schedule and we disbursed to continue on to our various home turfs. What a fantastic and unique tour! Unfortunately, ATTOUR cancelled outings there in the late 1990s.