Howdy,

Generally I like to keep my self-promotion to a minimum, only offering up a blog posting when I think it may have informational or entertainment value for the Tweeters community, but since Larry and Penny brought up the subject, I figured I could add a few things here without being too self-promotional. I won't directly mention any companies I work for/with.

As Penny mentions, there are a number of tour companies that visit the island: Wilderness Birding Adventures, High Lonesome, and mine (which I do as a joint effort between my company and another), plus Isaac's business Aleutian Outfitters. Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours had a tour there for a couple of years, but I guess us "big boys" chased them out. :) Everyone has spring trips, and Isaac and I also offer fall trips. (I hope by mentioning the other companies I don't sound anti-Isaac. Quite the opposite. He's a birding buddy, and I use his lodging whenever I have a small group.)

It's also fairly easy to bird the island yourself. I know several Tweeters were there in 2008. There's a chapter about birding the island in the second edition of the ABA Birding Finding Guide "A Birder's Guide to Alaska" (disclaimer: I wrote it but the only compensation I received was a free copy). A lot of the logistical information in there is already out of date, so I'd be happy to share contact info and answer any other questions you may have -- I don't rely on an information monopoly to get business.

Fall seems to have more potential for "mega" rarities. I've seen _4_ Marsh Sandpipers, Fork-tailed Swift, Temminck's and Little Stints, and a number of other great birds in the fall (I've also gone in the fall and seen not much, but that can happen in the spring too.) But spring has had some really good birds, too: Spot-billed and Falcated Ducks, both species of Bean-Geese, Terek Sandpiper, Far Eastern Curlew. Spring is also the time to go to see the big numbers of Whiskered Auklets, though your chances of seeing any without a boat are slim at this season.

Also, since it was brought up in this thread and also because I sent a message about my blog postings last month, I'll mention that my Attu trip report can be read at http://bit.ly/aqh9gL. Photo galleries from the trip can be reached through http://bit.ly/dbEboj. Adak photos can be reached through http://bit.ly/b20LVA. I'll warn you that there are links to the rest of my website on these pages, so try not to click on them so I don't feel so bad about the self-promotion thing. :)

John Puschock
Wedgwood, Seattle
g_g_allin at hotmail.com



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