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Dutch Harbor & Tolsona Campground (1 Viewer)

GMK

Well-known member
In an effort to get out to the Baby Islands for Whiskered Auklets in early June, I've tried contacting a bunch of boat people in Dutch Harbor, to date without any success. They're either busy at the end of the first week of June or don't answer (or perhaps receive) my e-mails. Does anyone here have any contacts for boat trip organisers in Dutch Harbor?

On a wholly unrelated matter, does anyone know whether Tolsona Wilderness Campground, near Glenallen, is still a bona fide site for Great Gray Owl?

Thanks in advance.
 
not sure about dutch harbour.....

,but this last year was the first in several, that a pair of great grey owls were back at the camp grounds. They nested and successfully reared chicks. It will be fun to see if they are back this year. Maybe their numbers are back up in the interior, there have been more reported sightings this year it seem like.

josh
 
Josh,

Thanks for the news. If you or anyone else has news on the owls (positive or negative) for this year prior to early June, please do post it here.

Thanks again.
 
Great gray Owls are back

Looks like the Tolsona Campground is once again hosting a Great Gray Owl nest. The campground owner is charging to take birders back to see the nest his number is 907-822-3865. Sounds like you need to call in advance for the details. Hope this will help those wanting to see great gray owls in alaska this spring.

happy birding,

josh
 
Sad Happenings

Something has happened to the great gray owl chick and the adults have left the area. Birders have been looking the parents and chick, but there has been no sign of either. We can hope that the chick has fledged but it seems to have happened too quick and early.
 
Very sad to hear about the owls, i had an enjoyable evening watching them about 3 weeks ago.

For the pelagic trip from Dutch Harbour - I went on a pelagic with Jeff Hancock (Aleutian Adventure Sports - www.aleutianadventure.com) out to the baby islands a couple of weeks ago. He did a whole day trip 7am until 6pm, for $240 plus tax. So while a little pricy it was a great day, saw around 1000 whiskered auklets plus lots of other alcids and both black-foot and laysan albatross on the way back. Also Kittlitz's Murrelet and a late Steller's Eider.

I also did the ferry from Dutch to Homer, and saw all the alcids as per the pealgic trip, though views were of course more distant. This included 2 groups of Whiskered Auklet around Akutan, and a group in the Unimak pass at dusk.


Jeff has email (see the website) though it took me a few attempts to get trhough to him, as previous emails werent getting through for some reason. Suggest you keep at thim!
 
Happily, I saw both adult owls and its chick, prior to their disappearance, and had an excellent day with Jeff and Lauren off Dutch Harbor in the first week of June, with no fewer than 10,000 Whiskered Auklets on a virtually flat-calm sea. Additional highlights were both albatrosses, Kittlitz's Murrelets, Crested and Cassin's Auklets, and a (photographed) Red-legged Kittiwake.

The cost of Jeff's trips might indeed seem high, but as stated above he provides a good-value service (the food on board was great too). Well recommended.
 
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