The blog for this trip is broken into three posts - the first covered the initial Anchorage portion of the trip. This second post summarizes the Nome visit (4th through 8th day of the trip) and the next post addresses a short stopover back in Anchorage followed by the Barrow stop.
Nome – Day 4
Nome was our first stop with the tour group. We met up with the group at the gate at the Anchorage airport, with everyone eagerly awaiting all the exciting birds ahead. We arrived at the tiny Nome airport in the early afternoon and quickly headed off to the hotel to drop off our bags and get ready for some birding. That afternoon we headed to the east along Council Road to try for various waterfowl and seabirds on the open water of Norton Sound and in the estuary of Safety Sound. Little did we know that this ½ day of birding would turn out to be the best birding of the trip. As we headed through the tundra toward the coast we had all 3 Jaegers – a very nice start to the day. Long-tailed would turn out to be the most common of the Jaegers in Nome. Lapland Longspurs and Common Redpolls were the common passerines in the tundra. Once we reached the coast Red-breasted Merganser was the first statebird of the day (#11) as the first of many flew by the coast. A bit farther down the road we began to see groups of Tundra Swans (#12) feeding in the shallows of Safety Sound. Interestingly, most had very dingy heads and necks, likely stained from their feeding activities. Pintails were the common dabbler, and pairs of Red-throated Loons were nesting in ponds along the way. Another couple miles down the road the group stopped to get some close looks at Aleutian Terns in with Arctics. While everyone was looking at the terns in the wetlands on the inland side of the road, I turned to look out over the open waters of Norton Sound and saw a loon pretty close to shore. I put the scope on it and saw white flanks– it was an Arctic! (lifebird #1, statebird #13) I was able to get the entire group on it with great close views. A few minutes later it flew past us and we were able to see that the white flank patches wrapped up around the base of the wing toward the rump – Arctic Loons can even be separated from Pacifics on the wing. This or another Arctic was seen near this location each day our group visited Council Road.
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| Arctic Loon - White Flank Patch Visible Even In Flight |
Further down Safety Sound a quick flyby Dunlin was new for my AK list (#14), but not nearly as exciting as the next find. As we were heading down the road the driver of my van noticed a white gull flying down the coast and said to get on that bird. My first thought was it was just another 2nd year Glaucous Gull, which were nearly all white, and quite common there on the coast. But with a quick binocular view I noticed tiny black specks on the plumage and yelled - Ivory Gull (statebird #15). Everyone in our 2nd and 3rd vans got to see it quite well as it flew by. I certainly had not expected to see that one on the trip – Bill Drummond had never seen it on his many AK trips. Another notable find was Common Eider of the v-nigrum race. Males had bright orange bills, and females were much paler than the race we see in the northeast. Two other statebirds rounded out the ride – a flock of black Brant (#16) was feeding on the grassy islands of the lagoon, and a distant female Bar-tailed Godwit (#17).
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| Common Eider v-nigrum |
Out last stop of the day was at the Nome landfill where Bill had found an adult Slaty-backed Gull earlier in the day. When we arrived at the small landfill there were just 10 gulls there along with many ravens, and we quickly picked out a 2nd year Slaty-backed Gull (#18) in striking plumage with a bold white patch in the folded wings with a darker mantle and wingtips. I’ve seen that plumage in the field guides and always wondered what it would look like in person. A few seconds later I found a pale-mantled gull with dark wing tips – a 3rd year “Vega” Herring Gull. Maybe that one will be a split some day.
Nome – Day 5
This was our day to head up Kougarok Road to the north to try for the Bristle-thighed Curlew. The weather was cool (40’s), windy and drizzly when we left the hotel at 4:30, so we were concerned about whether those conditions would hamper our attempt for the curlew. But we headed out anyway, at the very least to make multiple stops for birds along the way even if we didn’t go for the curlew. Several male Willow Ptarmigans were cooperative along the lower parts of the road.
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| Willow Ptarmigan Male |
One of our first planned stops was at Salmon Lake where Bluethroats had been reliable in the past. Although we didn’t have any Bluethroats, I did see 2 Eastern Yellow Wagtails at the edge of the lake (Lifebird #2 and statebird #19). We would end up seeing quite a number of Yellow Wagtails each day at Nome in most every inland habitat – quite a common bird there.
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| Eastern Yellow Wagtail |
While trying for better views of the wagtails I flushed 2 shorebirds – 1 of which as the only Surfbird of my trip. Willows and brushy habitat in this area and elsewhere along this road was full of passerines, principally Golden-crowned, White-crowned, Fox, and Tree Sparrows; Arctic, Wilson’s and Orange-crowned Warblers; and Gray-cheeked Thrushes and Robins.
Further stops along the way yielded the first of several taverneri Cackling Geese (#20) which were no smaller than the parvipes Canadas we had in Anchorage, though their bills did seem a bit stubbier and they had a steeper forehead. Another stop had a number of Hoary Redpolls, though most we saw were Commons. Later a Short-eared Owl (#21) flew by – an extraordinarily pale bird that I first thought was going to be a Snowy Owl. The book mentions males are paler than females, but I’ve never seen any Short-ear as pale as this one. Perhaps a paler tundra or Alaska race? Speaking of pale – a very cooperative Snowshoe Hare was a nice find along the road.
We eventually made it to Mile 72.5 opposite Coffee Dome to try for the Bristle-thighed Curlew. The weather had improved dramatically – the wind had died down and we even had some sun. So after a brief talk from Bill to lay out our strategy, our group started the long ½-mile ascent to reach the general curlew area. Luckily there was a trail on the uphill portion of the trip, making the ascent much easier, as this area has been compared to “walking on bowling balls”. The trail allowed you to walk between the “bowling balls”, which were actually tufts of vegetation. We reached the top and had spectacular 360-degree views of the mountainsides – not a single road, car, or building visible in any direction. Pictures just didn’t do it justice. American Golden Plovers were quite common on the tundra, and Long-tailed Jaegers passed overhead, but no Curlews yet. So we gathered our thoughts, and began to fan out a bit to search for the birds. Shortly thereafter everyone heard a Curlew call nearby, likely a bird that was calling as it flew into the area. With 20 pairs of ears scattered around the site, we were able to get a pretty good idea of where the bird sat down and we all headed toward the apparent location where it landed. Within minutes one of our group spotted the bird and everyone got on it for some pretty good views (lifebird #3, statebird #22). Within a couple minutes it flew to another nearby spot, and fed continuously for at least 10 minutes giving everyone great views. We were all very happy birders as we made our way back down to the vans. We were away from the vans less than 3 hours total, needing less an hour to find the Curlew with great views.
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| Bristle-Thighed Curlew - how many bristles do you see? |
We got back into the vans to head to the end of Kougarok Road for more birding. Along the way we had several White-fronted Geese (#23) of a newly described race. At the very end of the road was an old bridge with just a trail on the other side – a classic Alaska “bridge to nowhere”. Soon after we got out of the vans a Bluethroat flew from the riverside (lifebird #4, statebird #24). It briefly perched again, and later two males were seen tussling over territories. Very fresh bear tracks in the mud along the river reminded us to be wary in these habitats, but this was the closest I got to seeing a bear on the trip. This location also had the first good views of numerous Arctic Warblers we had on the trip.
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| Arctic Warbler |
As we headed back down toward Nome we saw a mother moose and 2 calves, and made a stop at a distant Gyrfalcon nest and found 3 birds perched on the ridge above. The final statebird of the day was a Pacific Golden Plover (#25) which was on a gravel bar near to Nome. A last punctuation point of yet another amazing day of birding.
Nome – Day 6
This was our day to make the 73-mile trip to the northwest to Teller on the Teller Road. An intermediate stop was to be to Woolley Lagoon where 3 White Wagtails had been seen earlier in the week. White Wagtails were formerly rather reliable in Nome, but not recently. Before we had even made it out of town one of the vans spotted a herd of Musk Oxen. We went back and saw the herd of at least 50 animals complete with this year’s calves. A spectacular sight! The first good bird of the day was a vocal pair of Rough-legged Hawks (#26) on a cliff, possibly near a nest.
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| Rough-Legged Hawk - very pale mottled back |
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| Beautiful Tundra Flowers |
Although the Lark was the last statebird of the day, there were many more exciting observations along the way. The first was a large herd of caribou (or reindeer, depending on which continent you come from), complete with males with large antlers and a number of young fawns. While watching the herd a Rock Ptarmigan flew in and landed. Though at a considerable distance, it gave good scope views which was lucky since it was my only Rock Ptarmigan of the trip . Along the way I spotted a single Wheatear at 2 different locations. Both birds were only seen by a couple birders, as they flew up from one side of the road, crossed in front of the van, and then disappeared into rocks on the other side. Were these nesting birds that were feeding, then flying back to their nests hidden in the rocks?
At the end of the road was the tiny native Alaskan town of Teller. We were able to talk to a couple townspeople while we stopped there. One person told us that that although the town is only reachable by car (from Nome) 4-5 months of the year, they didn’t feel isolated because a small runway at the edge of town was kept open year round. We realized that none of the houses had running water when we stopped in the Town Hall for a rest room stop and found that even there only a pit toilet was available. It seemed like only the laundromat had running water, but it was out of order because of broken frozen pipes. Fishing provided a key food source, but that was only during 2 summer months. What a place to live!
Nome – Day 7
This day featured only 2 new statebirds, but they would be good ones. We started back on Kougarok Road to try for better views of Rock Ptarmigan and Bluethroat. We spent a considerable amount of time at Salmon Lake again, with no luck at the traditional spots. Partway down the access road I heard a Gray-cheeked Thrush singing close by which I decided to investigate. As I started my search for the thrush, I briefly noticed a small bird nearby walking on the ground with its tail cocked like a wren. It took me a couple seconds, but I remembered reading that this was typical for Bluethroat, so I got everyone’s attention on the brushy area where the bird disappeared. A few seconds later a bird popped up on a perch – a male Bluethroat! A good but brief view for most in our group.
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| Bluethroat briefly perched |
It was now lunchtime and part of our group opted to head back down to Council Road to spend some more time looking for waterfowl and shorebirds. Our first stop was at the mouth of the Nome River where a small mudflat had formed. Some of the first shorebirds we found we 3 male Bar-tailed Godwits in breeding plumage – pretty dramatic coloration. Our next planned stop was to look for a pair of Tufted Ducks that had been reported previously in Safety Sound. We arrived at the right location and found a large flock of Greater Scaup (mostly males), and began to scan. It didn’t take long to find a male/female pair of Tufted Ducks (#30) loosely associated with the scaup. I think that was my first female Tufted Duck. Interestingly, the make did not have a tuft – I’ve seen a couple with small tufts but never a male with no tuft.
Further down the road we headed toward mile 30 where a Red-necked Stint had been reported. We got to the right general location and noticed a small mudflat – the only one in the area – so we decided to start there. It was drizzling, so I was the only one to get out of the van to check it out. There were just 4 birds on the mudflat – a female Bar-Tailed Godwit, a Dunlin, a Semi Sandpiper, and a redder bird a bit bigger than the Semi. Although I first thought it was a Western, it was really red around the face and chest, so I called David out to take a look. He quickly concluded it was the Red-necked Stint (#31). Unfortunately, in the next few seconds while everyone was getting out of the van it had flown away. We waited there for 45 minutes hoping it would return, and although there were a number of peeps (mostly Semi Sands) coming and going from the mudflat, the stint did not reappear. Semi Sands were common nesters in the grasses right along the road there, and given that each bird only fed at the mudflat for a couple minutes, I guessed that maybe these were nesting birds grabbing a quick meal, then heading back to their nests. If the stint was doing the same thing, maybe it was nesting locally too.
Nome – Day 8
On this last day in Nome the group was given several options for birding locations – I opted for another day along Council Road to try for more waterbirds. This turned out to be the best decision, and it was a popular one as two vans headed out that way. Our first stop on this gray, showery day was the estuary at the mouth of the Nome River. Soon after arriving I spotted an adult Slaty-Backed Gull – great views with all the field marks including pink legs, barrel-chested body, wing tips, etc. Next we were on to a seawatch at the quarry. There were just a few murres flying by and not much else. But I noticed a small group of young eiders in the distance on the water. Although we had had numerous Common Eiders of the v-nigrum race along this road, these birds didn’t quite seem right. The females were not the pale birds we had seen from the local race of the Common’s, and the young males had a white chest, which again was wrong for the dark-chested v-nigrum race. After spending some time looking at the National Geo guide, I decided that these must be King Eiders (#32). Eventually we could see that one bird in the flock was an adult male which clinched it. It’s interesting that these dark females and white-chested young males would be typical plumages for the dresseri race we have back home in the northeast, but all wrong for the local v-nigrum race.
Further down the road one birder in our group spotted a distant group of wigeons which might be critical mass to include a Eurasian. But before we could get closer to scope them, we heard on the radio that there were Emperor Geese up ahead, spotted by some Scandinavian birders. So we jumped into the van and drove ahead past the wigeons to find the rest of our group. When we arrived they were looking at 3 Emperor Geese (#33) – 2 adults and one apparent young bird likely born last year. I’ve only seen 2 Emperor Geese before. They gave us great, prolonged looks – just spectacular birds.
We eventually tore ourselves away from these birds, and decided to double-back to where the wigeon flock had been. When we arrived, the wigeon were gone, but I noticed one lone shorebird on the small mudflat there. It had a bright red chest, so I initially thought it was another Bar-Tailed Godwit. But then I realized it not nearly large enough – it was the size of a large peep. I said something like – “I think I’ve got a good bird here”. Then I noticed it had a pretty long bill, and a white belly. And then all the pieces fit together in my brain and I said – “I’ve got a Curlew Sandpiper!” (#34). Before anyone else got on the bird it took off, and 4 of us followed it for quite a while in the air, eventually showing its white rump. Unfortunately we watched it disappear behind a little island, landing out of sight despite our efforts to view the island from multiple locations. If only these rarer shorebirds would stay still and in view for a while.
The next stop was to try for the Stint again, and we arrived at the mudflat to find over 30 birds there, mostly Semi Sands. But it was now raining quite a bit, and we decided to get back in the van and head out. With all the birds there, maybe that would have been the time to have waited for the stint to return.
We drove further down the road and it eventually turned inland away from the coast, with scenery quite similar to what we saw along Kougarok Road. Our next planned stop was to a spot where we had local intelligence about a nesting Peregrine Falcon, with a nest actually below you on a cliff. We easily found the spot and found the falcon on its nest – or perhaps I should say it found us. We quickly retreated to minimize any disturbance of the nest.
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| Peregrine Falcon |
A mile further down we found a raven nest with 2 nearly full-sized chicks. Another mile down the road we came to the spot where a Gyrfalcon nest had been reported, and found one parent on the nest and at least one fluffy young bird.
On our way back toward Nome we made numerous stops along Safety Sound. At one spot we had a large flock of Brant and some dabblers on a grassy island. We were able to find 2 male Eurasian Wigeon in the flock (#35). We had one more Eurasian at two other locations along the way, giving us 4 male Eurasians with about 45 American Wigeon. Pretty good ratio of 10% of the total, or maybe 20% if you consider that maybe there were also 4 female Eurasians that went undetected. Are these nesting locally?
What a great time we had in Nome! In 4½ days of birding I got 4 lifebirds, 25 statebirds, all the hoped-for key targets, and several rarities. Although temps never got out of the 40s (10-15 degrees below average), and it was drizzly or showery most of the time near the coast, the weather didn’t really hamper us. And our only time with sunshine (about 4 hours) was when we really needed it most atop the ridge looking for the Curlew. We also ran into 4 other birding tours/groups, including my three friends from Kentucky.
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