Leg 4.  NOME

Western Alaska         on the coasts of the Bering Sea and Bering Strait

2 June to 9 June 2012

Nome

Cleft on the outer edge of Western Alaska, this small native village borders the Bering Sea , quite close to Asia.  As the ice thaws on the sea and inland lakes, migrating flocks of swans, geese and ducks gather in the marshlands and shorebirds thread their way ever northward. A fascinating community with a history of gold mining and the terminus of the Iditarod, this remote outpost has appeal to birders and non-birders alike. Hopefully the inland Kougarok Road will again be thawed out so that we can find Bristle-thighed Curlew and, in route, Bluethroats setting up nesting territories. The regular species seen each spring would easily justify this trip, but it is also the surprises that you write home about.

Just about everywhere we look will be migrating waterfowl and early nesters, with many species new to first-time visitors: Red-throated and Pacific loons , Gyrfalcon, Bar-tailed Godwit , Red Phalarope, Aleutian Tern, Bluethroat, Northern Wheatear and many more. Even the common species like Western Sandpiper will be a surprise, as you may not have seen these before in their very bright breeding plumages.

And the mammals … Grizzly Bear, Muskox , caribou and moose - seen in the tundra vastness, what an impression that will leave in our memories.

There's also a curious human interest in our visit as Shari captured in her first impression of Nome, "Have you ever seen the TV show Northern Exposure? It must have been written in Nome because all the characters are in this town." Check out our 2002 journals and subsequent journals for more about our experiences.

Highlights from prior trips

Ringed Seal, Grizzly Bear, Ermine, Alaskan Hare, Snowshoe Hare, Tundra Vole, Beaver, Hoary Marmot, Moose, Reindeer, Muskox. Snow Goose, Brant, Cackling Goose, Tundra Swan, Common Eider , Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, American Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Tufted Puffin, Willow Ptarmigan, Rock Ptarmigan, Red-throated Loon, Pacific Loon , Yellow-billed Loon, Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Rough-legged Hawk , Golden Eagle, Gyrfalcon, Peregrine Falcon, Sandhill Crane, American Golden-Plover, Pacific Golden-Plover, Semipalmated Plover, Wandering Tattler, Whimbrel, Bristle-thighed Curlew, Hudsonian Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Red Knot, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Red-necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope, Sabine’s Gull , Mew Gull, Slaty-backed Gull, Glaucous Gull, Aleutian Tern , Arctic Tern , Pomarine Jaeger, Parasitic Jaeger, Long-tailed Jaeger , Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Short-eared Owl, Say’s Phoebe, Tree Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Arctic Warbler, Bluethroat, Northern Wheatear , Gray-cheeked Thrush, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, American Pipit, American Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, Common Redpoll, Hoary Redpoll.

Rarities seen prior trips

Emperor Goose, Whooper Swan, Eurasian Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Arctic Loon, Ivory Gull , Dovekie, Horned Lark.

Schedule

• First day - arrive at campground in Anchorage.
• Second day - fly from Anchorage to Nome, bird in afternoon and evening, stay overnight in Nome.
• Third day - bird and drive the first of three main roads out of Nome in rental 4-wheel-drive vehicles.
• Fourth day - bird and drive the second main road. Look for birds, mammals and early tundra flowers.
• Fifth day - bird and drive the third main road.  Sightsee the tundra and coastal mountains.
• Sixth day - bird any roads not yet covered; chase rarities reported by others.
• Seventh day - revisit the best birding spots in the morning and early afternoon, fly back to Anchorage in late afternoon.
• Eighth day - sleep in late.

Package features:  8-days / 8-nights

• campground in Anchorage (8 nights)
• airport parking in Anchorage
• airfare to Nome
• airport pickup in Nome
• hotel in Nome (5 nights)
• 4-wheel drive vehicle rental in Nome (6 days)
• airfare to Anchorage
• services of naturalist and caravan guides

Package price

• $2,590 one person (assumes second person is staying in RV in Anchorage)
• $3,890 two people (double occupancy)

Additional expenses not included are meals in Nome.

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Revised: February 03, 2012.