Alaska - Birding the Edge
Prelude
For many, many years I went fishing in Alaska. Then Jeff the boat captain I fished with retired and I stopped going to Alaska. Fast forward to 2026 and birding has become an obsession with me. One of the things I like to do is go to eBird and see who has seen the most species for the year. (I know, I know, weird, but it’s what birders do. I was looking at the list in early 2025 and noticed Eliana Ardila Kramer | BIRDING BY BUS. I wondered what Birding by Bus was all about. I soon found their website and noticed that they did a really cool looking birding trip to Alaska. Next thing you know I was on Whatsapp talking with Eliana and her husband Marc about birding and Alaska. And now I’m going on their Birding on Alaska’s Edge tour. I can hardly wait to go back to Alaska after so many years away.
Anchorage
June 2, 2026
White-crowned sparrows were serenading me as I left the Seatac Inn, headed to the airport. It was a divey little motel but compared to some of the spots I stayed in in NE India it seemed like the lap of luxury.
Eliana met me at the airport. We dropped my stuff off at the b&b and immediately headed to a spot where a Sabine’s Gull had been reported. I met Mike and John, two of the guys on the trip. We eventually tracked down what we thought to be the Sabine’s gull but after further review it was determined to be a Bonaparte’s gull.
I birded with these guys for a bit and then birded some on my own. I saw many old friends from Montana and from DC including sandhill cranes that seemed to be more brownish than the ones I remembered from the Flathead. I also saw many greater scaup with great up close views. This is a bird David and I hunted and hunted for at Walthamstow, with very mixed results. The one new bird in abundance was the short-billed gull (pictured).Glaucous-winged gulls and American herring gulls interbreed in Anchorage and the resulting bird is called the Cook Inlet Gull.
After the birding I went to El Green Go’s. Basically a taco truck. I had their brisket tacos and their halibut tacos. All were nothing short of amazing.
At 3:30 we all gathered at the b&b. Eliana and Marc gave us the run down on what the next 15 days would be like. Several of the people on this tour have been on numerous tours with Eliana and Marc. I understand why. They are both very warm and friendly and filled with good energy. All of the birders on the trip are retired and all of them are good birders and good people. At the end of the session we each got a goodie bag. It was lots of fun.
We went to a super place for supper. I had their halibut special and house made root beer. Both were excellent but I’m not as full as a tick. A good start to the Alaska adventure.
27 species, 2 lifers.
Adak
June 3, 2026
This morning I was awake at 2:30. I finally decided to get rolling at 3:30 and was rewarded with a gorgeous view of the early morning light on Denali. The BnB we were staying in was a lovely place. And the proprietress could not have been more hospitable.
After breakfast Marc swung by and we went birding for a couple hours. We saw many birds I’d seen in either Montana or England including common goldeneye, Barrow’s goldeneye, red-breasted merganser, red-necked phalarope and two cute little golden-crowned kinglets. We saw two very special birds. First a golden-crowned sparrow. Then we saw a very cooperative Pacific loon (pictured) that everyone got great pictures of.
We went back to the Bnb and had a marvelous breakfast. Then we loaded up and when we loaded up I mean loaded up. We headed to the airport with many containers full of food and even raw eggs. We had a three hour flight to Adak, near the very end of the Aleutian chain.
Adak was once a US military base. The base was abandoned in the nineties and most of the buildings associated with the base were abandoned. A tiny population now lives on Adak but the birding is most interesting. We loaded up two rigs and then unloaded them. Then we made sandwiches for our supper. (Marc and Eliana made yummy burritos for lunch.)
At the two houses we stayed at we saw our first two birds, gray-crowned rosy-finch (pictured) and rock ptarmigan; both lifers for me. Adak is hilly and for the most part treeless. We birded primarily along the coast this afternoon and found some really awesome birds. Two of the rarities were common birds for me, a common gull and a black-headed gull. But we saw some birds that were really special for me as well. Beautiful harlequin duck reminiscent of wood ducks. Black oystercatchers with their carrot colored bills. White-winged scoter and my very first eiders, common eider. And we saw a Vega gull, a bird I wasn’t expecting to see until Taiwan in March, 2027. But the birds of the day for me were the ancient murrelet. Such a wonderful bird that was definitely one of my biggest targets. It made my day to see them. It was a cool and at times blustery cold day.
We finished the day looking for an old friend from Madrid, hawfinch. We got a good if brief passing view of it. What to me was more amazing was the song sparrow we saw. It was gray colored and had a longer tail than the same species I see regularly in Kenilworth.
A great day to start our time on Adak.
63 species, 12 lifers
June 4, 2026
Happy Birthday David. I was so tired last night I fell asleep on the couch as I worked on my website entry for the day’s adventures. I slept off and on most of the night as I normally do. Duane, my roommate, was worried because I didn’t come home.
A little prelude is necessary to introduce today. When I was in Kenilworth birding last week I ran into Bart and we had a good chat about everything under the sun. I showed him the brochure for the Alaska tour and he saw a picture of the whiskered auklet and wondered if we’d really see them. His comment put real doubts into my mind.
This morning after breakfast Eliana drew names for the morning boat trip to try to find whiskered auklet. I was in the afternoon boat. I was a little bummed because from past fishing adventures I knew the wind could build and make an afternoon trip rough. After, Eliana popped her head in the door and said one of the women wanted to stay with her buddy on the afternoon tour and wondered if I’d switch to the morning tour. I was so pumped because I was so worried I wouldn’t see whiskered auklets. Evan, oh ye of little faith…
After the name drawing and lunch prep and the like we headed outside to do some birding. Before we got to the cars we came across two Pacific wrens. So, so cute. We went back to the feeder where the hawfinch was and we got good views of two fleeing hawfinches. Then it was off to the harbor.
We got to the harbor and got on the boat and sat in the bench seats and immediately I felt at home. I felt like I was back in PWI with Jeff on his boat. We headed out and immediately my camera was on the fritz again. I’d used ChatGPT to try to help me make adjustments with no good impact. As we traveled I looked at the big camera guys taking all sorts of cool pictures and fretted and wondered. Then, I came to a conclusion,
I’m not a photographer, I’m a birder. I admire the wonderful photos the photographer birders on this trip are taking. I certainly admired the pictures from NE India. But I don’t want to haul around a big camera. A pair of binoculars and a camera that kind of works is good enough for me. Also, it’s partly my problem because I haven’t taken the time to really learn my camera and learn how to troubleshoot problems.
On with the show…as we headed out of the harbor we stopped for very good views of an immature yellow-billed loon. This is a very desirable, near threatened bird. What a treat. And that was just the beginning. A few minutes later we were surprised to see a Laysan albatross, another near threatened bird and the first albatross I’d ever seen.
As we continued our journey I talked a lot with our boat captain about fishing. Oh, for the good memories it brought back for me. I found it interesting that the fishery here is not threatened or over fished and he gets nice fish all the time because of it. The fishery at PWI had declined significantly in the last years I fished there.
The boat captain just smiled when I asked if we’d see whiskered auklet, (pictured, picture generously shared by John Aromando). As we neared our destination, Aziak Island, I soon found out why. We soon saw not just one or two or ten or two dozen whiskered auklets. We saw thousands of them because they breed on the island we were circling. And that wasn’t all. With Marc’s help we also saw crested auklet and parakeet auklet. Additionally, we saw red-faced cormorant, pelagic cormorant, short-tailed shearwater, tufted puffin, horned puffin, marbled murrelet and lots of old friends. The old friends included great views of many common eider, black oystercatchers, pigeon guillemot, my good friends ancient murrelet, and northern fulmar. It was a wonderful morning on the water.
As we headed back to Adak we passed an active volcano on Great Sitkin Island and saw steam rising from it.
Eliana, John, Mike and I spent the afternoon looking for birds with only moderate success. We tracked and eventually found a wood sandpiper. We had wonderful views of a pair of snow bunting in breeding plumage. And as John and Eliana were checking a bird feeder I saw a raptor fly across. It might not have been a raptor at all, It could have been a short-eared owl. All in, it was pretty quiet afternoon.
As I looked at the birds we’ve seen so far on Adak I came to realize that we’ve seen nearly all the species we’re going to see here. And I can understand why. The boat captain told me it typically rains here about 300 days a year. The weather for us has been beautiful. A little windy, (this is Adak after all), but really great weather. If I was designing this tour I would have built in at least one bad weather day. We haven’t gotten rain and the winds were favorable for a boat so we didn’t have to postpone that trip. And that was absolutely the biggest point of coming on this part of the trip. Whiskered auklets are a really tough bird to see. As Marc said this morning it’s probably the most expensive ABA bird to track down.
All of this rambling and babbling. And I didn’t even talk yet about the fabulous guiding of Marc and Eliana. That plus the great weather have contributed to a very successful trip to Adak and we still have about two days to come. A search for rarities is probably in the offing.
34 species, 10 lifers
Don’t Rain on Our Parade
June 5, 2026
This morning we awoke to a few raindrops that developed into a steady light rain. Prior to leaving London Luda, Irina and I went to lunch for Luda’s birthday. After Irina needed a pair of socks for her Birkies. We went in the first store we saw that had socks, Sealskinz. They had great socks but their specialty was lightweight raincoats that they claimed were totally waterproof using a technology different than Gore-Tex. I found a coat I liked in a very neutral color. I decided to buy it.
I have a wonderful Gore-Tex rain jacket but it’s a brightish blue. I bought an XX-large long sleeve gray workout t-shirt. In NE India I pulled the t-shirt over my raincoat and it worked great. But it was bulky and it was somewhat noisy. The other thing about the Sealskinz jacket is that it is super quiet. A big plus for a birding jacket. I was ready for a test drive.
This morning I got that test drive. The rain jacket shed water and I did not get wet at all. Because it’s super light I didn’t feel warm in it at all either. Though it is Adak the home of the wind. All in, first impression after the first rain, I really like it. I will continue to give updates through the odyssey on this jacket. Fortunately the rain let up in the late morning.
Now on with the show. The game plan was to bird seven eighths of Clam Lagoon. Previously we had birded one eighth of the lagoon with great success. As we headed towards the lagoon Mike saw what he at first thought was a log but discovered it was a bird. And soon we discovered it was a gyrfalcon. What a great surprise. It was one of the birds I hoped I would see.
After that great surprise we birded the lagoon. It took most of the day but it was because it was wonderfully birdy. We got great views of many birds but the two that stood out for me were Aleutian terns and black scoters. We’d been searching for the Aleutian terns as we looked at Arctic terns since we got to Adak. We finally found them at the lagoon. They are so elegant. They have gray underbelly and trailing black on their wings.
We saw the black scoters on a section of the road known as the seawall. They were in the ocean. A cute little bird that is all black…shocker from the name right? The males also have a bright orange knob at the base of their bill.
As we looked at terns, birds flew through my field of view. Eliana started shouting that we needed to stop looking at terns. Why? Because those birds were her emperor geese. What a great surprise. She does lots of work and research with this species. To even have a glimpse of them was a real treat.
We ended the day looking for snipe in Contractor’s Marsh. Marc, Eliana, John and I walked through the marsh and the rest of the crew waited. We flushed several snipe. And we also got to see a bald eagle chasing a teal. The contrasting size of these two birds was something else. The eagle was an adult and so beautiful.
This morning I worked on my camera and got it to work. The result? I got several good pictures of birds. My goal is to get at least one good picture a day. Mission accomplished. Because the camera was working I got fun pictures of red-necked phalarope that were very close to the road.
There’s a very practical reason we are on Adak for the time that we are. There are only two flights a week and you have to wait for a flight. There you go.
We got all the common birds Adak has to offer and several very special ones we didn’t expect. Tomorrow we transition back to Anchorage and then go on to the next part of the adventure. This has been fun and birdful. What more can a person ask for?
38 species, 5 lifers
Here’s the Church…
June 6, 2026
Today was a transition day for us. We birded some after breakfast. We didn’t see anything too exciting except that we saw the elusive hawfinch on the ground not too far from the feeder we have been stalking the past few days. I actually got a semi-decent shot of it. We also saw a short-eared owl hunting for breakfast. Marc got a picture of it with a teal in its talons. We also drove to the McDonald’s drive up. The menu is still there with 1994 prices.
When we got back to the houses we had a mad dash to get everything loaded. We then hauled it all to the airport. Then we went to a really cool historic site, the Bering Hill Chapel. It was originally built in 1944 and remodeled in the 1990s before being abandoned like most of the island when the US military left Adak later in that decade.
We had a quiet flight back to Anchorage. We had yummy pizza for supper.
31 species, 1 lifers
Mother, Mother Ocean
June 7, 2026
“Mother, mother ocean, I have heard your call
Wanted to sail upon your waters
Since I was three feet tall
You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all.
Jimmy Buffett, “A Pirate Looks at Forty”
What a day. We left the BnB “early” at 5:00 AM for the drive to Seward. We had packed breakfasts. Mine was consumed before we left Anchorage. I slept nearly the entire two hours to Seward.
When we got to Seward we boarded one of the Major Marine Tours boats. Marc and Eliana knew the captain. He changed days to be able to captain for them. He is an excellent birder and knows all the places on the trip where we could see our target bird species.
Once again when I got on board the boat, (a big boat, about 59 feet), I felt so at home and it brought back great memories of the fishing on PWI. We were on the water about eight hours. Our final destination was Kenai Fjords National Park. As went to and from the park we saw many birds including our three targets for the day. We saw rhinoceros auklet flying across the water and in the water during the trip. Thick -billed murre were amongst the birds on a rocky island reminiscent of Skomer Island off the coast of Wales. Other birds on the cliff were black-legged kittiwake, (Black feet and ink well dipped wingtips make them a standout gull.), and common murre. The common murre and the thick-billed murre were together and it was a good lesson in seeing them together to see the differences in them.
The glaciers at the halfway point of our journey were truly incredible. Their dense ice showed blue. And the boat made its way through small chunks of ice as we neared the glaciers. We stayed at the glaciers for an extended period of time and saw and heard them calve many times. The calving sound is very much like thunder.
On the trip back to Seward the captain took us to a spot where Kittlitz’s murrelet (pictured) had been spotted. They did not disappoint. We saw about 10 including one very cooperative individual that was right beside the boat. A beautiful little bird with its spangled brown and white.
We also saw goats and otters and humpback whales on the trip.
When we got back to port we immediately went to supper at the Flamingo Lounge a spot that had been restored to its 1950s look. Very fun place with excellent food.
After supper we briefly birded a spot. Both varied thrush and white-winged crossbill serenaded us with their calls, but we couldn’t get either of them to show themselves.
We got back to Anchorage at minutes to ten o’clock. What a glorious day.
31 species, 5 lifers
Spruce Grouse
June 8, 2026
Today was a little slower day but we still got quite a bit of birding in and some chores as well. We started birding around 9:00 AM. We went to Kincaid Park. We were getting good looks at some small birds when we had some visitors. A mama moose and her calf. They were headed down the trail towards us. Marc had us back up a hill into the brush. Eventually they went into the woods on the other side of the trail and we continued birding.
We were in search for a very special bird. We went to a spot in the woods and Marc and Eliana played calls and sounds. As they did Eliana found an American three-toed woodpecker (pictured). I’d seen it at Lone Pine Cliffs but it’s still a very special bird. Eventually Eliana found our very special bird, the spruce grouse (pictured). It was incredibly cooperative and we all got great shots of the bird. After we were done I felt so relieved because I was a tad bit worried that we wouldn’t see it.
As we hiked out towards the cars we had a great surprise, an American goshawk (pictured) flew across the trail, then came back and eventually settled in a tree by the trail. That was really a bonus bird because I didn’t know when we’d see it.
Marc took us to bird other spots and eventually we ended up at Audubon bench where Eliana met us with burritos and scones. She then dropped me off at REI. I bought a Patagonia puff jacket. My thinking is that it may cut my need for lots of layers after Alaska and save me some luggage weight.
Marc picked me up and five of us went birding. Ruth Arcand Park was the first place we went and we soon found our primary target bird, the cute little boreal chickadee. From there we went to the William Jack Henandez Sport Fish Hatchery. We were looking for an American dipper. Duane saw it fly up the river so we went to the waterfalls one more time. Eventually I spotted it behind a branch. Only its head was visible. I think it’s kind of fun that we saw this dipper at the fish hatchery. The first American dippers I saw were at the Creston fish hatchery. I also got great views and pictures of a bald eagle. (pictured)
We had ramen for supper. Good but not nearly as good as Peng’s Noodle Folk in New York City.
A quiet but productive day.
47 species, 3 lifers.
All Day and All Night
June 9, 2027
Yesterday morning we left the BnB at 5:00 AM for an early flight to Nome. As is par for the course for me I didn’t sleep much so on the flight to Nome that’s all I did.
Nome is on the tundra with many of the buildings built above the ground to protect the permafrost. It took some time to get all the logistics worked out. While we waited I discovered a least sandpiper in a little stream by the airport as I looked for a northern waterthrush that was singing. Both old friends.
We have a van that has seen its better days but that’s typical when traveling in remote Alaska. I don’t care as long as it gets from point A to point B or as we did yesterday point Z. For most of the day we birded up and down one road. At our first stop we discovered two glaucous gulls (pictured) near a nest on an old gold dredge. (Nome came into existence primarily because of the gold rush and gold is still a big industry in Nome.) At the same spot we saw a beautiful red-throated loon (pictured) on a nest and I spotted an American tree sparrow. I’ll never forget the first time I saw a tree sparrow in Kenilworth. Such a cute little bird.
As the day went on we discovered many great birds. Our first of 60 long-tailed jaeger had a mouth full of lemming (pictured). At one spot we discovered many gray-cheeked thrush, a bird I first saw in Texas on High Island. After several hours of birding we went to Subway for lunch and got an extra sandwich for supper.
After lunch we went searching for a white wagtail of all things. We found it in downtown Nome. Not surprising because I’ve seen them in virtually every imaginable habitat in Britain. I did compare the Nome bird with one I found in Wales in June, 2024. Very different coloring. The Wales bird was much darker. And both birds were in breeding plumage.
We checked into the inn we’re staying at and we all took delicious naps. About 5:30 PM we went to the Nome River mouth and watched the mudflats as the tide went out. Along the way we got great views of Pacific golden-plover, (pictured), a very elegant bird. We saw many great birds but the highlight bird was a Sabine’s gull, (pictured), that John found, the first of many we discovered throughout the evening/night. Dark head reminiscent of a Bonaparte’s gull but with a distinctive yellow tip.
After birding there for about two and a half hours we went back to the inn and dropped off half our crew. Then the rest of us went on a late night adventure to Safety Sound. We saw many wonderful birds including numerous long-tailed jaeger, (pictured), and Sabine’s gulls, (pictured), up close. But the highlight for me was a surfbird seen at a distance but very well.
As we left Safety Sound it was around 11:00 PM though it was so light it could have been 11:00 AM. Welcome to Alaska in the summer. We saw scoters in flight but could not determine if one of them was the elusive Stejneger’s scoter we’d been searching for.
As we headed back to the inn a pair of willow ptarmigan, (pictured),showed very well. And as a bonus we got to see four musk oxen, (pictured). Two adults and two babies. An ancient animal that was incredible to see.
We got back to the inn at a minute or two before midnight. And yes, this report is actually being written on the morning of the 10th. What to do when we bird all day and all night.
58 species, 6 lifers.
No Curlew Joy
June 10, 2026
Happy Birthday John and Susan.
After the long day yesterday we started a little later this morning. We went down one of the long roads going out of Nome. There are three of them. We were on the Kougarok Road. We made several stops looking for two birds. One, the Arctic warbler, (pictured), we found right away. A leaf warbler so kind of plain looking but a good bird none the less.
The second bird was a bit more problematic but at one stop we eventually found it and got gloriously good views of a bluethroat. I was so happy to see this elusive, gorgeous bird.
The turnaround point for our trip was at the 72 mile mark of the road at a hill called Coffee Dome. This is where we went to look for the bristle-thighed curlew. The trip to the area where the curlew breeds was a mile long walk up a slightly sloping path. There were loads of birders at the top. As we started our search we came across a couple whimbrel and decided they weren’t the curlew. Our search continued for about two hours.
At one point I spooked a female willow ptarmigan(pictured). I’m glad I was looking down because I soon came upon her nest. I took a quick picture of the ten eggs and as we worked our way back to the trail I tried as best I could to avoid the area. The female tried to lead me away from her nest. She had nothing to fear but it was interesting to watch her strategy.
We had no curlew joy. It was frustrating because we all worked so hard scanning and tripping over the tundra looking for this bird. For birders saying no joy means that you didn’t find the bird you set out to find. No joy is a part of birding that is inevitable because the darnedest thing about birds is that they fly. I think the curlew got tired of all the birders and decided they’d had enough of the human nonsense and went to another locale. They certainly have thousands of miles of options in this territory. Most probably this is a bird I will never see…no joy.
The trip back to the trail was quite an adventure as we tripped and stumbled over tundra with many holes and mounds to maneuver through. Sort of the icing on the cake of a no joy experience.
Speaking of cake though, it was both John and Susan’s birthday today and most interestingly they were both born on the exact same day.
Eliana drove us back in a very quick manner over the very dusty road. For the last mile or two Mike and I watched the last few minutes of the Knicks-Spurs game. The Knicks won on a last second tip in. It was a very exciting last few minutes. Apparently, the Knicks came back from being 29 down. They lead the series three games to one.
We ate at an interesting restaurant that served up all sorts of cuisines. I had spaghetti and meatballs. Not like Rao’s but hey, fuel for the journey.
At checklist time we sang the birthday kids happy birthday and had brownies. No curlew joy today but lots of joy from being with this very fun group of birders.
38 species, 2 lifers
A Golden Day
June 11, 2026
When I call this a golden day I’m definitely not talking about the weather. There was a light mist most of the morning and in the late afternoon the wind was howling. In Anchorage I bought a Patagonia puffer jacket hoping that it would provide enough warmth for me to ship layers back home when I get to Seattle. This morning I put my Sealskinz raincoat over it and it worked fine.
Mark made a scrambled egg dish with tomatoes and green onions for breakfast, a Columbian dish. It was yummy. After breakfast we headed out on another of the three Nome roads, this time the Teller Road. The birding to begin with was a little slow. John found an American dipper and we all got great views. Other than that bird we saw mostly the usual suspects early on.
I was snoozing as we drove to the top of an “alpine” section to look for wheatear. It was just too foggy. I woke up just as a golden eagle flew towards the car. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. Ever since I heard about this beautiful bird in Montana a couple years ago I’ve wanted to see it. Actually seeing it today was definitely one of the highlights of the whole Alaska trip.
We continued to a place where plovers nest. On the way in we saw a big musk ox all by itself. They are massive animals. Marc saw immature king eiders fly by on the ocean. Eventually after we scanned a lot I found the black-bellied plover. Soon we also found the female. What gorgeous birds. I’d only seen one in nonbreeding plumage. It was stunning to see one fully decked out in breeding plumage.
Some of the other birds we saw included a short-eared owl, this time a very white morph. For the first time on the trip we saw ruddy turnstones. I was reminded of Cornwall. Gyrfalcon and rough-legged hawk, (pictured), both gave us incredible views. The hawk soared by us at eye level a couple times.
At one stop we heard a call we couldn’t believe, a varied thrush. Marc called it and Eliana eventually found it. We got fabulous views of this very colorful thrush. At this same spot we found a Say’s phoebe, (pictured), an old friend of mine from Las Vegas.
Eastern yellow wagtail, an old friend of mine from NE India showed up at one stop and flew around us several times.
We ate at the same place tonight. I had the Korean dish Duane and Terry had yesterday and some pizza. Both were yummy.
This evening Marc, John and I went to the Nome River mouth. We didn’t see anything new but there was a raft of Aleutian terns, (pictured), sitting on the beach. So many that I went back to the car for my camera. What a special treat to see so many of these beautiful terns.
It was cold, it was rainy, it was windy…but when all is said and done, it was golden.
65 species, 2 lifers
Give a Hoot
June 12, 2026
Today was a bit of a slow day on the birding side. It was a situation similar to Adak. The weather has been, for the most part, good and Mark and Eliana have been great at putting us on virtually all of the birds Nome has to offer. That means less lifers towards the end of our time here in Nome. That said, it was an interesting day.
The third and final road out of Nome, the road to Council, was our birding destination today. As we headed out I immediately fell into a very deep sleep. So much so that when the van was stopped I wondered why the ocean was on the other side. Turns out they’d turned around to look at some cackling geese…wee.
As we drove along we stopped many times to scan ponds and the ocean. At one stop a group of auklets flew by. Marc took pictures and determined later that they were crested auklets.
We stopped at one bridge to look at two nests. We were rewarded with wonderful views of four gyrfalcon chicks, (pictured). While at that spot we also saw American pipit and northern wheatear, both new birds for the trip and both really great birds.
After that stop we went over the summit of the road and were greeted with a changing landscape. Because that side of the road and the area were protected from the Berring Sea we saw spruce trees as well as alders and willows. In those trees we saw many great birds. We saw countless numbers of blackpoll warblers because that is where they breed.
And we saw a boreal chickadee. It was Terry’s 1,000th species and as always Eliana wanted to celebrate. We are now all sporting sparkly stars on our face. One of the most interesting things about this tour has been Marc and Eliana. They put so much energy into making sure that everyone has fun and everyone is seeing good birds. It’s no wonder many of the people on the tour have been on many of their tours in the past. They make the tours enjoyable and memorable.
Speaking of memorable, there was one moment that was particularly memorable for me. I heard an owl. And immediately after I heard it Marc started playing the northern hawk-owl call. I assumed he’d heard the owl as well. No, he just decided to try that call. All of us heard the owl call back to us numerous times but we could never get it to come in. Perhaps we were out of its hunting range. When I asked Marc later he said, no, he hadn’t heard the owl, he just decided to play the owl call. What a hoot. (pun intended)
We went to the end of the road, all the way to the river by Council and birded there some. We saw pine grosbeak, (pictured), (an old friend from Lone Pine Cliffs), at that stop and that’s where Terry’s 1000th was.
Eliana brought us back to Nome in a most expeditious way. It must have been a smooth ride because I had another nap. I wonder if I will sleep at all tonight.
We ate at the same place. The service is excellent there. I had Hawaiian pizza. Not as good as last night’s but not bad. Several of us had soft serve ice cream after supper.
Today was our last full day in Nome. Lots of good birding and a very interesting place.
73 species, 2 lifers