Situated far from any road on a remote corner of the Seward Peninsula, Nome is a small Eskimo village on the treeless shore of the Bering Sea.  Geographic isolation means millions of acres available for nesting birds in the short northern summer.  Pretty Asian specialties such as Bluethroat, Yellow Wagtail, and Northern Wheatear share this vast domain with lordly Gyrfalcon and Golden Eagle.  Red-throated and Pacific Loons, American and Pacific Golden-Plovers, and Long-tailed Jaeger are typically common, and there may be hundreds of Common Eiders and Tundra Swans.  Regular rarities include Emperor Goose, Red-necked Stint, and Aleutian Tern.  On a special trip inland through the starkly beautiful mountains we may find Reindeer, Moose, and Muskox, as well as upland breeders such as Rock Ptarmigan, Surfbird, Wandering Tattler, and—possibly—Bristled-thighed Curlew.  For species richness, the birding at Nome is the best in the entirety of Alaska. Upon our return to Anchorage we’ve scheduled a full day in Alaska’s largest city (250,000 people) to bird such local hotspots as Westchester Lagoon and Potter Marsh, as well as to visit the Alaska State Museum.  Traditionally this is one of the "birdiest" days on the entire trip in total number of species, and it represents our best chance to see such northern specialty birds as Hudsonian Godwit and Black-backed Woodpecker.  The next morning we fly to Barrow, the northernmost point in Alaska.  Located at a latitude of 71 degrees, 330 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for 84 days from sunrise on May 10 through sunset on August 2.  Permafrost pools scattered across the apron of tundra north of the Brooks Range host an astonishing assemblage of high arctic avifauna.  Displaying Pectoral Sandpipers and Red Phalaropes are abundant; acrobatic Pomarine, Parasitic, and Long-tailed Jaegers compete for microtine rodents with Snowy Owls, the most common raptor.  All four species of North American eiders are apt to be found in the precincts of Barrow.  The premium is on Spectacled Eider, uncommon, but a vagrant anywhere else on the continent.  And a trip to Barrow Spit may yield a Yellow-billed Loon, as well as afford a realistic chance of seeing a Polar Bear.

Leaders: Moez Ali & Rick Taylor

Cost of Alaskan Wildlife III, Nome & Barrow includes all internal flights, all land transportation, all accommodations, all meals, and guide services beginning and ending in Anchorage, Alaska—$4295.

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