2009 Tour Narrative
In Brief: After a majority of years with no sea ice at Gambell, this year saw ice flows predominating for the first part of our stay. Despite a clear beginning, the weather was generally poor, with rain and east to southeast winds. This resulted in the arrival of several North American species, the most unusual being a Swainson’s Thrush and the first ever Spotted Sandpiper for the Bering Sea Islands. Asian species included two Eyebrowed Thrushes, three Rustic Buntings, and a male Brambling. Also notable were a variegatus Whimbrel, an Asian longipennis Common Tern, and at least four adult male White-winged Scoters of the Asian stejnegeri race. We encountered all four eiders, all four regular loons including Arctic, a Red-necked Stint, and two Red-throated Pipits. Northern Wheatears and Bluethroats were rather numerous. Other highlights included a Walrus with a pup on its back and a pod of Killer Whales killing a Gray Whale.
The Nome extension had stunning views of Bristle-thighed Curlew, both on the ground and in display flight, as well as all of the Nome regulars (Willow and Rock Ptarmigan, Arctic Loon, Gyrfalcon, and Aleutian Tern). Surprising were one or perhaps two stakeout Hawfinches well west of Nome, one of few mainland records.
In Detail: This year’s tour began with an evening drive to Eagle River for a nesting Northern Saw-whet Owl. After viewing that bird, we drove down to Westchester Lagoon, where we had distant views of a few Hudsonian Godwits. Canvasback, a single Gadwall, and a Common Loon were also notable.
We awoke well before dawn, when it was still light, for a flight to Nome. We arrived in Nome in the morning and transferred to Bering Air, arriving at Gambell by lunch. The weather was simply gorgeous, clear and calm. We enjoyed the day, seeing a male Brambling and a male Rustic Bunting—one of three we encountered—in and near the Far Boneyard, and later we chased a Red-necked Stint at the south end of Troutman Lake.
For much of the time at Gambell, our weather was rainy, with east to southeast winds to boot. The easterly winds meant that some of our strays would likely be North American, and indeed that was the case. These included a briefly seen Savannah Sparrow, a Swainson’s Thrush (only a few Gambell records), a male Lesser Scaup (second Gambell record and the first for the spring), and a well-documented (with photos) Spotted Sandpiper, apparently a first for any of the Bering Sea Islands.
Our most notable Asian species was Eyebrowed Thrush, of which we had two individuals, one a stunning male. Also notable were an Asian Whimbrel (race variegatus) and at least four adult male Asian White-winged Scoters of the race stejnegeri—the fourth record for Alaska, all of them from Gambell or from the Nome area. Notable on the swimming scoters were the black flanks and more elaborate bill structure, as well as bill color; the fact that they were with North American deglandi White-winged Scoters made the comparison particularly useful.
The presence of ice gave us some nice views of Spotted and Bearded Seals; others saw a single adult Ivory Gull. We did see a scattering of Emperor Geese and four species of loons, including several Arctics, but in general the loon migration was disappointing. We managed to see all four species of eiders, including a swimming group of six young male Spectacled that disappeared into the fog. Other notable species included an immature Black-headed and three Slaty-backed Gulls, several Dovekies, two Red-throated Pipits, a good scattering of Bluethroats and Northern Wheatears, several White Wagtails (ocularis), and, on our last day, two Arctic Warblers.
Two other notable highlights were a female Walrus that swam by the Point, with her baby attached to her back, and a pod of Killer Whales (including an adult male with a tall dorsal fin) attacking and killing a Gray Whale right off the Point. We witnessed the rather gruesome close to this spectacle.
The main tour concluded in Nome, where our extension began. On our first day we went out the Teller Road to the turnoff to Wooly Lagoon. Here we were surprised to hear that two Hawfinches were present; we eventually found one, maybe both, of these birds, which were extremely distinctive even in flight. On the drive, we encountered both Willow and Rock Ptarmigan (including a female Rock on the nest); later, near Wooly Lagoon, we had both Black-bellied (isolated nesting area) and Pacific Golden-Plovers. A Short-tailed Weasel made a brief appearance.
The next day we awoke very early for our drive up the Kougarok Road. Along the way we encountered numerous Muskoxen. We started our hike at Coffee Dome early and were rewarded with excellent views of displaying and feeding Bristle-thighed Curlews, along with Whimbrels, Bar-tailed Godwits, and a single male American Golden-Plover. We were even able to coax one pair of Bristle-thighed Curlews down almost to the road.
We also had a close encounter with a Grizzly Bear here that stood up in alarm—then, fortunately, ran away! Later that evening we encountered a stake-out Red-necked Stint at the mouth of the Nome River and another Grizzly Bear at Safety Sound.
On our final day we visited Safety Lagoon after an early morning of rain. Here we finally had excellent views of Aleutian Terns. Also notable were a close flyover Arctic Loon and several Emperor Geese. And farther on, we had exceptional views of an adult, nearly white Gyrfalcon at a nest site.
We returned to Nome for another fine Asian dinner and the trip to the airport for our flight back to Anchorage. After a fog delay, we landed in Anchorage around midnight and after a final breakfast, the tour concluded.
- Jon Dunn
Updated: July 2009