The third ‘major highway’ out of Nome leads northwest towards Teller. A major attraction of this road is that it passes through alpine tundra and allows easy access to a couple of higher ridges. We headed out here early on the morning of June 5 with the goal of finding Red Knot, Surfbird, Ruddy Turnstone and Rock Sandpiper on their breeding grounds. In addition, there were several other breeding shorebird species along the highway. We kept an eye open for raptors, as we had yet to see Rough-legged Hawk on the trip, and were rewarded with two different birds soon after getting started. Crossing the wet tundra prior to reaching the higher ridges, we found a number of breeding shorebirds, with both American and Pacific Golden-Plovers, Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit being seen. We had a brief flight view of the only Eastern Yellow Wagtail of the trip. Pacific Golden-plover We got a bit concerned when the rear passenger-side wheel began to make some pretty horrible noises. However, ...
This blog covers my sightings of birds and other wildlife, mostly from the Goleta area, on the southern Central Coast of California, but also from my regular travels elsewhere, primarily to North America, including Mexico, and Europe. You can contact me via: nlethaby@gmail.com if you have any questions.