Db 3(4)1981

Nome This historical gold city i s situated along the south s ide of the peninsuia.

Several major estuaries and a l arge salt- water l agoon, together with good roads access to the interior mountains , make Nome an ideal birding area . Several taiga species r each their breeding limits here including Tree Swallow I I'i dopI'ocme bicoloI' , Blackpoll Warbier and Wilson' Warbier Wi l sonia pusilla . Several Aleutican (spec i es evolved i n the Bering Sea region) and Palearctic speci es breed in the area and nowhere else in North America .

The greates t diversities of birds in the Nome ' area are found along the immediate coast , associated with estuaries or tundra ponds just inside the beach edges .

The r oad to Council offers gr eat access to these type areas. The first and of ten best stop is at the Nome River mouth, c . 15 km east of town. Park at the bridge and walk the perimeter of the mud-flats . Tidal condi tions vary the numbers of birds present but there are always roosting gul i s , usually Glaucous and Herr ing , and Bl ack-Iegged Kittiwakes . Sometimes in June, Slat y- backed and Sabine ' s Gulls are r ecorded . The local breeding shorebirds ar e well represented here as are Asiatics . Rufous- necked Stint, Great Knot C. tenuiI'os t I'i s ~ld Grey-tailed Tattler have been recorded here in spring. Brants B. be I'ni cla, Emperor and Snow Geese also utilise t he delta during migra t ion . Any of the four eider speci es is possible here as are all three jaeger s. The adj acent coastal tundra and alder thickets are inhabited by redpolls, warblers , Gray- cheeked Thrushes C. minirrrus and Lapland Buntings .

Safety Sound - which is further east on the same road - offers much the same spec i es content as the Nome River but the extensive open water attracts more waterfowl. A large Al eutian Tern colony is located on an islet near the delta .

The inland shoreline of the lagoon is always fi lled with feeding shorebird flocks. Whistling Swans and Sandhill Cr anes use the area i n migration.

The road leading north- east into the int.erior provides access to the mountains and the Kougarok basin and is similar birdwise to Mount McKinley NP. Gyrfalcons , Lesser Golden Plovers , Semipalmated Pl over s, Wandering Tattlers, Say ' s Phoebes Sayo I'nis say a and Fox Sparrows Pas seI'ella iliaca are regular breeders along the st reams or onto the tundra and rocky bluffs. C. 100 km inland is Salmon Lake where YellO\v- billed Loons and scoters nest.

Commercial jet service connects Nome wi t.h Anchorage . Accomodations are quite expens i ve although cheaper rooms are available at the Community Unit.ed Methodist Church Youth Hostel. Car s are availabl e but also quite expensive.

Wa l es About an hour plane ride north of Nome at the ver y western tip of the Smvard Peninsuia is the Eskimo village Wales . There are no commercial accomodation s here but several of the Eskimo families have rooms or spare houses for rent .

Wales is a special serene village which faces the Diomede I sl ands and the Chukotskiy Poluost rov of eastern Siberia , l ess than 150 km away . Immediately behind the village is the immense Wal es Mouta i n, the onl y location in North America where Dotterel s Eudromias mOI'inellus have nested . A day ' s traverse on the mountain might turn up Rock and Baird's Sandpipers , Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers , Snowy Owl s , pipits and Snow Buntings . A small marsh just behind the village is gr eat for close studies of shorebirds including the above mentioned species and Rufous-necked Stint , Pectoral Sandpiper C. melanotos , Black Turnstone and Longbilled Dowitcher L. s colopaceus . From the beaches in front of the house endless flocks of alcids , gulls and waterfowl move by to and from feeding and nesting areas . Weather conditions and closeness of the ice pack influence how close the birds come to shore. Auklets , murres , all four eider species, Emperor Geese, 135