Last Morning in Nome
Saturday, June 20th: After breakfast, we headed out Council Road. Our first new bird was a Say's Phoebe. Near Cape Nome, we saw another Slaty-backed Gull, a couple of Spotted Seals, and some flyby Black Scoters. Further out, we encountered a Eurasian Wigeon among a flock of wigeon and pintail, and a distant bird that appeared to be an Arctic Loon.
Back to Anchorage
Then it was back to Nome to check out and get our boarding passes. We then went to Subway to get some sandwiches for the plane. We were delayed briefly by the parade for the Midnight Sun Fesitival. Then it was back to the airport to wait for our flight to Anchorage.
In Anchorage, we had a break in the afternoon. I took a short nap (birding made sleep hard to come by in Nome). Then we gathered for dinner. We made a short detour to catch up with some White-winged Crossbills that Brennan had spotted earlier. Then we went to dinner at Jen's.
Westchester Lagoon
After dinner we visited Westchester Lagoon. On the way, I added Rock Pigeon. The cast of characters was changing during the short time we visited Westchester Lagoon. Our first new bird was Barrow's Goldeneye, soon followed by a Canvasback. Down at the far end, a Bonaparte's Gull was perched. We found a second one, flying, while looking down there. While this was happening, the Hudsonian Godwits arrived, with some Short-billed Dowitchers. It after 10pm and already past time to go, so we called it a night.
I ended the day with 50 species of bird. This brought by trip total to 130 species of bird including 3 lifers. One new mammal brought the mammal count to 11.
Holiday Inn Express, Anchorage