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Proof positive of the success of our search for the tour's main target: the gorgeous, enigmatic little Ross's Gull. Photo by participant Peter Relson.

In three full days of birding (and some additional time on the bookending days), we came to know the town of Barrow, the US’s northernmost community, quite well. From the base of Point Barrow to the gravel mine south of the airport, from the Chukchi Sea to the open country on Cake Eater Road, we got familiar with what was present in early October. The avifauna of the region is admittedly limited, but it makes up for this in its overall quality! Imagine: somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 Snowy Owls were lined up along Cake Eater Road and actively gorging on lemmings (as were local Arctic Foxes!). Flocks of Long-tailed Ducks and three species of eiders winged west past Point Barrow as they headed out of the Arctic Ocean towards the Bering Sea or the Pacific, where open water would persist through the darkness of winter. Loons passed overhead, including the all-too-rare Yellow-billed Loon, which is so rare most places! And, of course, we enjoyed the movement of more than 200 Ross’s Gulls as they headed east into the Beaufort Sea to take advantage of some as-yet unknown food source there.

Other birds of interest were present too: our last morning, what is likely Alaska’s fourth state record of Great Black-backed Gull was found and we enjoyed views of it. Other gulls mixed with the mass of Glaucous Gulls that crowded the northern end of the community, including a rare Herring, and a hybrid “Nelson’s”. Black-legged Kittiwakes joined the Ross’s Gulls flying past the point, Common and Hoary redpolls descended on the one bird feeding station in town (along with a strangely out of place Pine Siskin on two days) and a few Black Brant, showing signs of being hunting casualties, lingered on the shores of the Beaufort Sea.

Another event was in full swing while we visited Barrow: the annual Bowhead Whale hunt! This traditional hunt, carried out by the Inupiat people, who have survived on the cold, barren wastelands of the Arctic Ocean shores for millennia using this food source, is perhaps hard for those of us from more temperate climes (and well-stocked supermarkets) to understand. Still, it was awe-inspiring to see the Bowheads so close in front of us, and also to see how meticulously the Inupiats remove all useful parts of the carcass and save it for winter. A remarkable scene, to be sure!

The short autumn days and cold temperatures (already hinting at the winter days to come) reminded us that we were north of the Arctic Circle. A month or so after our tour, the number of birds around Barrow will drop considerably as the Arctic Ocean freezes up (and all the gulls move elsewhere) and the days grow ever shorter. It was a treat to see these phenomena in action, and to get to share them with all of you! We hope you enjoyed the tour as much as we did, and that we’ll see you with binoculars in hand (and perhaps fewer layers) on another tour!

Good birding! -- Dan and Dave

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 23 bird taxa and 4 mammal taxa