I was in Nome June 2-4 trying to get a good look at one of my 8 remaining unseen ABA Code 2 birds, the lovely Bluethroat.  Bluethroats are found primarily in Asia and Europe, but western Alaska sees a fair number of breeders there during the brief spring and summer.  I have seen Bluethroats in India, but never in North America.  Two prior visits to Nome late in June had failed to produce a view, although other birds were plentiful.  This trip was a success, producing number 730 for my North American count.

Nome in early June, at least this early June, was crowded with birders and fisheries people, who were having their annual convention there.  I was lucky to find a vehicle to rent and a room to stay in. (Phone calls a few days before my arrival indicated everything was taken).   A local tour guide, Richard Benville, whom I have worked with in the past when I was in Nome, was extremely helpful on both counts, and with his help I was able to rent an F-150 and drive where I wished, and to sleep in nice quarters, one night at the Nugget and one night at the relatively new Dredge 7.

My top priority, of course, was to see Bluethroats.  On the morning of the third I started driving the Kougarok road. The weather was cool and foggy.   At mile 22.8, I spotted a Bluethroat male, perching up on a small bush and was able to scope it for a few seconds before it dove into the underbrush.  Soon it flew up, accompanied by what I believe was a female Bluethroat, and displayed briefly in the air before again disappearing.  Continuing along the road, just before the bridge over the Grand Central River, my luck improved even more when a Bluethroat male made its way along the edge of the road, and was most cooperative in staying visible for quite a long time.  The bird is even more beautiful than the pictures that I have seen would have led me to believe.  I did not take pictures, but anyone wishing to see pictures of Bluethroats can do so by Googling “Bluethroat” and going to Wikipedia, which also contains a nice summary of its ornithological status.