We could hire four-wheeler from Larry (thanks again). The land is so flat you have to drive quite away from Atqasuk. We found a nice camping spot north of the village, not far from the Mead River. As Dutchmen we are accustomed to a flat country. It looks flat and empty, but there is a lot to see. The birds were quite active, we were very lucky that the mosquito's were still absent!

It was good guess to go to Atqasuk, nobody could tell us anything about birding over there. We tried to get an impression of the breeding waders in the area (about 10 km2):

A=abundant, B=quite a few, C=only some, D=1 or 2

B Dunlin
B Western Sandpiper
A Semi-palmated Sandpiper (I saw one last week in Holland, the third one as far as I know)
B Grey plover (at last, a good place for the species, nice pictures)
B Lessser-Golden Plover
C Red-necked Phalarope
B Red Phalarope
C Pectoral Sandpiper
C Long-billed Dowitcher
D Buff-breasted Sandpiper
and possibly 1 Bar-tailed Godwit

The place to dig the rock that burns

Bread with chocolate chips

Tent: Lowland Trailrunner

She was mad on us!

Next page: A cup of coffee in Wainright

Alaska 1997

Previous page: Birding in Barrow

Back to our homepage