Wildlife Viewing

Near Nome - Safety Sound

Where

Safety Sound is a unique mainland birding hot spot - a remote region of Western Alaska but with road access to the local transportation hub of Nome, which offers a range of visitor services.

How to Get There

Daily jet flights to Nome from Anchorage

Birding Tour Hot Spot

Many commercial birding tours visit Nome, especially in late May when melting ice along the southern Seward Peninsula provides open-water, feeding, and resting areas for migratory birds. Summer offers the chance to see some nesting birds more common to Asia that also nest here.

Highlights

Arctic and subarctic water birds such as scoters, eiders, loons, and harlequin ducks can be found in abundance within the protected bays of Safety Sound. Bristle-thighed curlews and wandering tattlers migrate through and nest on the peninsula. View Nome’s bird check list to see what other species await the adventurous birder.

In the Vicinity

Safety Sound is less than 20 miles from Nome on the Nome-Council Road. It is a little-known, accessible part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Nome itself is rich in Alaska history and culture, both Native and more recent. During the Gold Rush years in the beginning of 1900, Nome was a bustling center of activity. Abandoned gold dredges, a train engine, and mines dot the landscape, and people continue to dredge and pan for gold today.

Last updated:September 8, 2008