Day 1: Arrival in Anchorage

After arriving in Alaska’s largest city, a shuttle will transfer you to our local hotel for the night.

 

Day 2: Anchorage to Seward

After breakfast, we will head south for the 130 mile (205 km) drive to the small town of Seward, situated at the head of Resurrection Bay on the Kenai Peninsula. The exact sites we stop at along the way vary from year to year based on local information, and we often include a visit to sites in or near Anchorage too. Along the way, mammals may feature like ivory-colored Dall’s Sheep at the intriguingly-named Beluga Point, and Hoary Marmot at the Lilly-laden Turnagain Pass, the latter of which may have recently emerged from hibernation. Once in Seward, we will drop into some local yard feeders, which can host Red Crossbill in some years, as well as Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, ‘Sooty’ Fox Sparrow, and the continent’s northernmost breeding hummingbird, the Rufous Hummingbird. Two nights will be spent in the scenic town of Seward, where the harbor is dramatically backed by a chain of snow-dusted peaks, part of the Kenai Mountain Chain.

 

Day 3: Kenaij Fjords Cruise

Much of the day will be spent on a large boat traveling through Resurrection Bay, and taking in three different glaciers, including the furthest of these from Seward, the magical Northwestern Glacier, the stronghold for the rare and local Kittlitz’s Murrelet. This cruise is likely to provide one of the standout days of the tour early on, for it has everything; dramatic glaciers, large animals like Humpback Whales, Steller’s Sea-Lions and Sea Otters, and a fascinating set of pelagic and seabirds, like Harlequin Ducks, Surf Scoters, Black Oystercatcher, Marbled and Ancient Murrelets (the latter a scarcity), Pigeon Guillemot, Thick-billed and Common Murres, and Rhinoceros Auklet. A second night will be spent in Seward.

 

Day 4: Seward to Anchorage

We'll begin the morning in the boreal forests within Chugach National Forest and Lowell Point, searching for specialties, like Boreal and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Gray and Steller’s Jays, Brown Creeper, Pacific Wren, Townsend’s Warbler, Varied Thrush, and (if we are lucky), maybe a White-winged Crossbill (erratic), an American Three-toed Woodpecker, or a Spruce Grouse. On the return journey to Anchorage we will make several stops too, at Potter Marsh just off the highway for breeding Arctic Terns, Mew Gulls, burnt-red Short-billed Dowitchers, singing Lincoln’s Sparrows, and perhaps the odd Moose. Also, we may find time to stop in at Westchester Lagoon, where Red-necked Grebes are usually photogenic as well as abundant, and also sometimes hosts Hudsonian Godwit. We will spend another night in our Anchorage hotel.

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Day 5: Anchorage to Nome

In the morning we will fly out of Anchorage, journeying northwest to Nome on the Seward Peninsula of western Alaska. Just three roads fan out from Nome (to Teller to the northwest, to the Kougarok River to the north, and to Council to the northeast); each around 70 miles long, which will be where our birding will be focused. We will arrive in time for our first exploration of the area, with plentiful daylight in the Land of the Midnight Sun after all! Four nights will be spent in Nome, searching for breeding or rare shorebirds, terns, and loons; watching sky-dancing jaegers, tracking down breeding Asian-influenced songbirds, and watching for nesting raptors.

 

Days 6-8: Nome

We will have three full days to explore this fascinating birding area, which is rightly a pilgrimage that nearly every North American birder should make, for the rare birds to be able to add to your ABA list. However, it also appeals to all other visitors to, as there is much more besides rare and local North American species. The Council Road is arguably the most widely celebrated of the three roads that span out from town, which passes first the Nome River, often a site of breeding Aleutian Terns, then rapidly reaches Safety Sound, (which is flanked by Norton Sound on the seaward side). This is a hotspot for shorebirds, gulls and loons in particular. Of particular interest will be the seaward side for the chance at the scarce Arctic Loon (one of five species of loon possible on the trip, or simply put, all of the World’s species); while any coastal area and inland ponds are packed with shorebirds, which could include Surfbird and Black Turnstone, and is the site for regular (though not guaranteed) early summer sightings of Red-necked Stints, which are thought to breed in the area in very small numbers. Safety Sound is also a regular place for congregations of gulls, largely Glaucous Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes, but also a regular spot for stray Slaty-backed or Vega Gulls too. Western Sandpipers in gorgeous breeding plumage are also likely in this area.  Spots in the tundra off of this road can also produce a rare American breeder, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, as well as regular sightings of the graceful thief, the Long-tailed Jaeger, which robs local birds of their catch for a living. Moving further along the road, the ponds and inlets give way to tundra and picturesque rocky hills. At one of the highpoints, the scenic Skookum Pass, cryptically-patterned Surfbirds can be found breeding in some years, while the rocks themselves play host to singing male Northern Wheatears. Lapland Longspurs will be seen regularly proclaiming their piece of Arctic land, and we will be checking bridges and rock outcrops for bundles of sticks revealing any nesting raptors; Golden Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks and Gyrfalcons all breed in this area annually. Near the end of the road, it enters into patches of boreal forest, where Blackpoll, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) and Orange-crowned Warblers, Boreal Chickadees, Varied Thrushes, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets all breed. The Teller Road, that heads out westwards, terminates at Teller as the name betrays, where White Wagtails can be found breeding in some years, but cannot be expected every tour! Other specialties along this road include, rusted breeding Bar-tailed Godwits, Red Knots, and Rock Sandpipers. Black-bellied Plovers are stunning in full breeding dress and also breed in this area annually in small numbers. Other possibilities along there include American Golden-Plovers on the drier high ground (Pacific Golden-Plovers are also found around Nome, but in the wetter lower areas, and valleys between the high points), and Northern Wheatears breeding among the more sparsely grassed, rockier areas. This population comprises of the longest distance migrant songbird/passerine on the planet; following their breeding cycle in Alaska, the wheatears travel through Siberia and Asia and end up in Africa for the winter, a distance of some 8,700 miles (14,000km)! Lastly, comes the Kougarok Road, which has one of the most revered sites on the itinerary, the ‘Coffee Dome’, which is home to small numbers of breeding Bristle-thighed Curlew, which requires both a hike and luck to see. The same site is also home to breeding ‘Hudsonian’ Whimbrel and American Golden-Plover. This road is also arguably the best of the three to track down other key target species like displaying Bluethroats, which toss themselves in the air off of the bushes in the early mornings, and Arctic Warblers, which can be abundant in the taller scrub along this dirt road. Other birds we will seek in the area will be Golden-crowned and ‘Red’ Fox Sparrows, while breeding Wilson’s Warblers are abundant in the area, as are both species of redpoll (Mealy and Hoary/Arctic). These three nights will be spent at a birder-friendly hotel in Nome, with a bird log right at reception!

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Day 9: Nome to Anchorage

After much of the day returning to where we need to, we will take an afternoon flight back to Anchorage, where we will return to our now familiar hotel for another single night.

 

Day 10: Anchorage to Barrow

On this morning we will take a long flight north, deep into the Arctic, to the unique town of Barrow (or ‘Utqiagvik’ in local language) right at the Top of the World. The wet tundra and icescapes around town are home to some special breeding species, so three nights will be spent in Barrow.

 

Days 11-12: Barrow

Two full days will be spent in Barrow, with plentiful extra time on both our arrival and departure days to make the most out of it. Among the most wanted birds in Barrow are ducks, and eiders in particular with Spectacled, Steller’s and King Eiders all key targets during our time there. There are plentiful breeding shorebirds here too, which are typically confiding and photogenic, as are many species in Alaska with persistence. Dunlin are numerous, as are Pectoral Sandpiper, perhaps the most impressive of them all. If you think you have seen a Pectoral Sandpiper already, you have probably not really seen one like this. In spring, their plumage is transformed, with bold arrows stitched tightly across their pumped chests, and the males make attention-grabbing, low display flights while uttering a low booming call, which is characteristic of the tundra around Barrow. Phalaropes are also plentiful, with both Red-necked and Red Phalaropes both often seen in numbers of hundreds in a day, and so confiding you can sometimes get the tip of your boot in the same photo! We’ll also check for Snowy Owls along the Cake Eater Road, which also hosts Short-eared Owls too. Off of Point Barrow we will scope the sea ice, which stretches well into the distance, as occasionally a Polar Bear wanders nearer town, although we still need patience and a dose of good fortune to find one. Other birds we are likely to see around Barrow include Hoary Redpoll, large numbers of Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs, and breeding Pacific Loons, in their gorgeous velvety breeding plumage at this time of year. These two nights will also be spent in Barrow. 

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Day 13: Barrow to Anchorage

After a final morning, taking ever more photos of the many photogenic birds of Barrow, we will fly south back to Anchorage for a final night.

Day 14: Departure from Anchorage

A hotel shuttle will be provided to take you to the airport for whenever you need it for your flights out.

Introduction: St. Paul is a small volcanic island in the chain of the Pribilofs, famed amongst birders and naturalists for three things; a huge population of breeding seabirds, a known hotspot for North American rarities during spring and fall, the largest single population of Northern Fur-Seals on the planet. The main one of these that is central to this extension being offered, are the seabirds. While just 500 people on an island just over 7 miles (11km) wide and 13 miles (21km) long, in some years estimates of above a quarter of a million seabirds come to cover the cliffs and nest there too. Among these is a stellar selection of pelagic birds, with key species including Red-legged Kittiwake (easy in the Pribilofs but nowhere else), Tufted and Horned Puffins, Crested, Parakeet and Least Auklets, Thick-billed and Common Murres, Northern Fulmars, and Red-faced Cormorants. The most common bird species on St. Paul is the Rock Sandpiper, and just four songbirds nest on this rocky landmass that is covered in an attractive blanket of lilac-colored lupines in this season, the most interesting of which are a large, dark distinct race of Pacific Wren, and a similarly bulky version of the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. The seabird species are not only attractive in terms of getting them on a life list, but the St. Paul experience is so much more than this; seeing these birds exceptionally well, time and again. So, for bird photographers it is one of those bucket list destinations, where full framers of birds like Tufted Puffin and Crested Auklet make this an extremely rewarding destination.

 

Day 1: Anchorage to St. Paul

A late morning/early afternoon flight (schedules are not yet known) will take us far to the west (750 air miles from Anchorage), out into the Bering Sea and onto some of the most famous islands in all of American birding. Our base will be the tiny island of St. Paul, home to some of the largest seabird nesting colonies on the planet, where we’ll spend three nights. Three nights, including two full days, will be spent on the island.

 

Days 2-3: St. Paul, Pribilofs

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Day 4: St. Paul to Anchorage

An afternoon flight will return you to Anchorage. Many flights depart anchorage late evening or very early AM, but you may wish to have a spare day in Anchorage in case of any travel delays between St. Paul and Anchorage. 

 

*PLEASE NOTE: The extension is run by a local operator on St. Paul Island. The package includes roundtrip airfare from Anchorage to St. Paul as well as a local bird guide, meals, and ground transport while on St. Paul. As the package already includes a local bird guide, a Tropical Birding tour leader normally does not accompany the group.