Alaska: Nome, Utqiaġvik, Kenai Fjords & St. Paul Island

Highlights of Alaska: Nome, Utqiaġvik, Kenai Fjords & St. Paul Island

• Ultimate Alaska birding tour!
• Nome, Utqiaġvik, Kenai Fjords & St. Paul Island
• Exceptional wildlife-watching experiences!
• Fantastic photography opportunities!
• Peak of the nesting season!

Description of Alaska: Nome, Utqiaġvik, Kenai Fjords & St. Paul Island

This 18-day birding and wildlife adventure is the trip of a lifetime! We will visit many of Alaska’s most wild places at the peak of the summer nesting season – Nome to the West, Utqiaġvik (Barrow) to the North, Anchorage and the Kenai Fjords to the South, and St. Paul Island in the Pribolofs – far out in the Bering Sea!

This is truly a bucket-list opportunity for wildlife enthusiasts. Anchorage will serve as our base between excursions to remote outposts, each with their own collection of special target species – many of which we will see engaged in courtship and breeding behavior! We thoroughly cover four major eco-regions of the state, targeting the best wildlife each destination has to offer! The scenery and photo opportunities will be superb every day of the trip! This is the land of the midnight sun, and we will pack each day with many hours out in the field – but there will also be opportunities to sit out a morning, afternoon, or evening excursion if you need to catch up on sleep!

Anchorage. As the largest city in Alaska, Anchorage will be our hub for branching out to the more remote regions of the state. Nestled between Cook Inlet and the Chugach Mountains, Anchorage features several forested city parks and reserves that we will visit for target species including Canada Jay, Varied Thrush, Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, Northern Goshawk, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Alder Flycatcher, Black-billed Magpie, Violet-green Swallow, ‘Sooty’ Fox Sparrow, Swainson’s Thrush, and White-winged Crossbill. Westchester Lagoon and Potter Marsh provide good introductions to the breeding waterbirds of this region including Short-billed Gull, Red-necked Grebe, Trumpeter Swan, Hudsonian Godwit, Common Loon, Arctic Tern, ‘Lesser’ Sandhill Crane, and various waterfowl. Beyond the birds, we may also encounter Moose, American Black Bear, Beluga Whale, and Dall’s Sheep! A day trip north to Hatcher Pass may offer sightings of White-tailed Ptarmigan, Hoary Marmot, Collared Pika, and Arctic Ground Squirrels.

Nome. There are daily flights from Anchorage to this remote western outpost along the southern coast of the Seward Peninsula. This region is characterized by vast lowland tundra broken up by patches of drier, upland tussocks, lagoons, and scrubby creeks. Two dirt roads reach inland to the north and west, while a third road stretches east down the coastline. We will spend a day exploring each of these routes. Top bird targets in Nome include Gyrfalcon, American and Pacific Golden-Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwit, Aleutian Tern, Golden Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, ‘Black’ Brant, Cackling Goose, Harlequin Duck, Stejneger’s Scoter, Tundra Swan, Long-tailed Jaeger, Glaucous Gull, Slaty-backed Gull, Wandering Tattler, Surfbird, Red Knot, Black Turnstone, Bluethroat, Northern Wheatear, Arctic Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Blackpoll Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Wilson’s Warbler, both White and Eastern Yellow Wagtails, Arctic Warbler, Lapland Longspur, ‘Red’ Fox Sparrow, and Hoary Redpoll. Both Willow and Rock Ptarmigan are possible. A major target here in Nome is the rare Bristle-thighed Curlew which have been found nesting in the center of the peninsula and will require a two- or three-mile hike over the tundra to view. Most of the birding will, however, be done from along the roadsides. We will enjoy comfortable accommodations right along the coast. Specialty mammals include Muskox, American Beaver, Arctic Ground Squirrel, and Red Fox.

Utqiaġvik/Barrow. The far-northern outpost of Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) is where Alaska’s North Slope meets the Arctic Ocean. Our flight from Anchorage will take us over the Brooks Range and more than 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle! This small town is literally at the edge of the World, looking out over the Arctic Ocean. The landscape is fractured into giant polygons of flat tundra, with scattered lagoons and gritty beaches. Utqiaġvik is loaded with hundreds of breeding shorebirds and waterfowl, including two of the most sought-after ducks in North America – Spectacled Eider and Steller’s Eider! We are likely to encounter Greater White-fronted Goose, Red-throated, Pacific, and Yellow-billed Loons, King Eider, Pectoral and Baird’s Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitcher, Red Phalarope, Glaucous Gull, Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers, Sabine’s Gull, Snowy Owl, Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, and both Common and Hoary Redpolls. Much of the birding here will be along the roadsides, with short hikes across the tundra. We may be able to take a special trip out to Point Barrow to search for Polar Bears if conditions are suitable, but can also search for them from town. Various arctic seal species, Bowhead Whale, and Arctic Fox may be seen too! The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas meet at Point Barrow, and can still be locked in with ice at this time of year. Be prepared for cold temperatures (20 to 40°F) and soggy tundra during our stay.

Seward & Kenai Fjords National Park. The crown jewel of the many scenic regions in southern Alaska is the rugged Kenai Fjords National Park on the southeast side of the Kenai Peninsula, a few hours south of Anchorage. This massive maritime park protects seabird nesting colonies that host many thousands of alcids, cormorants, and kittiwakes. The shear number of seabirds, the abundance of marine mammals, and exceptional views of snow-covered mountain peaks and blue glaciers all combine to make this area a tour highlight! Small-group boat tours are the ultimate way to view the regions nesting seabirds and mammals. We’ll be taking an adventurous 10-hour privately chartered boat trip out of Seward and into the fjords that will allow us up-close views of Pelagic and Red-faced Cormorants, Surf and White-winged Scoters, Harlequin Duck, Black Oystercatcher, Black-legged Kittiwake, Common and maybe Thick-billed Murres, Pigeon Guillemot, Parakeet and Rhinoceros Auklets, Marbled, Ancient, and Kittlitz’s Murrelets, Sabine’s Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, and both Horned and Tufted Puffins. Humpback Whales, Dall’s Porpoise, Steller’s Sea Lion, and other marine mammals may be encountered! Lucky groups may also seen Orcas (Killer Whales) or American Black Bears! Lunch will be provided on board. These sheltered, glacier bays are often quite calm but there are a few rough stretches of open water, especially near Cape Aialik. The spruce and hemlock forests in the Seward area are quintessential of southeastern Alaska, and home to a few specialty birds we will target including Rufous Hummingbird, American Dipper, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Steller’s Jay, Pine Grosbeak, Townsend’s Warbler, ‘Sooty’ Song Sparrow, and Pacific Wren.

St. Paul Island. This remote island lies 770 miles west of Anchorage in the middle of the Bering Sea and has recently exploded in popularity among birders, naturalists, and those interested in Native American culture. There are four islands which make up the Pribilof chain, and St. Paul Island has the most comfortable accommodations (with shared bathroom facilities), plenty of good food, and excellent local guides. The diversity of rare nesting seabirds on the island is a major draw in addition to the rich potential for vagrant birds from both Asia and America to pop up during spring migration! Red-legged Kittiwake, Thick-billed Murre, both Black and Pigeon Guillemots, Ancient Murrelet, Parakeet Auklet, Least Auklet, Crested Auklet, Rhinocerous Auklet, Horned and Tufted Puffins all nest on the island! An impressive list of Eurasian vagrants have been found in spring including some heavy hitters like Smew, Common and Oriental Cuckoos, Lesser Sand Plover, Ruff, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, and dozens of potential songbird strays. This small island also has endemic subspecies of Rock Sandpiper, Pacific Wren, and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch in addition to potential for a rare McKay’s Bunting. The World’s largest concentration of breeding Northern Fur Seals occurs here, and we’ll be able to visit a few rookeries on St. Paul’s rocky beaches. The island has a variety of habitats to explore including wetlands, grassy tundra, ancient lava flows, and idyllic seaside cliffs. Introduced Reindeer and an endemic form of Arctic Fox may be seen! Flights in and out of St. Paul Island are extremely dependent on the weather, so we have planned this portion for the end of the tour in case we are delayed returning to Anchorage. We highly recommend purchasing flexible tickets for your flight home from Anchorage in the event of flight delays!