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MIDSUMMER BIRDING COMBINATIONSBirding Focused
In July, the frenetic and fast-paced spring bird migration has ended and resident bird species are defending territories and raising young. It’s also a great time for wildflower enthusiasts with the flora in full bloom. These three trips, offered individually or in combination, are prefect for the birder-naturalist looking for Alaska's many breeding bird species.

KENAI PENINSULA Birding Focused
July 9-11
3 Days - $1,025 - Departure from Anchorage

"The Kenai," as we call it, is a peninsula extending south of Anchorage and surrounded by Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet, the Gulf of Alaska and Resurrection Bay. This trip offers excellent access to alpine tundra, coastal rainforest and dramatic glaciers and fjords in an amazingly compressed road and boat-accessible area.  We can’t cover it all in three days so we’ll concentrate on the eastern side of the peninsula.  We will drive south from Anchorage on Day 1, birding along the way at Portage Glacier, Turnagain Pass and other spots. The Seward highway, a Scenic Byway, lives up to expectations with its spectacular surroundings.  Our destination is the coastal town of Seward on Resurrection Bay. On Day 2, we’ll board a medium-sized tour boat to venture out to Kenai Fjords National Park and the Chiswell Islands, searching for a variety of murrelets, auklets, puffins and other birds as well as marine mammals – sea otters, harbor seals, Dall porpoise, humpback whales, killer whales, and perhaps others.  This boat trip lasts all day (weather permitting) and includes two meals. 

During down-time in Seward on any of the days, we will bird the forests and coastal areas.  We also have the option to visit the Alaska SeaLife Center, a world-class research and education facility.  On Day 3, our drive back to Anchorage will be leisurely, allowing time to hike, bird and explore.  

NOME IIIBirding Focused
July 12-14
3.5 Days- $1,600 - Departure from Anchorage

Nome is a must-do Alaskan birding experience for any birder expanding their North American bird list, and an all-around awesome Alaskan experience for listers and non-listers alike.  Nome, along the western shore of Alaska just south of the Arctic Circle, gets many off-course Siberian migrants rare to North America and is perfectly situated for birding the breeding species of far northern Alaska.  Our birding tour in Nome explores the wide variety of habitats on the Seward Peninsula’s road system to locate an impressive abundance of birds and mammals. In addition, Nome’s gold mining history, Native cultures and its mesmerizing landscapes make for a rich experience. Rarities from Siberia, as well as wonderful residents on territory, keep us busy as we bird the road system, with one moderately strenuous half-day hike to the Bristle-thighed Curlew territory. This is one of the few places the Bristle-thighed Curlew is known to nest and the only place to reliably see them.  We’ve had clients visit Nome with us and go on to Denali and elsewhere, reporting back to us that Nome was by far the highlight of their trip for all the variety and abundance of habitats, birds and mammals it offers.  We stay in a B&B in Nome.

Note: Breakfasts and lunches are included; dinners are taken in local restaurants and are not included in the trip price. 

PRIBILOF ISLANDS IIBirding Focused
July 15-17
3 Days- $2,650 - Departure from Anchorage

The Pribilof Islands of Alaska are a small cluster of volcanic islands located about 250 miles north of the Aleutian Chain and 300 miles west of the Alaska mainland. They are often described as the “Galapagos of the North.”  St. Paul is a top North American birdwatching destination in Alaska and not to be missed. The Pribilofs are the only North American location where the Red-legged Kittiwake can be seen reliably. Other birding opportunities include Red-faced Cormorant, Common and Thick-billed Murres, Parakeet, Least and Crested Auklets, Horned and Tufted Puffins. All of the eiders are possible, as well as many Asiatic shorebirds, waders, waterfowl, passerines and raptors. Rare birds are found here each year during spring migration.

St. Paul Island in Alaska’s Bering Sea is home to millions of seabirds nesting in easily observed colonies along the steep shores of the island. The seabird rookeries have to be seen to be believed! Photographers will revel in the up-close opportunities to photograph the seabird colonies and arctic foxes. As if that weren’t enough, the Pribilof Islands also are one of Alaska’s best birding hotspots for rare Asiatic birds, many blown off course during their migration or dropping in just briefly on their way to other breeding and nesting destinations.  Below St. Paul’s cliffs, the beaches serve as haul-outs and rookeries for thousands of North Pacific Fur Seals. The Aleut culture of the village of St. Paul and the Russian and American history of the Fur Seal harvest and trade are fascinating cultural highlights of this trip.

The advantage of traveling to St. Paul on a WBA trip is that you are traveling as part of a group of sharp-eyed birders with a superb birding guide, maximizing our chances of finding rare birds.  Some of the time we will be with other visitors on the local tour buses, and other times we will be out on the island on our own.  We will use our flexibility as an independent group to make the most of our birding on St. Paul.

We depart for St. Paul in the late morning, arriving on the island mid-afternoon. After checking into the accommodations, we bird as late as we wish to. On our 4-day May trip, we’ll spend the next two and a half days birding until we catch our late afternoon flight back to Anchorage. The July trip will spend 3 days on the island.

Note: meals are not included in the trip price.

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Kenai Cumulative Bird List

Parakeet Auklets - Alaska