A Least Auklet rests on the edge of a cliff. Photo: Gary Rosenberg
As more and more North American birdwatchers have discovered, spring birdwatching in Alaska is an experience to be found nowhere else on this continent. There is first of all the excitement of seeing many species whose North American range is almost exclusively Alaskan, seeing them well and in the case of seabirds in almost overwhelming abundance. Second, there is the distinctly arctic flavor of high-latitude birdwatching at a season of very long days filled with tundra birdsong and, from mid-June on, tundra wildflowers. For the veteran birdwatcher there is island birdwatching at Gambell, where in most years an exciting variety of species from Asia occur. Finally, there is Alaska itself, huge, wild, varied but always beautiful: the icy shores of the Bering Sea and mountainous vastness of the Seward Peninsula.
Day 1: The tour begins at 5:00 pm in Anchorage with a quick dinner. In some years Boreal and Northern Saw-whet Owls have nested near Anchorage, and if they’re present in 2010, we’ll look for them around 6:00 pm. Otherwise we’ll offer optional local birding near the hotel, where we should see a variety of waterfowl and, in some years, White-winged Crossbills. Night in Anchorage.
Day 2: We’ll fly early this morning to Nome and after a short layover, transfer to a smaller aircraft for the 50-minute flight to Gambell. Weather is always a factor in this part of the world, and there is a chance that we won’t be able to continue immediately to Gambell, where the small airstrip requires visual flying conditions.
Gambell is a Yupik village of about 650 inhabitants at the northwestern tip of St. Lawrence Island. It is usually cold (28-40 degrees F) and often overcast; fog, rain, snow, and wind can occur in rapidly changing combinations. The terrain can make the days of walking seem long, but we’ll have motorized transport to reach prized birds quickly. Still, though, one should come to Gambell expecting to do a good deal of walking. Night in Gambell.
“Jon Dunn is the quintessential leader. He is fantastic at bird identification, but he also obviously likes people and treats them individually with attention and humor. The other great thing about the trip was the food. I eat to live and not live to eat, but the quality of these meals made me look forward to them: Rich Hoyer and his enjoyment of cooking was another great addition to the overall success of the tour.”
David Pearson
Days 3-8: Birdwatching at Gambell varies from excellent to incredible, combining the possibility of Asiatic birds with a spectacular passage of seabirds. We’ll also hope to see at least some of the birds that breed locally in western or northern Alaska but nowhere else in North America, such as Red-necked Stint, Bluethroat, Red-throated Pipit and with much good luck McKay’s Bunting. Our days will be spent covering and recovering areas that can harbor strays. Wanderers from Asia often arrive with storms, and so we hope for at least a day of unstable weather. The long list of Asian species we’ve seen during the last 30 years includes Common Greenshank, Green and Terek Sandpipers, Great Knot, Little, Temminck’s, and Long-toed Stints, Common Snipe, Oriental Pratincole, Black-tailed Gull, Common Cuckoo, Sky Lark, Dusky Warbler, Taiga Flycatcher, Siberian Rubythroat, Dusky and Eyebrowed Thrushes, Fieldfare, Stonechat, Gray and White Wagtails, Olive-backed Pipit, Brown Shrike, Rustic Bunting, Brambling, Common Rosefinch, Eurasian Bullfinch, and Hawfinch. We should add that strays also come from the North America side, and that list is nearly as long.
When there are no exotic birds to chase, seawatching from the point is almost always superb: Arctic and Yellow-billed Loons, Emperor Goose, Common, King, Steller’s and sometimes Spectacled Eiders, all three species of jaeger, many gulls, including Slaty-backed and rarely Ivory or Ross’s, and literally hundreds of thousands of alcids including a few local breeding Dovekies pass continuously. Nights in Gambell.
Day 9: This afternoon we’ll fly back to Nome, then continue to Anchorage. Night in Anchorage.
Day 10: Our main tour concludes this morning in Anchorage.
Nome Extension
Day 9 (June 4): Those staying for the Nome Extension will remain in Nome for a three-night stay. Night in Nome.
Days 10 -11: There are several important birdwatching areas around Nome, notably Safety Lagoon and the Kougarok and Teller Roads. These sites may produce Willow and Rock Ptarmigans, Pacific and American Golden-Plovers, Bar-tailed God wit, Aleutian Tern, Northern Shrike, Northern Wheatear, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, and possibly Gyrfalcon or Arctic Warbler. If it’s open, we’ll spend one day at or near the north end of the Kougarok Road looking for Bluethroat and Bristle-thighed Curlew, both of which breed here. It’s a long drive but the vast tundra and mountain scenery would make the day memorable even without the presence of two of North America’s rarest breeding birds. This area is also home to the Grizzly Bear and an introduced population of the prehistoric looking Muskox, both of which we’ll hope to see. Nights in Nome.]]>
Day 12: In the evening we’ll fly back to Anchorage. Night in Anchorage.
Day 13: The Nome extension concludes this morning in Anchorage.
Pribilofs Extension *
Days 13-14: Our Pribilofs tour begins the morning of Day 13 in Anchorage when we’ll depart for our flight to the village of St. Paul in the Pribilof Islands. Here we’ll have ample time to discover the richness of a Bering Sea seabird colony. The auk family is thought to have evolved in this region, and looking at the thousands of Common and Thick-billed Murres, Horned and Tufted Puffins, and Parakeet, Crested, and Least Auklets, one has little trouble believing the theory. Add in Northern Fulmar, Red-faced Cormorant, and the near-endemic Red-legged Kittiwake, and the sum is an extraordinary display.
Our visit to St. Paul will concentrate on the nesting species, but in early to mid-June we can also hope for late migrants and perhaps a rarity or two. Our previous tours to St. Paul at this season have recorded Common Pochard, Red-necked Stint, Common Snipe, Eyebrowed Thrush, Olive-backed Pipit, Siberian Rubythroat, and Hawfinch. In addition to the birds, Northern Fur Seals are easily viewed from blinds. Nights in St. Paul.
Day 15: After a final morning at St. Paul, we’ll return to Anchorage in the late afternoon, where the Pribilofs tour concludes in the evening.
Updated: 11 July 2010
Prices
- 2011 Tour Price $5,650
- Single Occupancy Supplement $340
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- 2011 Nome Extension Price $1,300
- Single Occupancy Supplement $220
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- 2011 Pribilofs Extension $2,100
- Single Occupancy Supplemen $140
Notes
* Gavin Bieber will lead the Pribilofs extension. Participants interested in the Pribilofs may wish to consider our longer Pribilofs tour, May 21-26, 2011 which can be combined seamlessly with Alaska: Gambell.
Rich Hoyer will be our cook at Gambell.
This tour is limited to 18 participants with three leaders. Single occupancy may not be available at Gambell. Please note that the Extension prices indicated above are valid only if taken with the main tour; please contact the WINGS office for prices without the main tour.