Mt. Denali and the Alaska Range. Photo: Sam Alexander
This midsummer tour is designed for those who may not be able to travel to Alaska in early summer when most birdwatching tours are scheduled. Augmented by young of the year, bird numbers will be at their peak, and with a little bit of effort we should see most of the specialty birds Alaska has to offer. First we’ll travel to Homer and Seward on the Kenai Peninsula where we’ll see immense numbers of nesting seabirds as well as migrating shorebirds and many southeastern Alaska specialties. Next we’ll visit magnificent Denali National Park and the scenic Denali Highway. We’ll end the tour with a three-night visit to Nome where we should find many arctic nesting birds and the beginnings of fall migration as waterbirds, shorebirds and passerines concentrate on the coast.
Day 1: The tour begins at 6 p.m. in Anchorage. Night in Anchorage.
Day 2: This morning we’ll begin by birding locally in the Anchorage area looking particularly for shorebirds at Westchester Lagoon. Migration will be in full swing and we are likely to see large numbers of yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitchers, Hudsonian Godwits and peep such as Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers. We also have a good chance for Surfbird. In the late morning we’ll depart for Homer on the Kenai Peninsula. Along the way we’ll pass several lakes where we may see Trumpeter Swan and Barrow’s Goldeneye, and we’ll watch the edge of the road for family groups of Spruce Grouse. In the Homer area, especially the Homer Spit, we should see large concentrations of migrating waterbirds and shorebirds. From the spit we may see Short-tailed Shearwater and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel and a variety of gulls, loons, grebes, scoters and alcids. We’ll look particularly for Marbled and Kittlitz’s Murrelets and we should find Harlequin Duck as well. Night in Homer.
Day 3: This morning we’ll again bird along the Homer Spit before taking a three-hour boat trip in Kachemak Bay where we’ll likely see large numbers of Short-tailed Shearwater, huge flock of scoters, our first looks at Horned and Tufted Puffins, Kittlitz’s Murrelet and Aleutian Tern. Later we’ll depart for the other side of the Kenai Peninsula and the city of Seward, searching along the way for Spruce Grouse which frequent some of the campgrounds. In the forest near Seward we’ll look for many of the southeastern Alaska specialties including Rufous Hummingbird, Steller’s Jay, Varied Thrush, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Townsend’s Warbler and Pine Grosbeak. Along the shore of Resurrection Bay we’re likely to see numerous waterbirds including Harlequin Duck, Common Merganser, Marbled Murrelet, Pigeon Guillemot and a variety of gulls including Mew and Glaucous-winged. Night in Seward.
Day 4: We’ll spend the entire day on a boat trip on Resurrection Bay with visits to Kenai Fjords National Park and the Chiswell Islands. We’ll stop at several large seabird colonies that support vast numbers of Tufted and Horned Puffins, Common and Thick-billed Murres and Pigeon Guillemots. We’ll see huge numbers of Marbled Murrelets and may even find a Kittlitz’s near one of the glaciers. There should also be rafts of Rhinoceros Auklets as well as a chance for Ancient Murrelet, Short-tailed Shearwater and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel as we make the crossing back from the Chiswell Islands. A variety of marine mammals are possible as well including Humpback Whale, the magnificent Orca, Steller’s Sea Lion, Harbor Seal, Dall’s Porpoise and Sea Otter. We’ll motor our boat so close to a glacier that we’ll be able to feel the concussion as large chunks of ice calve off its face. Night in Seward.
“The whole Midsummer Alaska experience was wonderful; not just the birding but the Kenai Fjords boat trip and the Denali Park tour. I can’t afford to go on many tours, but considering the cost of everything, I felt that it was worth every bit of the fee I paid. Gary’s services and expertise were invaluable.”
Rebecca Gracey, New Mexico
Day 5: In the morning we’ll leave the Seward area for Denali. Although our drive is long it passes through some breathtaking scenery as we get closer to the vast Alaska Range and Mount McKinley. North of Talkeetna we’ll drive by many lakes and rivers where we are likely to see a variety of waterfowl including Common Loon, Red-necked Grebe, Trumpeter Swan, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Greater and Lesser Scaup and an assortment of puddle ducks. Along the rivers we may find American Dipper and in the large expanse of black spruce forest we will have our first opportunities for Bohemian Waxwing, Northern Shrike and White-winged Crossbill. We’ll spend the afternoon birding along the beginning of the Denali Highway just before we get to Denali National Park. Here we’ll look for a number of species that breed in Alaska’s interior including Gray-cheeked Thrush, Arctic and Blackpoll Warblers, Northern Waterthrush, American Tree, Fox and Golden-crowned Sparrows and Common Redpoll. On the many lakes and ponds we are likely to see a variety of ducks including White-winged Scoter and possibly more swans, and in the tops of spruce trees we may spot Lesser Yellowlegs. Several species of shorebirds nest along the highway and we’ll have a chance of finding Upland Sandpiper, here near the northwest limit of its range.. In the evening we’ll return to our hotel outside of Denali National Park. Night near Denali National Park.
Days 6-7: Denali National Park is closed to most automobile traffic. A series of shuttle buses run about every 30 minutes to points within the park, a complete round trip taking about eight hours. We’ll use these buses to visit areas that interest us. Our main objectives here are scenery and large mammals such as Grizzly Bear, Dall Sheep and Moose but we’ll watch for both Willow and Rock Ptarmigans, Gyrfalcon and Golden Eagle. It should be said that we probably won’t see the mountain from the park. Mount McKinley is so colossal that it creates its own weather, usually bad, and clouds typically obscure all but the lowest slopes. Our best views may come as we drive up from Anchorage or, strangely enough, on our flights to and from Nome.
On one day we’ll leave Denali early and bird the splendid Denali Highway, a well-graded dirt road that runs east for 130 miles through near wilderness. Here we’ll look for birds such as Trumpeter Swan, Upland Sandpiper, Northern Hawk Owl, Arctic Warbler and Smith’s Longspur. The scenery along this highway is magnificent as the road passes from boreal forest to tundra against the backdrop of the Alaska Range. Nights near Denali National Park.
Day 8: After a final morning in the Denali area, we’ll drive back to Anchorage. If we haven’t already seen Northern Hawk Owl this will be our chance. We’ll arrive in Anchorage in time for dinner. Night in Anchorage.
Days 9-11: In the morning we’ll fly to Nome, our base for the next three days. Nome is on the southwest shore of the Seward Peninsula which juts into the Bering Sea. It is a beautifully scenic area with vast expanses of rolling tundra, willow-lined streams rushing out of rugged snow-covered mountains, and large open-water lagoons, and we’ll have plenty of time to explore the numerous interesting birding areas. We’ll make at least a few visits to Safety Lagoon where we are likely to see large numbers of Arctic and Aleutian Terns as well as various arctic species including Red-throated and Pacific Loons, Common Eider, Black Scoter, American and Pacific Golden-Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwit, Glaucous and Sabine’s Gulls and Long-tailed and Parasitic Jaegers. In late July migration is at its peak and it is possible to see a wide variety of ducks, geese, shorebirds and gulls and perhaps even rare species such as Eurasian Wigeon, King Eider, Arctic Loon, Red-necked Stint or Slaty-backed Gull. Numerous passerines will be migrating as well including EasternYellow Wagtail and Arctic Warbler, sometimes in impressive numbers, and we may see Northern Wheatear, Bluethroat and White Wagtail. Both Gyrfalcon, which nests locally, and Snowy Owl are possibilities on the coast this time of year. Willow and Rock Ptarmigans will be in family groups and possibly numerous. Nights in Nome.
Day 12: After a final day of birding in the Nome area we’ll take an evening flight back to Anchorage. Night in Anchorage.
Day 13: The tour concludes this morning in Anchorage.
Updated: 09 April 2006
Prices
- 2007 price about $5,240
- Single Occupancy Supplement $1,170
Notes
Maximum group size eight with one leader; 16 with two leaders. Participants wishing to visit the Pribilofs should contact the WINGS office.