ALASKA HIGHLIGHTS: SEWARD. NOME AND DENALI NATIONAL PARK
Pre-Tour extension to
Pribilof Islands
2010
Wednesday June 9 to Sunday June 20
Pre-Tour Extension to Pribilof Islands
Sunday June 6 to Wednesday June 9
Guided by Gary Rosenberg
Price: $4600
Pre-Tour Extension: $2400
Twelve day tour that concentrates on Seward, Nome and Denali National Park. Tour begins with two nights in Seward, and a boat trip to the Kenai Fjords National Park for nesting seabirds, Kittlitz's Murrelet, and views of a tidewater glacier. We’ll have three nights and four days of birding at Nome. Wonderful arctic birding with nesting shorebirds including Bristle-thighed Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, and both American and Pacific Golden-Plovers. Other Nome highlights include Arctic and Pacific Loons, Gyrfalcon, both Rock and Willow Ptarmigan, Aleutian Tern, Northern Wheatear, Bluethroat, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, and Hoary Redpoll. The tour will then visit wonderful Denali National Park. Full day shuttle trip into the park for scenery and mammals, including Grizzly Bear. Day of birding on the Denali Highway in search of Trumpeter Swan, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Northern Hawk-Owl, Bohemian Waxwing, and White-winged Crossbill. Tour can be combined with the Alaska: Pribilof Islands and Seward tour.
There are few birding locations in North America as exciting as Alaska. The state is huge and diverse, with wonderful coastal tundra on the Bering Sea, vast mountainous tundra on the Seward Peninsular, extensive boreal forest through the interior, wonderful Denali National Park, with its large mammals and unsurpassed scenery, and the coastal wonders around Seward on the Kenai Peninsular with scenic Kenai Fjords National Park. The twelve day tour begins in Anchorage, and travels first to Seward on the Kenai Penisular, where the main attraction will be a full day boat trip to the Kenai Fjords National Park. Our goal will be to find the local Kittlitz’s Murrelet, but the teeming seabid colonies on the Chiswell Islands, and the chance for both Humpbacked and Killer Whales will add excitement to the trip. Land-birding on the Kenai is also fun, and a number of specialties such as Varied Thrush and Chestnut-backed Chickadee are just a couple of the birds we’ll look for. It is then off to Nome on the Bering sea on the south coast of the spectacular Seward Peninsular. The tundra birding here is both fun and productive, and we’ll visit great birding localities such as Safety Lagoon, Teller, and the Kougarok Road. We’ll have four days to bird Nome and look for its many specialties, including Arctic and Pacific Loons, Gyrfalcon, Rock and Willow Ptarmigans, Bristle-thighed Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Pacific Golden-Plover, Aleutian Tern, Northern Wheatear, Bluethroat, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Arctic Warbler, and Hoary Redpoll. Migration will still be occurring, and there is always a chance for rarities in Nome such as Emperor Goose or Spectacled Eider. The third portion of the tour will visit wonderful Denali National Park. The contrast will be evident as we travel from Anchorage into the forested interior in search of warblers and thrushes, as well as specialties such as Trumpeter Swan, Northern Hawk-Owl, Bohemian Waxwing, Arctic Warbler, Common Redpoll, and White-winged Crossbill. The highlight will be a full day trip into the wilds of Denali National Park, and the hope of seeing majestic Mount McKinley, and large mammals including the amazing Grizzly Bear.
There will be a pre-tour extension to wonderful Saint Paul Island, part of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, which are famous for nesting seabird colonies on the cliffs, where we’ll see nesting Horned and Tufted Puffins, Least, Crested, and Parakeet Auklets, and both Common and Thick-billed Murres. In addition to the incredible spectacle of the nesting alcids, we’ll also experience nesting Red-legged Kittiwakes, Saint Paul Island being the only accessible nesting colony for this species away from the central Aleutians, as well as nesting Red-faced Cormorant and Northern Fulmar. The island is incredibly scenic and also offers the chance for an Asian stray. The first half of June is an excellent time for a rarity, and we’ll check the many ponds and lakes for an unusual shorebird or duck, or the rocky tundra for a rare landbird. The possibilities are many. Just a few of the many Asian strays that have occurred in early June include Common Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Gray-tailed Tattler, Slaty-backed Gull, Common Cuckoo, Eyebrowed Thrush, Siberian Rubythroat, Olive-backed Pipit, and Common Rosefinch, or even rarer strays such as Rufous-tailed Robin. The combination of seabird watching and looking for rarities makes a visit to the Pribs memorable.
