Alaska Mainland: Jun 13—24, 2009

View from Seward Highway, Alaska — Photo: Barry Zimmer

Fabulous scenery, excellent mammal viewing, and birds found nowhere else on the continent. The Last Frontier is a must for every North American birder and naturalist.

Immense expanses consisting of range upon range of snowy mountains, glaciers beyond count, islands teeming with seabirds, coastal fjords edged with fog-drenched forest, vast boreal taiga, and untold miles of rolling tundra—Alaska's magnificence is beyond compare.

This tour offers a complete cross section of birds. It focuses upon three very different areas: the rugged hills, tundra, and seacoast around the old gold-rush boomtown of Nome; breathtaking Kenai Fjords National Park and the adjacent Kenai Peninsula; and the sprawling wilderness in the shadow of majestic Denali (Mount McKinley), North America's highest peak.

In Nome, the birdlife has a strong Siberian element with vociferous Bar-tailed Godwits protesting from the hummocks, Aleutian Terns foraging along the edges of Safety Lagoon, Yellow Wagtails hovering above the tundra, White Wagtails lurking about old gold dredges, Arctic Warblers singing from the willows, and spectacular Bluethroats skylarking against snow-covered backdrops. Long-tailed Jaegers patrol the coastal tundra while Gyrfalcons range through the hills above town.

The Kenai Peninsula yields a different avifauna with the ethereal notes of the Varied Thrush penetrating the spruce forests, Bald Eagles adorning gravel bars, and Three-toed Woodpeckers working the edges of recent burns. Our pelagic trip to Kenai Fjords National Park should produce Horned and Tufted puffins by the thousands, Rhinoceros Auklet, Red-faced Cormorant, Kittlitz's Murrelet, whales, and unsurpassed scenery.

Finally, we will visit Denali National Park where, amid hundreds of square miles of boreal forest and alpine tundra, we have a good chance to see some of the glamour symbols of the far north—grizzly bear, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, and perhaps even gray wolf. Northern Hawk Owl, Northern Shrike, and Bohemian Waxwing are among the many avian possibilities.

With many birds found nowhere else in North America, incredible mammal viewing, and scenery that simply cannot be topped, Alaska is a must destination.

For those with additional time, our Barrow Extension offers a chance to see all four eiders and Snowy Owl.

Good accommodations; easy to moderate terrain; one optional hike involving difficult terrain; boat trip and in-state travel by van and airplane; cold to mild weather.