State Guide

In Alaska, birders can encounter birds in greater variety and greater numbers than they have seen before and add many new species to their life lists. I have listed birding groups and best places to go in many of the sections on destinations. Making a "best of" list is difficult, because good bird-watching is found in any Alaska town. For example, I could recommend you go to Haines for the eagle sanctuary, but since you are bound to see eagles in every coastal town, I hesitate to send you on a special trip for that purpose.

Weeding out the excellent to mention only the truly exceptional, here are the places I would send birders. For marine birding, consider Sitka, Juneau, or Seward; Kenai Fjords National Park; Unalaska and the Pribilof Islands. Migratory bird festivals happen in May in Homer and Cordova; Homer also has handy sea bird colonies, and Cordova has the wetlands Copper River Delta, an accessible bird paradise of immense proportions. Alaska's two largest cities have parks dedicated to inland birding, and other bird resources as well: see the sections on Anchorage and Fairbanks for details. For Arctic birding, Nome is probably the best choice thanks to the existence of roads that allow self-guided exploration . The very best bird and wildlife destination in Alaska, and surely among the best in the world, is the Pribilof Islands. You can sign up directly with the island's own Aleut residents for a tour there.

The Internet makes it easy to network with local birders all over Alaska before your trip to find out what they are seeing and get tips. Here are some discussion boards to check:

Statewide: groups.yahoo.com/group/akbirding

Juneau and Southeast: groups.yahoo.com/group/Eaglechat

Fairbanks and Interior: groups.yahoo.com/group/BorealBirder

Arctic and western Alaska: groups.yahoo.com/group/beringia_birders

Serious birders with money to spend can dedicate a trip to some of the worlds' best and most famous remote bird-watching sites. Find those tours advertised in birding magazines, such as Bird Watcher's Digest (www.birdwatchersdigest.com) or Birders' World (www.birdersworld.com). Among the reputable operators coming to Alaska are Arizona-based High Lonesome BirdTours (tel. 800/743-2668 or 520/458-9446; www.hilonesome.com), priding itself on relaxed trips for small groups, and Texas-based Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (tel. 800/328-8368; www.ventbird.com), which counts well-known authors among its leaders.

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State Guide

Alaska Tourism: Bird Watching

Bird Watching

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