Your first hint of the immensity of Alaska may come as the plane approaches Anchorage--as you pass over several mountain ranges, each one bleeding into the next: the Coast range, the St. Elias Mountains, the Kenai Mountains, and even the famous Alaska Range. The plane circles and drops in for a landing in between the snow-capped peaks of the gorgeous Chugach Mountains and the expansive flats of Cook Inlet. Anchorage itself, a modern, thriving city, is insignificant by comparison, almost out of place in the tapestry of mountains, lakes, and forest that form the landscape all around. The sky in this far-northern latitude seems indescribably wide and high, the air crisp and pure. The place is nothing short of spectacular!

After a short shuttle ride to our lakeside hotel, you might get the urge to start birding immediately, with Red-necked Grebes and Barrow's Goldeneyes dotting the water a stone's throw from the lobby, and those scaup you see out there are probably a convenient mix of Lessers and Greaters. Even with this excitement, what you see is just scratching the surface of what's to come: you've made it to the beginning of one of the greatest of birding trips there is, in one of the wildest, most beautiful places on Earth.

Our grand tour will take us to many of Alaska's finest birding sites: the Anchorage area for Three-toed and Black-backed woodpeckers, Spruce Grouse and Hudsonian Godwits; Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park for the chance to see Kittlitz's, Marbled, and Ancient murrelets, Humpback Whales, Orcas and Sea Otters; Nome where Fox Sparrows breed alongside Bluethroats and where Gyrfalcons chase Aleutian Terns across windswept beaches; and Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), where we'll seek some of the northernmost arctic breeders, including all four species of eiders, Snowy Owls, Red Phalaropes, and Yellow-billed Loons--and there's even a chance to see Polar Bear! Late May and early June is a great time to be in Alaska: birds are in their full breeding regalia and most of the biting insects are still underwater. The northern summer is a time of vibrant life, but there is an undertone of urgency, for the season's end is always in sight.

Select the KEY INFO tab or click here for our itinerary plus space requests, status, fees, limits, and guides for any departure.

Client comment
"A person whom I met on local bird walks and who has used Field Guides repeatedly recommended your company. This was an excellent tour. It could not have been better! The guides were superior and all the arrangements were so carefully made that the travel was easy and efficient and there was very little time spent not birding. I'd absolutely travel with either Chris Benesh or Doug Gochfeld as a single leader or both of them together! They are a dynamic team and individually very knowledgeable, skilled, personable, and willing to go out of their way to offer the group the fullest experience possible and to make sure that everyone individually sees the birds. I had not used a national company prior to this for a birding tour. I was impressed that your big company could make this tour just as personal an experience for me as the trips I do with guides and clients whom I already know." D.M., ALASKA tour participant