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Denali in all its glory and splendour. We were priviledged to see the top of the mountain on three of our four days in the area, and it never failed to be breathtaking. This image gives a sense of the vast wilderness that surrounds the Alaska Range, which makes it such an important haven for wildlife. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Part one of our Alaska tour combines two regions which I think are up there among the most beautiful in my scope of experience on the planet. This year, both those places shined (even through some clouds and fog!) in a way that should give a sense as to why I feel that way about them. Everything ran smoothly, the animals cooperated, and we even got to see the top of Denali well on multiple days!

The remote windswept island of St. Paul was our first port of call, after a brief re-fueling stop in Bethel (Holy Cliff Swallow!) for our charter plane before it crossed the open ocean. Our two days on St. Paul combined several rare Asian vagrants with the magical ecosystem that thrives on this island. This included the Lapland Longspurs tinkling their meadowlark-like song from on high as they floated back to Earth, the groaning of the bull Northern Fur Seals that had arrived to defend their highly prized beachfront property, and the sheer rock cliffs with no fewer than eleven species of breeding birds in attendance, numbering into the thousands of individuals in view at once. Parakeet Auklets were the showiest of the auklets, though Crested and Least were around to amuse us as well, and Horned Puffin and Tufted Puffin split the billing as the most obliging of the puffins. This year also featured dozens of Northern Fulmars on nests, and a few Red-legged Kittiwake nests that were in full view, and at various stages of construction. The Asian birds were represented by Bean Goose, Eyebrowed Thrush, Tufted Duck, and an exceptionally brightly plumaged Lesser Sand-Plover. Flowers were starting to unfurl themselves in preparation for their short but sunlight-rich summer season, and the Wild Celery was already sprawling low over the tundra in many places. It was really a fantastic visit, but after two days it was time to head back to mainland, with the sadness of having to leave mingled with the excitement of the what lay ahead in the wilds of Denali.

The next morning, safely back on the mainland, we began our journey to the interior of the state, though our first birding stop was in Anchorage. Westchester Lagoon provided a plethora of breeding birds of several species, and all the interesting interactions that come with several species breeding in close proximity to one another. The mudflats gave us the opportunity to see Bonaparte’s Gull and our primary target here: Hudsonian Godwit. We then headed up to the Willow Burn, which is an area of forest that was subject to a (human-caused) forest fire in 2015. This had calamitous effects on the human population, but also created an environment that attracted woodpeckers and one where they have been flourishing for the past few years. Here, in addition to Western Wood-Pewee and Lincoln’s Sparrow, we got both of our target species, with great views of both Black-backed Woodpecker and Three-toed Woodpecker. The rest of our day was devoted to the drive north to Denali with some strategic stops that gave us Boreal Chickadee and Osprey, and our first views of the Alaska Range and Mount Denali, which was showing quite well on this sunny day. The next two days were spent birding the boreal, taiga and tundra habitats in the sprawling wilderness around Denali. Along the Denali Highway, the scenery may have been the star of the show here (did anyone ask for more great views of spectacular Denali?), but there were also plenty of birds, with the highlights including Willow Ptarmigan, Canada Jay, Harlequin Ducks, Trumpeter Swans, Barrow’s Goldeneye, and a wide variety of sparrows. Our day in the park consisted of being subjected to incredible scenery for several hours straight, and this scenery was supplemented with a wonderful array of fauna. In the taiga habitats we had several Moose, Snowshoe Hares, Golden Eagle, and Willow Ptarmigan, while the open tundra rolling into the distant mountains provided small herds of Caribou, more Golden Eagles patrolling the skies, and of course one of the main draws of the area: Brown Bear. We had a great experience with a family group of Grizzlies this year, which were foraging alongside the road, and then lumbered across the road so both sides of the bus could have stellar views. The park’s mountain passes also gave us the opportunity to see multiple groups of Dall’s Sheep, including a male looming on a rock-face right over the bus as if contemplating a jump onto our roof, a Golden Eagle nest, and a most-wanted Gyrfalcon! We ended up back in Anchorage for a sumptuous dinner the next evening, but not before doing some more birding on the way back, picking up Spruce Grouse, White-winged Crossbills, breeding plumage Red-throated Loon, and Bohemian Waxwing- it was a great way to close out Part 1.

Awe-inspiring scenery, delectable food, great company, and of course fantastic birds made this running of Part 1 an instant classic. We both thank you all for coming along on this adventure with us, and for providing such a fun social environment along the way. We’ll see you next time, somewhere in this big bad world of birds!

-Doug (for Chris & Doug)

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

Grizzly Bear! One of the main draws for many people on trips to Denali National Park, we had a great encounter with this mother and some rather large young ones during our bus ride. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Horned Puffins are often the overlooked puffin on St. Paul given the presence of Tufteds on the island, but when you get a really good look at them (as we did, repeatedly!), it's hard to argue against their awesomeness. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

A couple of goofy Parakeet Auklets, with a pair a' feet each. Their antics were a constant source of entertainment during our time at the cliff nester colonies on St. Paul. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Lesser Sand-Plover was one of the delightful Asian vagrants we saw on St. Paul Island, and this one put on a fantastic show over the course of our two days of observation. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

The umbrina subspecies of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch can only be found on the Pribilof Islands. This nonmigratory taxon is noticably larger and more robust than its mainland cousins, though this one seemed to be taking that to the extreme as it puffed itself up in its best grouse impersonation. Photo by participant Holger Teichmann.

Lapland Longspurs are one of the delightful facets of birding on the Pribilofs, where they are the most widespread passerine which we encounter. Their tinkling flight displays, audially reminiscent of meadowlarks but with a graceful parachute-like glide from on high, were unendingly diverting. Photo by participant Holger Teichmann.

A view from one of the switchbacks along the visual cornucopia that is the Denali Highway. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Hey, that woodpecker's got a black back! We found this pair of Black-backed Woodpeckers cavorting around the Willow burn, near Wasilla. This negligently man-caused forest fire took place in 2015, and while it impacted area residents dramatically for the worse, it had the side effect of creating a vast swathe of habitat appropriate for woodpeckers, including this most-difficult of woodpecker species to track down in Alaska. Photo by participant Holger Teichmann.

Formerly known as Gray Jay, this was recently renamed Canada Jay and also voted to be the national bird of Canada. On our final birding day, we encountered a delightful instance of an adult attending to at least two fairly fresh fledglings, and we got to watch them endearingly interact for a minute or two right next to the vans. This young one was real excited about the (presumably) tasty morsel being deposited into its gullet by its parental unit. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Arctic Forget-Me-Not is one of the most unique species of flowers on St. Paul. This cushion plant's tiny flowers are well smaller than a pinky fingernail, and it is one of the earliest (and briefest) bloomers in the Pribilofs, despite being in the most barren of habitats. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Spruce Grouse infamously played hard to get, and this one was indeed hard-earned with time spent, but in the end very fulfilling and worthwhile. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Dall's Sheep were a staple of our day in Denali, and this troop was perhaps the most photogenic as they lounged above a steep precipice without concern for the potential drop. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Look at the feet on this bunny! It was a good year for Snowshoe Hares in the region, and so we encountered several. They were all in their summer finery, which is designed to give them some semblance of cover in the summer months, which their white winter coat wouldn't afford them at all. Regardless of their stealthier appearance many surely become parts of balanced breakfasts for predators such as Golden Eagle and Lynx. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

Here the group birds Pumphouse Lake on St. Paul Island, where we saw a Bean Goose, a pair of Red Phalaropes, oodles of Red-necked Phalaropes, and lots more. In this photo we're taking five just after a Pectoral Sandpiper flew a some laps around us to see what we were all about. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 125 bird taxa and 15 mammal taxa