ALASKA BIRDING
& NATURE EXPEDITION
Tour Description
Nature
lovers, this trip is for you! We've designed a comprehensive Alaskan expedition that
concentrates on finding the state's spectacular wildlife, including dozens of northern
mammal species - Grizzly & Black Bears, Caribou, Dall & Stone Sheep, Snowshoe
Hare, Beaver, Sea Otter, Hoary Marmot, Moose, Red Fox, Beluga and Killer Whales, Sea Lions
and many more.
We'll drive to birding hotspots to find Alaska specialties such as Red-throated Loon,
Gyrfalcon, Willow and Rock Ptarmigan 
, Arctic Warbler and Smith's Longspur. By boat we'll look for Red-faced Cormorant, Fulmar,
Mottled Petrel and Kittlitz's Murrelet. And we'll fly to Nome and Gambell to find the
Western Alaska rarities such as Bristle-thighed Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit 
, Red-necked Stint, White and Yellow wagtails,
Bluethroat and Wheatear. We've organized a special trip to find elusive owls such as Great
Gray, Saw-whet, Boreal and Hawk-owls.
If you haven't seen Alaskan wildflowers, you're in for a special treat,
especially when we visit the alpine areas. Spring and summer flowers are dazzling in color
and variety: Nootka Lupine, Alaska Iris, Butter and Eggs, and Moss Campion to name a few
of the nearly 200 varieties we'll see. You'll get to learn about the geology of Alaska,
see icebergs, glaciers, snow-capped mountains and walk across tundra and alpine meadows.
You will have opportunities to see and experience other highlights of Alaska that are included on our regular caravans. Try halibut fishing, enjoy vaudeville shows, eat scrumptious salmon dinners and take in the breathtaking scenery of the last frontier.
This trip is longer than others you see offered. This will give you more time to visit the great variety of bird habitats and to reach each of these sites at the peak of migration or nesting times. In the process, we will travel almost every paved road in Alaska and a few of the unpaved ones as well. In addition, this trip offers the expertise of a birding guide that will lead you throughout the 70-day expedition. Whether you are a budding beginner or a seasoned veteran, you'll benefit from traveling with others who enjoy birding and nature in general.
Stay tuned for ideas on what you can do during our July 5 to August 14 "summer break" or, perhaps, you already have ideas to take advantage of this extra bonus time. When we resume again in mid August you'll have an opportunity to see Alaska, British Columbia and the Yukon Territory at a time that most others miss. Our itinerary is designed to take us to places we can view the Northern Lights and the Yukon fall colors.
This trip is more exploratory than most Alaskan caravans, so be prepared for a bit more dry camping, somewhat colder weather at the start (the lakes may still be frozen in May, but the roads are open and ice free), and lots of adventure. With our earlier start and our visits to more remote areas, we will maximize our chances of seeing wildlife, one of the greatest thrills of visiting Alaska.
We'll get our first wildlife sightings while traveling the Alaska Highway
when we should see Woodland Caribou, Stone Sheep
, Black Bear and, if we are lucky, Gray Wolf. At this time, flocks of migrants are making
their way to northern nesting grounds and we should see Lapland Longspurs , Tree Sparrows, Evening Grosbeaks and Barrow's
Goldeneyes . Pacific and Common Loons, Mew Gulls and Arctic Terns
will be searching for the few patches of open water on ice-covered lakes as we make our
way northwest. After crossing into Alaska, we'll see moose almost daily as we explore
birding sites.
In Alaska, we'll drive the Denali Highway - a road you won't see listed on other
caravan trips - and stop at Tangle Lakes and Maclaren River: incredible scenery, combined
with great birding! In Fairbanks we'll visit Cremer's Waterfowl Refuge, an area of diverse
habitats where we will find nesting flycatchers, thrushes and warblers, as well as boreal
species such as Spruce Grouse, White-winged Crossbill and Boreal Chickadee. Denali
National Park is on everyone's list as a must-see for wildlife and awesome vistas, and a
great place to hike if that is your inclination. Then we head south to the Kenai Peninsula
during the pleasant days of early July, a good time for halibut and salmon fishing and an
ideal time to see the nesting seabirds at Gull Island and in Kachemak Bay via charter
boat. We'll get another chance to see different pelagic birds when we take the boat
through Kenai Fjords National Park and Chiswell Islands National Wildlife Refuge. And to
maximize our chances of seeing nesting seabirds, we'll take another boat from Valdez to
explore the Columbia Ice Floes and Prince William Sound. 
After our summer break, we'll stop at remote Chicken, a fascinating place to learn about early mining days, pan
for gold and enjoy the quiet evening of remote Alaska. We've planned the
schedule so that the Northern Lights should be visible here in a place absent of
city lights. Next we drive the Top-of-the-World
Highway , a sight that
will remain long in your memory, and then drop down to the Yukon River and cross into
Dawson City to visit the rustic gold-mining town. We're planning a side trip on the Dempster
Highway heading to the Northwest Territories, enjoying the treeless tundra scenery, wildlife and
birds. Fall colors should be near their peak at this time and we should also
coincide with fall bird migration along the Mackenzie River. After traversing western Yukon Territory, we're back in Alaska at the coastal town
of Skagway, where we'll bird at Dyea, a gold mining ghost town, or take a water taxi to
Haines and visit the refuges in this isolated corner of the state. Then it's back through
British Columbia along the Cassiar Highway to visit the coastal enclave of Hyder, Alaska.
Here's yet another opportunity to see Grizzlies up close as they catch salmon and to view
the unique ice flow of Salmon Glacier, fourth longest in the world.
Past customers have praised this trip for the flexibility and freedom it affords. The exclusive caravan size - limited to 10 customer rigs - provides more personal time with the naturalist/birding guide, allows camping at special sites not open to large groups and enables side trips not otherwise possible. The extended schedule allows a more leisurely trip while at the same time showing you more of Alaska and the Yukon than all other caravan trips. In particular, the optional side trips to Gambell on St. Lawrence Island on the northwestern edge of Alaska and close to the Russia border, to Nome on the western edge of the Alaska mainland along the Bering Sea, and to Barrow at the northern tip of Alaska on the Arctic Ocean give you a complete view of Alaska that very few people have the opportunity to visit.
This caravan trip isn't for everyone, but if you love nature and want adventure, this is the one for you.
SPECIAL: This is an exclusive caravan, limited to only ten customer rigs (plus one or two extras to allow for later cancellations) and less than half the size of most caravans. Based on customer surveys we are restricting the size of our group. This gives the distinct advantage of easier caravan travel and parking, and more flexibility on side trips and accommodations at great birding spots not available to traditional caravan sizes. Greater attention from the birding guides, the social directors and the staff significantly enhances the value of this specialized caravan trip.