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Chevak Spectacled Eider CampBirding Focused
June 10-13
4 days - $3,500

This trip is a truly amazing and out of the ordinary birding experience where we will come as close as we ever will of guaranteeing the sighting of Spectacled Eider. Ulric Ulroan, a Yup’ik Eskimo from the village of Chevak in western Alaska on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Y-K Delta), has opened his hunting and fishing camp for birders to visit.  The Y-K Delta is one of the largest in the world roughly the size of the state of Oregon and the breeding area for millions of waterfowl and shorebirds. It’s among the most productive bird breeding areas in Alaska.

We conducted an exploratory trip to this vast area last year and were delighted with what we found. Spectacled Eiders surrounded us as they prepared to pick nesting sites. The most common gull was Sabine’s, the most abundant goose was Emperor and the most common shorebirds were Black Turnstone and Bar-tailed Godwit. The birding was amazing among an astounding number of birds. With Ulric’s establishment of a remote camp geared toward birders, we will make our first WBA trip to this far off-the-beaten-path rich habitat and search for the Spectacled Eider.  There are no roads on the Y-K Delta so we fly from Anchorage to Bethel and then fly again on to the Yupik Eskimo village of Chevak far out into the Y-K Delta. Chevak is 135 miles northwest of Bethel with a population just under 1,000. Rivers are the roads in this part of the world; after spending one night in the village, we’ll travel by boat to Bird Camp where we’ll stay for two nights. What’s unique about this location is the quality and concentration of the birding and photo opportunities.  One’s eyes and ears are filled with constant bird activity in the 24-hour daylight.

We are very excited to offer this one-of-a-kind adventure to western Alaska.  We will be staying in a remote permanent camp operated by Ulric and his family, sleeping in camping tents and using a wood heated wall tent for a common area.  In addition to regular meals, Ulric enjoys offering visitors the opportunity to taste some traditional Native foods and to other aspects of life in this seldom-visited section of the Bering Sea coast. 

All meals are included.

Combination Suggestion:

Nome II + Chevak + Barrow + Kenai