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MARSH FORK/CANNING RIVER RAFTING Wilderness Wildlife & Birding
June 21-July 2 - in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy
12 Days - $4,400

We are thrilled to offer this classic 12-day raft trip in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy of Oregon once again.  The Canning River skirts the western boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), weaving between the Philip Smith, Franklin, Shublik and Sadlerochit Mountains on its way north to the Arctic Ocean.

We begin this adventure high in the mountains on the spectacularly scenic Marsh Fork of the Canning River. We then float northeast through the mountains, paddling our way to the confluence with the main stem of the Canning River six or seven days later.  We will explore side valleys in a mixture of rafting and hiking.  We will experience a some excitement as we pick our way down a several-mile stretch of Class III whitewater. Once we reach the main Canning River valley, the landscapes begin to expand.  Floating through the foothills, we gradually leave the mountains behind as we traverse the coastal plain, a uniquely beautiful high arctic tundra ecosystem. The landscapes are now so vast that you can see the curvature of the earth.  Twenty miles short of the Arctic Ocean, at the top of the huge Canning River delta, our journey comes to an end.

We often see wolves and almost always see grizzly bears. The Central Arctic and Porcupine caribou herds mix along the lower stretches of the river and we often encounter large groups of these mobile creatures with their young calves. This is also an excellent place to catch a glimpse of the refuge’s dwindling musk ox herd. The rich ecosystem of the river delta contains a number of bird species not encountered in the up-river habitats, diversifying our opportunities to see more varieties of birds and other wildlife.

A sampling of birds we usually encounter includes: Gray-headed Chickadee, Golden Eagle, Gyrfalcon, Peregrine Falcon, Smith’s Longspur, Long-tailed and Parasitic Jaeger, Yellow Wagtail, Arctic Warbler and Yellow-Billed Loon. 

The price of this trip includes extras: a staff naturalist from The Nature Conservancy who will accompany us on the trip, and an optional $300 donation to The Nature Conservancy. 

Combination Suggestion:

MARSH FORK/CANNING RIVER RAFTING + WALRUS ISLANDS (with The Nature Conservancy)

Birding Alaska's High Country, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Shelf Ice, Canning River - Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

1.      Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata
2.      Pacific Loon Gavia pacifica
3.      Common Loon Gavia immer
4.      Yellow-billed Loon Gavia adamsii
5.      Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus
6.      Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus
7.      Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
8.      Canada Goose Branta canadensis
9.      Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii
10.   American Wigeon Anas americana
11.   Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis
12.   Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
13.   Northern Pintail Anas acuta
14.   Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
15.   Canvasback Aythya valisineria
16.   Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris
17.   Greater Scaup Aythya marila
18.   Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
19.   Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus
20.   Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis
21.   Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata
22.   White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca
23.   Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
24.   Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
25.   Common Merganser Mergus merganser
26.   Osprey Pandion haliaetus
27.   Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
28.   Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
29.   Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
30.   Rough-legged Hawk Buteo lagopus
31.   Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos
32.   American Kestrel Falco sparverius
33.   Merlin Falco columbarius
34.   Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus
35.   Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
36.   Willow Ptarmigan Lagopus lagopus
37.   Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta
38.   American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica
39.   Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
40.   Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus
41.   Wilson’s Snipe Gallinago delicata
42.   Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
43.   Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
44.   Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
45.   Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
46.   Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius
47.   Wandering Tattler Tringa incana
48.   Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres
49.   Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
50.   Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
51.   Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
52.   Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
53.   Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
54.   Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis
55.   Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus
56.   Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius
57.   Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus
58.   Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus
59.   Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus
60.   Mew Gull Larus canus
61.   Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus
62.   American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus
63.   Bonaparte’s Gull Larus philadelphia
64.   Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea
65.   Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus
66.   Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus
67.   Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris
68.   Say’s Phoebe Sayornis saya
69.   Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris
70.   Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
71.   Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
72.   Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
73.   Eastern Yellow Wagtail Motacilla tschutschensis
74.   American Pipit Anthus rubescens
75.   Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus
76.   American Dipper Cinclus mexicanus
77.   Gray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus
78.   Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
79.   American Robin Turdus migratorius
80.   Varied Thrush Ixoreus naevius
81.   Arctic Warbler Phylloscopus borealis
82.   Bluethroat Luscinia svecica
83.   Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe
84.   Gray-headed Chickadee Poecile cincta
85.   Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor
86.   Gray Jay Perisoreus canadensis
87.   Common Raven Corvus corax
88.   Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Leucosticte tephrocotis
89.   White-winged Crossbill Loxia leucoptera
90.   Common Redpoll Carduelis flammea
91.   Hoary Redpoll Carduelis hornemanni
92.   Orange-crowned Warbler Vermivora celata
93.   Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia
94.   Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata
95.   Townsend’s Warbler Dendroica townsendi
96.   Wilson’s Warbler Wilsonia pusilla
97.   Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana
98.   American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea
99.   Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis
100.Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca
101.White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
102.Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis
103.Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus
104.Smith’s Longspur Calcarius pictus
105.Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis