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Gulf of Alaska Pelagic
Late August/August 20-23
4 days - $1,200 Birding Focused
(Participants getting themselves to Juneau at the beginning of the trip will be discounted)

Alaska has been called North America's final frontier and pelagic birding is certainly the final frontier of birding in Alaska. Some of the 49th state's most prized birding targets inhabit the offshore regions of the Gulf of Alaska, the northern extent of the Pacific Ocean. For many reasons accessing these waters as a birder is difficult, and to date no organized and regularly operating pelagic birding trips exist for these rich waters, making finding the birds that inhabit them extremely difficult. The distance of the continental shelf from shore, rough waters, and lack of suitable boats capable of carrying birders far enough offshore are a few of the main obstacles to pelagic birding trips in Alaska. However, for years a few curious and pioneering birders have occasionally taken the trip across the Gulf of Alaska on board the M/V Kennicott, a 382’ ferry operated by the Alaska Marine Highway. Although no one trip has recorded everything that's possible (that's pelagic birding!) some remarkable observations have been documented over the years.

Birding from the ferry has a number of advantages: it's a large and stable platform; it offers comfortable sleeping quarters and a cafeteria on board; the ship is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate many birders with good observation areas on deck and inside; and it has a reliable schedule. Of course, since the mission of the ship is to provide safe transit for passengers, and not to find birds, there are obvious disadvantages to birding from a ferry as well, such as not being able to stop in productive areas or turn around to chase a bird. However, the list of birds that has been encountered along this route over the years is long and, with spotters poised at key points on board and a 42 hour crossing, we hope to make the most of what is currently the only available option for birding the deep offshore waters of the northern Gulf of Alaska.

The trip begins in Anchorage when we board a morning flight to Juneau. Once there, we’ll bird the Juneau area for the rest of the day. This day of relaxed birding around Juneau will include some time looking for migrant shorebirds, and resident and migrant passerines. If there are any rarities around during our trip we will make efforts to find them. We’ll spend the first night of the trip in Juneau. On Day 2, we’ll board the ferry around noon (exact time TBA) to begin our 42 hour sailing to Whittier. We will sleep in staterooms on the ferry, which includes two nights on board. After arriving in Whittier during the morning on Day 4, we'll travel by van to Anchorage (about an hour drive), birding along the way.

The 42 hour Gulf Crossing from Juneau to Whittier includes both inshore and offshore waters. During our first afternoon on-board the M/V Kennicott we'll ply the northern portion of the famous Inside Passage, before transiting Cross Sound and setting off into the open waters of the Gulf of Alaska at Cape Spencer. About midway along our cross-gulf transit, the ship makes a brief stop at the port of Yakutat, a small and isolated coastal fishing community. After leaving Yakutat our route takes us through what are likely to be the most productive offshore waters of the trip before entering Prince William Sound. Seabirds regularly encountered in this offshore stretch include Sooty Shearwater, Northern Fulmar and Fork-tailed Storm Petrel, however, all three species of North Pacific Albatross have been recorded in this stretch as has Mottled Petrel. The list of possibilities for this trip is long, but with luck we hope to encounter some of the true Alaskan rarities like Mottled Petrel, Buller’s, Pink-footed, Manx, or Flesh-footed Shearwater, Short-tailed Albatross and/or South Polar Skua.

For 2012 only we're offering this exploratory trip at a special reduced rate. Join us on this exploratory trip across the Gulf of Alaska...Alaska's final birding frontier!

If you choose to forgo the staterooms and prefer to bring your sleeping bag and sleep on the deck, your price for the trip will be discounted.

Combination suggestion: Gulf of Alaska Pelagic + Gambell III + Gambell IV

Note: meals on the trip are not included in trip price. Price is based on double occupancy.

Laysan Albatross