Alaska: Majesty of the North

Alaska is a spectacular state with stunning snow-covered peaks rising out of flower-laden tundra and vast glaciers flowing into forest-lined fjords, and June is a wonderful month to search for the state’s special birds. We’ll begin in Nome where rolling tundra, rich in ptarmigans, jaegers, and shorebirds, merges with rugged mountains and rushing streams, home to singing Bluethroats and Arctic Warblers and nesting Gyrfalcons, and the adjacent Bering Sea coast with the likes of Arctic Loon and Aleutian Tern. The second leg of the tour will take in the interior of the state, and Denali National Park where the breathtaking immensity of Denali and the Alaska Range will provide a splendid backdrop as we watch for Grizzly Bear and several species of birds more common in the forested interior of the state such as Northern Hawk-Owl, American Three-toed Woodpecker, White-winged Crossbill, the scarce Smith’s Longspur and elegant Bohemian Waxwing. Around the city of Anchorage we’ll look for Boreal Chickadee and Spruce Grouse in well-forested city parks, Hudsonian Godwit and a range of breeding waterfowl along the shore of Cook Inlet, and American Dipper along Fish Creek. We’ll conclude on the Kenai Peninsula and Resurrection Bay with more magnificent scenery and impressive displays of marine birds and mammals, including a boat trip out into the Kenai Fjords where we should see calving glaciers and Kittlitz’s Murrelets as well as a suite of species typical of the coastal pacific northwest such as Rufous Hummingbird, Pacific Wren, Townsend’s Warbler and with a bit of luck Pine Grosbeak.

It’s possible to continue your journey by joining our extension to the very different high arctic tundra around Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow), where we’ll seek out Steller’s, King and Spectacled Eiders on their breeding grounds, throngs of shorebirds in full display mode and nesting Snowy Owls.

NOTE: It’s also possible to connect the 2026 tour starting 7 June to our 5-day Pribilofs (St Paul) extension. Details on the extension are here. Please let the tour manager if you have an interest in adding the Pribilofs extension to the Majesty tour.