Majestic Alaska conjures images of grand scenery, salmon runs, grizzly bears, and for birders it holds a bevy of special birds.
This tour offers chances for a broad range of birds and wildlife including nesting colonies of seldom-seen seabirds, the wonderous landscapes of Nome, a lottery for oddball vagrants from across the turbulent Bering Sea, and a visit to the Arctic Circle where snazzy shorebirds and waterfowl dominate and at times are punctuated by Snowy Owls.
Nome is unlike any other spot in North America, and ranks among the best birding places on Earth. Intensely scenic, it offers a chance at rare breeding birds such as Bristle-thighed Curlew, Bluethroat, Northern Wheatear, Arctic Loon, Gyrfalcon, and still others. It also offers chances for mammals like Muskox and Grizzly Bear, and even other mammals more mythical in nature.
Utqiagvik is as far north as you can get in the State(s). Eiders and shorebirds abound. All the way up at 71 degrees north, just inside the Arctic Circle lies a northward projecting point and an adjoining town. Formerly known as Barrow, the native Inupiat people have long known it as Utqiagvik, which is often translated as “the place where Snowy Owls are hunted.” All four eider species can be seen in a single day, and it is a great location for breeding shorebirds. Lucky observers at times see Polar Bear here. We will spend three nights and parts of four days exploring this unique town and its outskirts, smack in the middle of the arctic wilderness.
Each location offers a chance at scarce or rare visitors from Asia, adding an element of ‘jackpot birding’ to each day. So join us for an incomparable adventure to Alaska’s very best birding hotspots.
Join us for an incomparable adventure to Alaska’s very best birding hotspots.
Daily Overview
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Day 1 (June 4th): Arrival into Anchorage
Welcome to Alaska. Please schedule your flight to arrive before dinner. Upon your arrival into Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), after collecting any checked luggage, please call the front desk at the Coast Inn at Lake Hood (907-243-2233), and let them know you are ready to be picked up. They have a free shuttle to/from the airport. We will plan to meet for the first time in the hotel lobby at 7pm and then head to dinner. Night in Anchorage.
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Day 2 (June 5th): Flight to Nome
Today we set off for the Seward Peninsula. We’ll look to catch our flight to Nome and after about 3.5 hours of flying should touch down in Nome either mid-day or in the afternoon sometime. After getting settled at our hotel, we’ll head out in search of birds.
Nome is truly a unique place. Situated on the southernmost point of the Seward Peninsula, it faces south out into the Bering Sea. Currently the population of the town is under 4000 people, but it is famous as the finish line for the Iditarod, as a gold rush town (esp. late 1800s), and also as a place where pilot Jimmy Doolittle spent a chunk of his youth. All of that provides an interesting backdrop, but we will aim to spend most of our time outside of town. Typically our first day we begin here with a look around the Nome River mouth, and peeking out to sea from Cape Nome. We could see Golden-plovers, Bar-tailed Godwit, loons, and various waterfowl. Night in Nome.
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Day 3, 4 & 5 (June 6th, 7th & 8th): Exploring Nome
Every day is adventure in Nome. You never know what you might see. As always weather is a big factor, and can be quite changeable even within minutes or hours. We’ll hope for good birding conditions, and search for birds and wildlife along the three main roads that run off and away from town.
The Teller Road runs northwest from Nome, ending in the tiny town of Teller. Along this road we could encounter Gyrfalcon, Northern Wheatear, Rock Ptarmigan, Bluethroat, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, and even nesting Black-bellied Plovers or other shorebirds, such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Pacific Golden-Plover, and more. This is also one of the best roads for encountering Muskox.
The gravel Kougarok Road is perhaps the most famous one in the Nome area among birders. If you venture out about 70 miles you might reach Coffee Dome where there is a decent change to find Bristle-thighed Curlew. Along the way there are many other birds and animals that can keep us occupied too. We’ll pass through habitats that host the two redpolls, Arctic Warblers, Bluethroats, and Golden-crowned Sparrows, and the skies and tundra that may yield Long-tailed Jaegers, Golden Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks, and more. This road can be good for mammals too. Keep alert and always be checking the road ahead and behind.
The Council Road, runs east from Nome, towards the town of Council. We seldom make it all the way to Council and spend our time along the coast especially, birding Safety Lagoon. This is probably the best area on the continent for detecting Arctic Loon. We’ll need some luck and some persistence probably. As we search and pick our way through the loons (on occasion all 5 loon species are seen here), we see abundant Lapland Longspurs, nesting Semipalmated Sandpipers, Tundra Swans, Common (“Pacific”) Eiders, and the coast and shorelines can host specials like Aleutian Tern, Slaty-backed Gull, and even rare waterfowl species and odd shorebirds. Nights in Nome.
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Day 6 (June 9th): Flight back to Anchorage
Depending on the timing of our flight, we’ll hope to enjoy a final bit of birding and make an effort to mop up any last birds we might like to see, and then we are headed back to Anchorage. Night in Anchorage.
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Day 7 (June 10th): Exploring Anchorage
Allowing ourselves a full day in the Anchorage area, we can visit a variety of boreal forest and wetland hotspots to seek birds such as American Three-toed Woodpecker, Hudsonian Godwit, Rusty Blackbird, Boreal Chickadee, or maybe even bump into a Spruce Grouse. Night in Anchorage.
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Day 8 (June 11th): Flight to Utqiagvik/Barrow
Today we aim north for Utqiagvik, catching a flight aboard a 737 and arriving to a place that has almost 24 hours of daylight at this season. Once we are checked into our hotel and fed, we go birding. Night in Utqiagvik.
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Day 9 & 10, (June 12th & 13th) Exploring Utqiagvik/Barrow
A town of just 21 square miles, with a population of about 5000 residents, that is only accessible by plane and at certain times by boat, we have just a few roads from which to search for birds, and yet our time here will be jam-packed. With endless tundra and daylight we’ll keep to the roadsides, examining the array of ponds, sloughs, the coastline and the tundra searching for shorebirds, waterfowl, Snowy Owls, and vagrants.
Snowy Owls can be absent or abundant depending on the year. Certain years you might see 30 or more in a day, while others we might struggle to find one.
We’ll spend a good amount of time watching the coast too. With luck Yellow-billed Loon is possible here, as are all four eider species, and we’ll need to be watchful of the gulls too. Rarely small arctic gull species are seen here, with Sabine’s quite regular, and in its breeding finery.
Out on the tundra all three jaeger species could be encountered, and a host of waterfowl species are in evidence, including breeding Greater White-fronted Geese, and again the much sought-after eiders, along with a remarkable array of shorebirds. The constellation of shorebird species varies annually somewhat, but often includes nesting Red Phalarope, and Pectoral, Baird’s and Buff-breasted Sandpipers, as well as rarities that could include Red-necked Stint, Lesser (Siberian) Sand-Plover, Ruff, Gray-tailed Tattler or others. If you think you know what a Pectoral Sandpiper is, trust us… until you’ve seen one on the breeding grounds, you don’t. They transform into an entirely different beast here when in courtship and establishing territories. Nights in Utqiagvik.
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Day 11 (June 14th): Flight to Anchorage
After a final morning birding the outskirts of town, we’ll board our flight back to Anchorage. The tour concludes upon arrival at the Anchorage airport.
PRICE & BOOKING INFO
Tour Price/person: TBA
(2025 Price: $7800)
Deposit: $1000
Single supplement: TBD
Final Payment Due: 9 February 2026, or at registration if after.
Group size: 6 to 12 guests
*Final price TBA. All deposits are refundable until 2 weeks after final price is announced. Final price expected before/during October of 2025. Pricing is based on double occupancy at lodgings, with a group size of 6 to 12 registrants. Maximum groups size is 12 registrants, plus guide(s) and driver(s). If there are fewer than 6 registrants, this tour may be cancelled or re-negotiated. Note that if you want a roommate we can try to find you one, but we cannot guarantee all guests a roommate. If none is available, you will be charged the single supplement. Deposit is made via WeTravel. Final tour payment is by check or ACH transfer. Final tour price is subject to change should flights within Alaska, fuel, or other required goods/services increase in cost significantly between now and departure.
The tour price (fee) includes services from upon arrival on Day 1 into Anchorage (ANC) until our return to Anchorage on Day 14, including:
· All meals from dinner on Day 1 through lunch on Day 11.
· All accommodations from Day 1 through and including night of Day 10. Tour finishes upon arrival into ANC on Day 11. (We can book hotel this night for those who do not wish to fly home out of Anchorage this night).
· All transport from dinner on Day 1 through our return flight to ANC on Day 11.
· All guiding services, access permits and entrance fees to birding areas.
· Flights within Alaska to/from Nome, Utqiagvik, and St. Paul Island.
Excluded from your tour fee are:
· Arrival flight to and departure flights from Anchorage (ANC) and your home destination.
· Alcoholic beverages, laundry services, charges to your hotel room, or other items of a personal nature. (Note Utqiagvik is a dry town).
· Visa fees, airport taxes, airline baggage fees, etc.
Documents
All non-U.S. citizens should have a current passport, valid for six months beyond the start date of this tour, with at least 1 blank page for stamps.
ALL GUESTS/REGISTRANTS MUST:
· Review Travel Documents. For international travel, guests must have a current passport valid for six months beyond the end date of this tour, with at least 1 blank page for stamps.
· Review COVID-19 and other health requirements required to travel into or around the destination.
· Review Hillstar Nature’s Code of Conduct.
· Consider obtaining travel and medical insurance to cover incidents over the duration of this tour. (Strongly recommended).
· Sign the Hillstar Nature Terms & Conditions, which includes the assumption of risk/liability waiver.
Cancellation Policy
If a guest/participant cancels registration:
● 120 days or more prior to the start of the tour, a refund is issued minus a $500/person processing fee.
● Between 119 and 90 days prior to the start of the tour, half of the tour fee will be returned to the registrant.
● 89 days or less prior to departure, no refund of payments or deposits are issued.
Pace, Rigor, Climate & Pests
· Active pace, with moderately early meeting times in the AM, and some evening outings after dinner.
· Comfortable accommodations near to most of the birding sites.
· One rigorous hike to go for the Bristle-thighed Curlew, that is optional.
· Some prolonged periods of time on foot, in potentially very cold conditions.
· Expect cold or cool temps (20s to 50s F), with a chance of rain and high winds.
We have fairly long days in search of birds and other wildlife. Most meals are at restaurants with a couple bagged lunches or meals to go. It’s possible that weather or that success with our birds may allow for a break, but typically we plan to be out from after breakfast and again after (or through) lunch, with perhaps an additional shorter outing after dinner.
Most birding is along or near roadsides, and walking is at a slow pace so as not to startle wildlife and see as much as possible. Sometimes we will venture off road and into marshy habitat. Rubber knee boots (Much boots or Xtra Tuff boots), or NEOS are recommended. Weather is cold and possibly windy or with precipitation.
We strongly urge guests to consult a doctor about vaccinations and medications prior to travel. All participants are recommended to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. If any guest becomes sick and appears contagious during the tour, the guest may be no longer permitted to continue with the group. This is at the judgement of the guide(s).
Photography is welcome on this tour, but note that this is not a “photography tour”. We will always try and allow some time for obtaining images of desirable subjects, but time is a factor in achieving each of the day’s goals, and it will be up to the tour leader when we move on from photography subjects.
Packing
Please limit yourself to one mid-size suitcase/duffel and another smaller bag for daily use on outings. Group travel dictates we consider our fellow traveler’s comfort, and this includes not over-packing. Warm waterproof footwear is recommended. Weather proof pants and a good winter coat, and a hat and gloves, and long underwear are recommended to protect from the cold.
As mentioned, a daypack (small backpack or the like) for your belongings for daily field outings is useful, and some folks find that having a walking stick for balance is nice or having a foldable stool/chair is nice for times when we sit and wait in an area for a bird(s) to show.
Your leaders will have spotting scopes for group use. If you plan to bring your own, and/or intend to bring a tripod keep in mind there is some space in the vehicles, but also that this space is limited. Generally we recommend sharing group scopes or being prepared to keep your scope or tripod on your person as we travel.
View Hillstar Nature’s Terms & Conditions of Booking
