This spring we finally went on our trip to Alaska. The trip had been postponed due to COVID but we got our vaccinations and were able to go. Except that instead of visiting the Pribilofs which are still closed to visitors, we went to Homer instead. So our trip included: Anchorage, Homer, and Denali.

Our main goal was to see birds and mammals, and of course, the gorgeous scenery. I have to admit up front that I was very discouraged that we were not able to visit the Pribilofs. A lot of the birds (particularly auklets) that I wanted to see were simply not present at the other destinations. But it was good to go on a real vacation again and finally get to Alaska.

And yes, it was a birding trip, not a cruise. We went with a small group of birders and two tour leaders and everyone was friendly and very knowledgeable which was good as I was afraid I would have problems identifying birds that were new to me. Many of our friends couldn’t understand that we weren’t going on a cruise and were going to look at birds, but… To each his or her own. We did, however, get a wonderful boat trip through Kachemak Bay at Homer so in fact, we saw a glacier and had a fun boat ride. But I didn’t get to see the auklets I wanted to see, boo, hoo. That was a real disappointment to me. But I did see several Boreal Chickadees just outside of Homer, as well as Townsend’s Warbler (not new to me but still a beautiful bird to see).

Out of our three destinations, Homer was definitely the most outstanding. In fact, I got to see close to twenty birds that I’d never seen before and the scenery was spectacular. We also got to see more sea otters than I’ve ever seen before in my life, including several mama otters clutching their babies to their chests. We also saw a Steller’s Sea Lion resting on Gull Island.

We did see both Tufted Puffins and Horned Puffins, as well as Common Murres and Marbled Murrelets. Gull Island had hundreds of Black-legged Kittiwakes as well as Pelagic Cormorants and three Bald Eagles.

On the way from Anchorage to Homer, we were also surprised by a Northern Hawk Owl just sitting calmly in a tree along the highway.

We also saw a few birds that were new to us in and around Anchorage, including Barrow’s Goldeneye in a pond right behind our hotel. The ubiquitous Bald Eagle was easy to spot in all of our destinations, as well.

We actually went to a dog park, Connor’s Bog in Anchorage, several times. It was an enjoyable walk and there were a number of birds there including a Green-winged Teal, a Bald Eagle, a Pacific Loon (nesting!) Lesser Yellowlegs, Orange-crowned Warbler, Swainson’s Thrush, and others. It was a really nice park with a lot of trails–a great place for walking with your dog and just walking in general. It turned out to be one of the best places close to our hotel for birding.

Now, I don’t want to start a lot of arguments, but Denali wasn’t the greatest place if you’re into birding. In fact, that turned out to be, well, just not that great. We did see a lot of mammals like a mama grizzly bear with four cubs off in the distance, a lot of caribou and moose, ground squirrels, and so on. I would say, if you want to go to Denali, your best bet is to take one of the park’s buses and have them drop you off in the park for a day of hiking. Then catch a bus back to the park headquarters. We made the mistake of taking one of the park’s nature bus tours and it was simply an exercise in frustration. We’d see a bird in the distance (a Short-eared Owl, a Long-tailed Jaeger, a Wheatear, and a Willow Ptarmigan) but the driver wouldn’t stop for birds and wouldn’t let us get out to use a spotting scope so the birds were just vague bird-shaped objects in the distance.

So birders would be better off taking a park bus that lets you get off and hike around for a while. There aren’t a lot of birds, but you’d have a better chance of getting a scope on one if you’re hiking. I did manage a quick photo of a Willow Ptarmigan through the window before the bus driver moved on (we yelled at him to STOP! and he stopped for a second or two before he realized it was “just a bird” and drove onward).

It took me a while to recover from my frustration from the bus tour. In fact, it left such a bad taste in my mouth that my initial reaction was to simply write off Denali altogether and vow to never, ever, go there again. But after I cooled off, I realized the park itself isn’t that bad if you’re hiking it on your own. And you’d probably see a lot of creatures and could view them at your own speed. The bus driver did stop (but wouldn’t let us off the bus) for mammals so I was able to get a photograph of a caribou standing on a slope.

We actually saw more birds, however, outside of the park, just driving around. We saw a Gray-cheeked Thrush, Gray Jays, a Yellow Warbler, and finally, a Lesser Yellowlegs perched in the top of a tree (weirdly enough).

It’s really too bad that Denali was our last stop because my main memory for a few days was that darn bus tour. In time, however, I “got over it” and we’re now planning another birding trip to Alaska to hit Nome, Seward, and Barrow. I still have hopes of seeing auklets and there are a lot of other birds that we’ve never seen such as many of the eiders. Alaska is a beautiful place with fascinating wildlife and gorgeous scenery. It’s well worth several trips. And if you’re not a birder, then by all means take the Denali wildlife bus tour. The park bus tour is an easy way to see the tundra in the park and its large mammals. But if you’re a bird watcher, it can be an exercise in frustration.

Like every trip, there were great things, good things, and an ugly thing (that darn bus ride). Was it worth it? Absolutely. So much so that as I mentioned, we’re going to try it again next year!