A huge flock of sandhill cranes fly over from Portage Glacier, about 50 minutes from Anchorage.
Maybe you'll get to see the spectacled eider at the Utqiagvik Migratory Bird Festival.
Only a four-mile drive to Homer enters you into a world of birds.
At the Inspiration Ridge Preserve, walk through forests, bogs, meadows, ponds, and creeks, all part of the 693 acres of critical wildlife habitat best known for its visiting summer population of sandhill cranes.
The legacy stewardship of the property of Nina Faust and the late Ed Bailey is continued by the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, which offers guided tours.
The 1.5-hour tour covers about two miles at a leisurely pace and the 3-hour tour is close to three miles. The hikes are designed to accommodate various fitness levels.
1.5-hour tour: Adult (age 12+): $20, Child: $10, Senior (65+) $15, Family (3-6) $50. 3-Hour Tours: Adult $35, Child $15, Senior $25, Family $85.
The 1.5-hour tour runs from June to Labor Day 2025; four days a week at 11 a.m.
The 3-hour tour also runs from June to Labor Day for two days a week at 2:30 p.m.
In early September, the entire flock of cranes take to the air simultaneously, something I missed by four days.
Visit Alaska Coastal Studies for more information or call 907-235-6667.
Near Homer
Off Homer is the bird-packed Gull Island. Owned by the Seldovia Native Corp., it is off-limits to landing with your boat- either use binoculars from your boat offshore or take a tour.
Like a scene out of Hitchcock's film "The Birds," more than 20,000 birds nest on the cliff faces as kittiwake, common guillemot, Brünnich's guillemot, pigeon guillemot, marbled murrelet, Kittlitz's murrelet, tufted puffin and horned puffin dive offshore for fish to feed the young ones.
There's also frolicking sea otters as well as visiting pods of orcas and an occasional humpback whale.
Most tours are two or three hours and include other locations in Kachemak Bay.
For more information contact
Mako's Water Taxi, (907) 235-9055, makoswatertaxi@gmail.com
Inlet Charters, (907) 435-1600, inletcharters@gmail.com
Bay Excursions, (907) 299-9999
Rainbow Tours, (907) 235-7272
Alaska Bearfest in Wrangell, July 30 to Aug. 3, includes bear biologists and researchers. Travel to Anan Creek for bear viewing, up the Stikine River, or to the LeConte Glacier. Wrangell offers opportunities for viewing other wildlife-bird, whales and marine mammals-as well as bears. Free guided nature and bird watching walks will be offered.
For more information and to contact Bearfest at 907-874-2998 or visit the U.S. Forest Service.
Catch your breath after the summer to gear up for the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival in Haines from Nov. 7 to 9.
Eagle viewing is in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, along the Chilkat River from many stops on the Haines Highway (10-mile to 26-mile, with biggest concentration between 19- to 23-mile).
They dot the trees like so many lobbed tennis balls and stare down at you curiously from the trees as you drive through.
Some years there are more than 3,000 eagles along that stretch of the Chilkat River waiting on the late run of salmon.
It is the largest gathering of eagles in the world.
For more information go to the American Bald Eagle Foundation or call 907-766-3094.
Now travel north
The Tanana Valley Sandhill Crane Festival, Aug. 18 to 24, with the main festival weekend dates being Aug. 23 and 24, and takes place in Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Fairbanks.
The festival is organized by the Friends of Creamer's Field in collaboration with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Alaska Songbird Institute and the Arctic Audubon Society.
Each August, thousands of sandhill cranes begin their southward passage from Alaska and Siberia. And Creamer's is the heart of daily crane tallies topping 1,000. Fall staging is late August and early September. Again, watch them fly out in unison!
There's nature walks, bird and wildlife viewing, photography, workshops, kids' activities, silent auction, food, and a chance to win Alaska Airlines tickets.
For information visit the Friends of Creamer's Field website or call (907) 978-8457.
Travel above the Arctic Circle to Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) for the Utqiaġvik Migratory Bird Festival June 13-15, a part of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Directorate Fellows Program initiative, is a collaboration between Audubon Alaska, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for an educational migratory and shorebird-centered experience.
Activities include educational games and other activities for kids of all ages, bird tours for birders of all levels, an artist workshop, and speakers from all over the world sharing their knowledge on shorebird and avian science and cultural importance
For more information go to https://www.facebook.com/utqbirdfest.
