Our Ship

Built in 1998 for adventure, and affectionately known as “the Bulldog”, the 145-foot, 3-deck Safari Explorer is basically a high-end SUV of a yacht. Nimble, strong, and designed for upscale comfort and expedition travel, it is comfy and cozy, sailing with just 36 guests in 18 cabins. All onboard our cruise will be focused on nature, wildlife and birds. Take a tour of the ship here.

Hotspots 

Seward & Kenai Fjords

The port city of Seward is the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. A hub for nature enthusiasts and for wildlife travel, it is well known as a jumping off point for Inner Passage cruises, salmon fishing (king, sockeye, coho), and other outdoor activities. For us, it represents a starting point as well. 

Seward is fairly easily accessed by train from Anchorage, and along the way one can enjoy leisurely views of Turnagain Arm and Cook Inlet. The views are quite nice and you might even glimpse your first glacier. There are also bus options, and one can usually drive it in under three hours. Once in Seward one can easily kill time walking around and checking stuff out, like, the Alaska SeaLife Center, or looking around for a few birds. Up the hill behind town one can sometimes see Moose or Black Bear foraging, Bald Eagles are all over the place, and along the water one sees Black-legged Kittiwake, Glaucous-winged Gull, Marbled Murrelet, and the local subspecies of Song Sparrow (M.m. kenaiensis) which is strikingly different from those in the lower 48. The Sitka Spruce forest can have Varied Thrush, “Sooty” Fox Sparrow, or Chestnut-backed Chickadee. From here one can also explore Kenai Fjords, and we shall.

Kenai Fjords is not only home to the Harding Icefield, the largest of its kind in the U.S. covering 700 square miles, it is home to a staggering volume and diversity of wildlife. Making it better is the scenic backdrop that it provides for the birds and animals we encounter. The steep cliffs and hillsides can have Mountain Goat or Dall’s Sheep, while the water’s edge might offer Black Oystercatcher, Pigeon Guillemot, Wandering Tattler or Harlequin Duck. Out on the water, keep your eyes peeled for the unqiue Steller’s Sea Lion, Killer Whales and Humpback Whales. Also here we have good chances to see the endangered Sea Otter, which is the heaviest mustelid (weasel family), but among the smallest of marine mammals.

Katmai National Park

Tucked right into the base of the arm of the Alaska Peninsula is Katmai National Park and Preserve, spanning over 6000 square miles. Within it is the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, so named for its appearance in 1916 after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, which was the largest eruption of the 20th century, which produced about 30x the amount of ash of Mount St. Helens. Designated a monument in 1918 the park contains 18 volcanoes, and is famous for its geothermal activity. Mostly unvisited until the 1950s, it is now well known and oft-visited for its sockeye salmon run which begins in mid-June, and for the associated number of Brown Bears that come here to feast on them. Kukak Bay which we aim to visit harbors bears throughout the year due to an abundance of clams, sedges and fish, with which the bears can sustain themselves. As we approach, we’ll keep an eye out for all 3 scoter species, Black Oystercatcher, both Horned & Tufted Puffins, and closer to shore we could see Redpoll, Golden-crowned Sparrow and more.

Kodiak Island

Across the turbulent Shelikof Strait lies an island (really an archipelago) with a name that evokes wilderness in a way few other places can match. Perhaps best known as home to the world’s largest Brown Bears in the world, the Kodiak subspecies (Ursus arctos middendorffi) is often referred to as Kodiak Brown Bear or Alaskan Brown Bear. With a population of about 3500 within the Kodiak Archipelago, there are ~0.7 bears per square mile. The biggest males stand 10 feet tall and weigh 1500 lbs. Living up to 30 years, males begin to exit their dens in April, while females and cubs emerge from their dens in May/June. And June is also mating season. While the bears are a big feature and we should see quite a few, Kodiak is also known for its scenery, and for the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. Part of the homeland of the Alutiiq Sugpiaq people, the refuge spans some 2 million acres. Also the largest U.S. Coast Guard base is located on Kodiak. Birds we might encounter include Barrow’s Goldeneye, Red-necked Phalarope, Pine Grosbeak, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and with some luck Aleutian Tern.

Ugashik Lakes/Alaska Peninsula Nat. Wildlife Refuge

As we cruise into more and more remote areas, we continue to explore parts of the Alaska Peninsula Refuge. As we go we’ll watch the shoreline for scarce coastal birds like Black Turnstone, Surfbird, or even a young straggler Yellow-billed Loon, and mammals like Killer Whales and Steller’s Sea Lion. The big blonde Steller’s Sea Lion is not only a rather handsome pinniped, but it is also the largest of the eared seals, the only living species in its genus, and the western population along our route is endangered. We may see this species around Kenai Fjords, but if not we could see it elsewhere, including approaching the Ugashik Lakes area. The latter however are better known for trophy fishing of Arctic Grayling and also for Sockeye and Coho salmon-fishing. Not many birders or nature enthusiasts visit this area, so it will be exciting to see what is around.

Aniakchak National Monument

Today we see perhaps the least-visited place in all of the U.S. National Park System. Established in 1978 as a monument, often just a few dozen people see this place annually. Most of those do via float plane putting in at Surprise Lake inside the caldera rim is Aniakchak Peak. The caldera is 6-miles wide. Our time we’ll be spent more coastally, looking for birds and other wildlife, at an even less oft-visited part of the park. There are few (almost zero) eBird checklists for this area. Whatever we see will be significant as a result. We imagine it’s possible to encounter Pelagic and Red-faced Cormorants in this area, probably at least 6 or 7 species of auks (alcids) such as the 2 puffins, the 2 murres, Pigeon Guillemot and a couple of murrelets, perhaps tubenoses like Northern Fulmar or Short-tailed or Sooty Shearwater, and maybe Sandhill Crane onshore. It will be especially fun to pioneer some eBird checklists and iNatualist observations here.

Unga Island

The largest of the Shumagin Islands, Unga formerly hosted fishing and gold-mining communities, but today is a ghost town. Uninhabited since 1969, it is now more as a place to see nature reclaiming the land around the old establishments here, creating a unique aura, and the northwest side of the island is famous for its petrified forest. We would need to strike the tide right there, but at the waters edge are ancient petrified Sequoia trunks, some 8-foot in diameter. Here again, visitation by tourists is uncommon, and as nature enthusiasts it will be a thrill to document what we see. Perhaps on land or nearby we might find Aleutian Cackling Goose, Wandering Tattler, or still other species.

At Sea/From the Boat

Of course a good amount of our time will be spent aboard the ship in transit, and this can be one of the most exciting times of all. Indeed with ample sunlight, we’ll have to pace ourselves, but almost all along our route there are a number of rare species that we could encounter. In fact the list is long enough, that the odds are that we’ll probably encounter at least one or more. Vigilant observers should keep their eyes peeled for Black Turnstone, Surfbird, a lingering Yellow-billed Loon, or an American Goshawk bee-lining between islands. Aleutian Tern could be encountered almost anywhere as well, as could the much rarer still Short-tailed Albatross. We would indeed need some good fortune to find the latter, but their numbers are increasing and these are pretty good waters for them. We’ll be looking hard for them and for things like Red-legged Kittiwake too. While they could be anywhere in theory, probably our chances for the kittiwake and the albatross are better closer to Dutch Harbor, which is also well known as the best site to find the sought-after Whiskered Auklet. Of course in addition to cetaceans like Humpback Whale, Dall’s Porpoise, and both “Resident” and “Bigg’s” Killer Whale types, we could potentially encounter other species also, such as Harbor Porpoise, Gray, Fin, Beluga and Minke whales. Dare we hope for a sighting of the mythical Baird’s Beaked Whale? You gotta be in the game to win the game!

Fox Islands: Mount Akutan

As we leave the main part of the peninsula and enter into the Fox Islands and the Aleutians proper. Inhabited for millennia by the Aleut people, the islands were first visited by Europeans in 1741 during the famous Vitus Bering expedition from Russia. At that point some 16,000 Aleuts lived on Akutan. Today the village numbers about 1500 residents, a surprisingly large number, that peaks during the summer/autumn months when the commercial fishing plant is processing cod, crab, and pollock. While often enshrouded in clouds, a most distinctive feature of Akutan Island is Mount Akutan, a stratovolcano with a 1.25 mile wide caldera at the top that formed 1600 years ago. The most recent eruption was in 1992. Again this is a location seldom visited by birders and nature enthusiasts, so we’ll see what’s around. Perhaps we’ll see the large Aleutian form of Pacific Wren here, the large griseonucha subspecies of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, or Aleutian Cackling Geese. 

Fox Islands: Unalaska & Dutch Harbor

As we continue to explore the Fox Islands, departing Akutan we leave the Aleutians East Borough and enter into the Aleutians West Borough of Alaska. Unalaska is the main population center of the Aleutians West Borough, with over 80% of the residents based here, and at Dutch Harbor. Together the islands of Unalaska and Amaknak (where Dutch Harbor is) constitute the town of Unalaska. With a population today of 4400, the island was made famous by the Discovery Channel show, Deadliest Catch, which followed fisherman based here, who mostly fished the Bering Sea to the north. More seafood has been caught here over the last few decades than about any other port in the United States. Indeed the marine life as we approach Dutch Harbor could be quite good, so we’ll want to be alert on approach. This is the famous place to the rare Whiskered Auklet, and other rare seabirds are possible here too. The waters around the island, and any congregations of gulls should be checked for Red-legged Kittiwakes. On the island we may also locate Black Oystercatcher, Rock Sandpiper, and a short list of landbirds possibly including Belted Kingfisher or even American Dipper.