Alaska: St. Paul Island Fall Vagrants

Description of Alaska: St. Paul Island Fall Vagrants

This quick, 6-day tour visits St. Paul Island during the peak of fall rarity season! This tiny island lies 770 miles west of Anchorage, Alaska in the middle of the Bering Sea, and has recently exploded in popularity among birders, naturalist, and those interested in Native American culture. There are four islands which make up the Pribilof Islands chain, and St. Paul Island has the most comfortable accommodations (with shared bathroom facilities), plenty of good food options, and the infrastructure to access much of the island via drive-able dirt roads. With the help of local guides, we will make the most of the island’s rich potential for rare seabirds, shorebirds, and songbird vagrants! Stray migrates from Asia are regularly encountered on the island, and tracking them down will be our focus! The island has a variety of habitats to explore including wetlands, grassy tundra, ancient lava flows, and idyllic seaside cliffs. Introduced Reindeer (domestic Caribou) and an island endemic subspecies of Arctic Fox may be seen. This is truly a bucket-list opportunity for ABA listers and wildlife enthusiasts! Anchorage will serve as our base before and after our visit to the island.

This tour is designed to be part 1 of an 11-day tour in combination with ALASKA: Utqiaġvik Ross’s Gull Migration. We certainly suggest joining us for the full double-tour to really make the most of a fall visit to Alaska, but you are also welcome to sign up for just the St. Paul Island half or just the Utqiaġvik half. More details are explained in the itinerary below, and you are welcome to contact us any time if you have questions!