St. Lawrence Island lies in the Bering Sea just off the Siberian coast. Gambell is a small, timeless Yupik village subsisting much as it has for thousands of years. On clear days, Siberia can be seen clearly 35 miles in the distance. High Arctic specialties and Asian vagrants are the mains draws at Gambell. Most of the Asian species recorded in North America have been seen in Gambell and its environs. We will spend much of our time within a couple of miles of the village. There are huge colonies of Parakeet, Least and Crested Auklets on the cliffs within walking distance. Northwest Point provides a “super-highway” for seabirds passing very close by the island in migration and usually yield Arctic and Yellow-billed Loons, Dovekie, Emperor Goose, and occasionally Ivory Gull as well as many other seabirds and ducks. The centuries-old bone yards often hide vagrant passerines, for example, Eurasian Bullfinch, Hawfinch, Brambling, and Common Cuckoo. The marsh about two miles from town is superb for shorebirds and typically yields several of the Asiatic shorebirds.

Our accommodations will be simple but comfortable in Gambell. Walking on Gambell is very strenuous because of loose gravel. In order to make Gambell more accessible, we provide ATVs for our customers, usually two per ATV. No other groups provide this service routinely. Our primary leader will be Stephan Lorenz. Sara Cedricks, a professional chef in Fairbanks and cook extraordinaire will provide our cooking. Other groups are especially envious of Sara’s fine cooking. We will have additional leaders as needed.

This tour is operated by High Lonesome BirdTours in partnership with Rockjumper Birding Tours.

These are large group tours (up to 16 guests with multiple leaders), and will have guests from both Highlonesome and Rockjumper.

For any queries not related to a tour booking, please fee free to contact High Lonesome BirdTours directly Stephan Lorenz (Tour Director)