Dutch Harbor, in the Aleutian Islands, is one of only two accessible locations (Adak is the other) where the Whiskered Auklet can easily be found. The town has relied on fishing for centuries and continues to do so. The weather is most suitable in mid to late June for our boat trip out to the Baby Islands to see the auklet. We expect to see Short-tailed Shearwater, Laysan and Black-footed Albatross, and Ancient Murrelet. We hope to see Mottled Petrel, a rare species in the Bering Sea now. We have seen Short-tailed Albatross a several times as well.
For our 8 – 10 hour boat trip, we will motor out to the Baby Islands for the Whiskered Auklet, then out to the Chelan Banks for other pelagic species. On the day we’re not on the boat, we’ll spend some time driving and walking around the tundra and seaside looking for other species that might be in residence or moving through. Tufted Duck was seen recently. Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Aleutian race) is common as well as Snow Bunting. Gyrfalcon is often seen. Dutch Harbor has the highest concentration of Bald Eagles in the Aleutians because of the fish processing plants.
Accommodations in Dutch Harbor are at the very comfortable Grand Aleutian Hotel, and meals will take advantage of the wealth of excellent seafood available in Dutch Harbor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLLaDwz5CNo
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)
Tour price (Per person): USD4,750 * GBP3,848 * EUR4,371 * AUD7,102
Single Supplement: USD1,000 * GBP810 * EUR920 * AUD1,495
Tour price (Per person): USD4,750 * GBP3,848 * EUR4,371 * AUD7,102
Single Supplement: USD1,000 * GBP810 * EUR920 * AUD1,495
Tour price (Per person): USD4,750 * GBP3,848 * EUR4,371 * AUD7,102
Single Supplement: USD450 * GBP365 * EUR414 * AUD673
The tour was very well organised and run. The guides, Stephan Lorenz and Dave Krueper, were excellent. They went out of their way to ensure that all the group members had a chance to see and identify the birds, especially concentrating on those they knew were life birds. Having two guides for 10 tour members was great and being in two vans for travel ensured that we all had sufficient space and window area to spread out and see everything. Even the weather was pretty good. Great tour!
Stephan Lorenz is an outstanding guide. His knowledge of birds - including their identification, behaviours and biology - is exceptional. He and his partner Claudia provided excellent service to the clients. They made sure all our interests and needs were attended to, and they actively engaged in making the trip both educational and fun.
Stephen Lorenz and Dave Krueper were terrific guides. Complemented each other beautifully. Thanks so much for an incredible experience.
Forrest Rowland was a wonderful guide. He is extremely knowledgeable about birds and always takes the time to consider the wants, needs and priorities of the group. He works with his group to form a common goal. He was extremely professional and he had a remarkably positive attitude. His enthusiasm was infectious and admirable, as was his perseverance in finding us any species that we wanted and which was possible to see. Forrest is personable, humorous, and extremely generous and kind-hearted. I am so grateful to have met him.
Stephan was an outstanding guide, as usual, and Claudia was a great spotter and helper. The lodging in Barrow was better than expected, as was the food there.