Grand Alaska Part II: Anchorage, Denali & Kenai Peninsula

Grand Alaska Part II focuses on the many special breeding birds of south coastal and interior Alaska, with excellent opportunities to see the state’s iconic mammals against a backdrop of truly spectacular scenery. We begin in the Denali region, visiting both Denali National Park and the magnificent wilderness along the Denali Highway. Here, vast sweeps of boreal forest, taiga, and alpine tundra hold a wealth of northern specialties. Target birds include Trumpeter Swan, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Golden Eagle, Spruce Grouse, Willow Ptarmigan, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Boreal Chickadee, Bohemian Waxwing, Arctic Warbler, Redpoll, and White-winged Crossbill. We’ve added a full extra day in this region to increase our chances for these special birds, and we will make a particular effort to locate the highly sought Northern Hawk Owl, present in about half of all years somewhere along the Denali Highway.

Mammal viewing here is often as memorable as the birding. Grizzly Bear, Caribou, Moose, and Dall’s Sheep are all realistic possibilities, with an outside chance of encountering Gray Wolf. On clear days, views of Denali, North America’s tallest peak, are nothing short of unforgettable, yet even when the summit is veiled in cloud, the park’s sweeping vistas make every visit worthwhile.

A full day in the Anchorage area adds a different flavor, with greenbelts, wetlands, and city parks offering Pacific Loon, Red-necked Grebe, Bald Eagle, Alder Flycatcher, and additional chances for Spruce Grouse and Boreal Chickadee.

We then continue to the Kenai Peninsula and Seward, where moist coastal rainforests and glacier-cut fjords introduce a new avifauna. Varied Thrush, Townsend’s Warbler, American Dipper, and Pine Grosbeak are among the possibilities, and an all-day boat trip into Kenai Fjords National Park delivers immense ice fields, towering cliffs, nesting seabirds, and excellent prospects for Humpback Whale, Orca, Dall’s Porpoise, Steller’s Sea Lion, and Sea Otter—often a defining highlight of the tour.

Grand Alaska Part II unfolds across three of the most iconic ecosystems in North America: the boreal forests and sweeping tundra of the interior, the glacier-cut fjords of the Kenai Peninsula, and the coastal rainforest of south-central Alaska. In Denali’s vast taiga and alpine ridges, spruce forest blends into wide-open tundra alive with singing longspurs, nesting ptarmigan, and roaming Caribou and Grizzly Bears. The Denali Highway adds rich wetland mosaics, willow thickets, and quiet lakes frequented by Trumpeter Swans, Barrow’s Goldeneye, and Northern Hawk Owls when conditions are favorable. Farther south, the Kenai Peninsula introduces mossy Sitka spruce forests, cold mountain streams, and rugged shoreline, while Kenai Fjords National Park hosts towering glaciers, seabird cliffs, and nutrient-rich waters supporting puffins, murres, auklets, whales, and sea lions. Together, these landscapes create a sweeping portrait of Alaska’s wild, untamed beauty—an unparalleled blend of taiga, tundra, rainforest, and marine wilderness.