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 couple of 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.
