Kenai Peninsula in Alaska -July 12-19

Chestnut backed Chickadee, Seward, AK, Jul 13, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Seward, AK, Jul 13, 2026

Humpback Whale, Lowell Point Rd, Seward, AK, Jul 13, 2026

Marbled Murrelet, Lowell Point Rd, Seward, AK, Jul 13, 2026

Black billed Magpie, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 13, 2026

Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 13, 2026

Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 13, 2026

Resurrection Bay, Tonsina Creek/Caines Head Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 13, 2026

Mountains, Seward, AK, Jul 12, 2026

On Sunday I caught an early morning flight from sunny and warm Minnesota to much cooler and rainy Alaska where I met Sherri late in the morning local time. We had been talking about a return to Alaska since our honeymoon in 2004 and for a variety of reasons it never came together until now. Unfortunately it was rainy when we arrived and it continued in varying intensity as we made the drive south to our first lodging near Seward on the Kenai Peninsula. We did make a few brief stops along the way and occasionally you could see some of the mountains. Not too much for bird activity for the day although I did add a few species for the year. 

The first full day in Alaska began with rain (of course) although when I woke up it was just a little drizzle (and I was up early as my body was still on more east coast time). I decided to try to take a walk along the Lost Lake Trail nearby but only made it ten minutes in and the rain increased and I bailed on the walk. All was not lost as I did hear some Marbled Murrelet flying over. I then headed down to the town of Seward to check the harbor and had some birds despite the fog and rain. I tried along the road to Exit Glacier for birds and came up mostly empty before I returned to the harbor for a bit. The rain had let up a little and I had better visibility although the distance to many of the birds was too far to positively identify. I then returned to the lodging and picked up Sherri and we drove through the rain to Exit Glacier where we hiked up to the glacier viewpoint in some light rain and drizzle. The clouds lifted a little and we were able to get some satisfactory looks at the glacier before the rain moved back in again and obscured the views. There were some birds around with multiple species carrying food to young unseen. After almost an hour and half at Exit Glacier we headed south of Seward to hike the Tonsina Creek Trail to Caines Head. The rain lightened up and then stopped all together and we had brief looks at blue sky. We spent just under three hours walking before heading back for lunch. An added bonus occurred on our way back along Lowell Point Road where we saw multiple whales feeding very close to shore. The rest of the afternoon was spent around the house and although the low clouds stayed put the rain continued to hold off. A productive day with eight new species for the year overall. 

Horned Puffins, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Horned Puffin, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Horned Puffin, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Common Murres, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Pelagic Cormorant, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Marbled Murrelets, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Black legged Kittiwakes, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Rhinoceros Auklets, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Rhinoceros Auklets, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Rhinoceros Auklets, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Marbled Murrelets, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Sea Otters, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Humpback Whales, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Aialik Glacier, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Aialik Glacier, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Ice from glacier, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Mountains, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Glacier, Kenai Fjords NP, AK, Jul 14, 2026

Tuesday was the day we booked a boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park and of course I awoke early to fairly heavy rain coming down. It was raining too hard to even consider taking a walk anywhere before the boat tour so I stayed around the house. We headed into Seward a little before seven in the rain and boarded around 8AM in the rain and started our six hour adventure through rain and wind and rough seas. It was far from ideal conditions and there were multiple stretches when you could not even get out on the deck at all. Even with some good gear to keep ourselves warm and somewhat dry, it was a losing battle at times. Nonetheless at least we were lucky and did not get seasick…not something that can be said of many people on board! The part of the trip when we made it out of Resurrection Bay and into the Gulf of Alaska was especially rough. There were birds to be seen throughout most of the trip and it killed me to not be able to be out on deck for parts of the trip due to the rain and salt spray. There were a few highlights including four life birds (more on those below), a few Humpback Whales, multiple Sea Otters and great views of some glaciers. The most common birds species during our cruise were Black legged Kittiwakes and Crested Auklets, with some giving decent photo opportunities considering the weather. The first life bird for the day was Horned Puffin (somehow missed the species on a cruise to Alaska way back when). Had great looks at multiple individuals and was truly a neat looking bird (as all puffins are). The next lifer was Kittlitz’s Murrelet that was seen in the vicinity of Aialik Glacier and unfortunately was gone from view before I could get a photo. Great looks through the binoculars of a stunning adult in breeding plumage. I may have had a couple others at a distance but could not be certain. I added yet another lifer with distant Parakeet Auklets and a final lifer for the cruise with a flyby Red faced Cormorant. With these four new species my life total now stands at 2193. By the time we made it back to the harbor around 2PM the rain had finally stopped and the visibility improved. We then headed back to our lodging to dry out and warm up. 

Trumpeter Swans with young, Seward , AK, Jul 15, 2026

Wilson's Warbler, Bear Lake Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 15, 2026

Townsend's Warbler, Bear Lake Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 15, 2026

Pacific Wren, Bear Lake Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 15, 2026

American Dipper, Two Lakes Trail, Seward , AK, Jul 15, 2026

Fox Sparrow (Sooty), Bear Lake Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 15, 2026

Pigeon Guillemot, Lowell Point, AK, Jul 15, 2026

Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords NP, , AK, Jul 15, 2026

Mountains over bay, Lowell Point, AK, Jul 15, 2026

Mountains over bay, Lowell Point, AK, Jul 15, 2026

Mountains over bay, Lowell Point, AK, Jul 15, 2026

The next day the early morning dawned without rain and just low clouds with nothing beyond a little drizzle from time to time. I was (of course) up early so did a few walks before Sherri got up. I started along the Resurrection River Trail on the road to Exit Glacier. Notables on that walk included lots of Marbled Murrelets flying over and my first Northern Yellow Warbler of the trip. I then tried to check out the harbor in Seward but the fog dropped visibility to nearly zero so I headed to nearby Bear Lake Trail and had some great looks at Fox Sparrows (Sooty subspecies) and Wilson’s Warblers plus some flyover Red Crossbills (likely Type 1 but recordings were not good enough to confirm). I headed back to the house a little after seven and we took a short walk on a trail near town that produced a pair of American Dippers before heading to Bear Lake Trail again. This trail was productive with multiple new species for the trip plus more Red Crossbills. By the time we got done hiking it was near noon so we took a break for lunch and then with the sun really coming out for the first time on the trip we headed out again with stops at Lowell Point and the road to Exit Glacier. It was great to see some of the mountains we have missed until that point due to all the clouds and rain. Among the 43 species for the day was my trip high of five species of warblers. The day ended with my throat starting to hurt and I started fighting the cold symptoms as best I could. 

Steller's Jay, Bear Lake Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 16, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Bear Lake Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 16, 2026

Hermit Thrush, Bear Lake Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 16, 2026

Harbor Seals, Seward Harbor, Seward, AK, Jul 16, 2026

Bear Track, Bear Lake Trail, Seward, AK, Jul 16, 2026

Mountains at dawn, Seward Harbor, Seward, AK, Jul 16, 2026

The last day in the Seward area started off rain free with even some breaks in the clouds. My first stop for the day was down to the harbor in Seward where I had the expected species. I then headed to nearby Bear Lake Trail where I walked for an hour of so and had 20 species including a few new ones for the trip plus found some fresh bear tracks. Around seven I returned to the lodging and picked up Sherri and we made a short walk along the trail to Lost Lake before abandoning that spot and returned to Bear Lake Trail. We had a similar suite of birds during the walk that I found in the morning with a slight reduction in diversity and numbers. By late morning the rain started up again and continued at varying intensity for the rest of the day. We headed back into town in the early afternoon to try a few brews at a local brewery before heading back to the lodging for the rest of the day. My throat continued to hurt but no other symptoms developed so I suppose I was lucky. 

Mountains and bay at dawn, Seward, AK, Jul 17, 2026

Harlequin Ducks, Seward, AK, Jul 17, 2026

Marbled Murrelet, Seward, AK, Jul 17, 2026

Kenai River, Kenai NWR, Cooper Landing, AK, Jul 17, 2026

Common Merganser duckling, Kenai NWR, Cooper Landing, AK, Jul 17, 2026

Dark eyed Junco fledgling,  Cooper Landing, AK, Jul 17, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Cooper Landing, AK, Jul 17, 2026

Orange crowned Warbler, Cooper Landing, AK, Jul 17, 2026

Friday was the day we left the rainy Seward area and headed to the equally rainy Cooper Landing area to the north. I was out in the morning and between bouts of rain, got some walking in at various spots in the immediate vicinity of Seward. It proved to be a productive morning and the visibility was not horrible along the water. I managed to add a few shorebirds including one lifer with a Wandering Tattler (species #2194). Unfortunately I left my good camera back at the lodging but I would not have brought it out to where I saw the bird anyway due to the rain. I went back to pick up Sherri a little after seven and we returned to the beach where I had the tattler but it was gone. All was not lost as I did add more shorebirds for the trip. We then returned to pack up and head out to our next destination in Cooper Landing. The rain stopped for a bit and we got a couple short hikes in before the rain started up once again and we then took a break for a late lunch and waited out the rain. The rain continued so no more hikes for the day and instead we headed to our lodging and checked in a little early. The woods around the place held some birds despite the rain. 

Lincoln's Sparrow fledgling, Kenai NWR, Cooper Landing, AK, Jul 18, 2026

Pine Grosbeak, Cooper Landing, AK, Jul 18, 2026

Moose, Potter Marsh, Anchorage, AK, Jul 18, 2026

Young Moose, Potter Marsh, Anchorage, AK, Jul 18, 2026

Young Moose with adult, Potter Marsh, Anchorage, AK, Jul 18, 2026

Young Moose, Potter Marsh, Anchorage, AK, Jul 18, 2026

Short billed Gull, Potter Marsh, Anchorage, AK, Jul 18, 2026

The last full day in Alaska we had a float trip planned along the Kenai River and we wavered back and forth of whether or not to go due to the rain (in the end we went for it). Like a broken record it was rainy once again when I got up to head out for the morning. I headed west and mostly got out of the rain and traded the rain for tons of mosquitoes. The birding was quite slow during the couple hours I was out before the float trip. The float trip featured cool conditions without too much rain. It was a decent trip with loads of Common Mergansers, Bald Eagles and gulls…no photos as I didn’t want to bring the good camera in the boat. With the forecast calling for very heavy rain and strong winds starting later on Saturday and lasting into Monday on the peninsula we decided to head north to try to get out of the rain and be a bit close to the airport (we stayed in a small cabin northeast of Anchorage). On the drive up toward Anchorage we slowly left the worst of the rain behind us and we even had some brightening through the clouds. We made a brief stop at the well known Potter Marsh and although the birding activity was light we did get some great views of a baby Moose with its mom. 

River and mountains in the rain, Lazy Mountain, AK, Jul 19, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Butte, AK, Jul 19, 2026

Our flight out of the rain and gloom was not until late morning on Sunday so I had time to try to catch up with some birds before heading to the airport. The rain was on and off for the morning with windy conditions so finding anything was tough. I managed a few short walks between the heaviest rain and got the best looks I have had of a Spruce Grouse as it crossed the road right in front of me.  After a harrowing ride through very heavy rain as we drove to the airport we flew out on time down to Oregon to continue the vacation.

Despite the less than ideal weather I still managed to find a decent amount of birds with 89 species total during the week with five life species (Horned Puffin, Kittlitz's Murrelet, Red faced Cormorant, Parakeet Auklet and Wanderling Tattler).  My Alaska state list now stands at 92 species.  Full trip report here:  Alaska July 2026 trip report.

More details on warblers here: Warblers in Alaska