September 2024 Alaska
Every trip you take in search of wildlife has its surprises and disappointments. I took a nine day trip to Alaska, knowing I was probably going to be somewhat overwhelmed. It’s a vast area (Alaska is one-fifth the size of all the "lower 48" states of the US combined) with a lot to see and in that limited amount of time, I could only touch on a few highlights.
I always go as a photographer and nature enthusiast first, and as an inaturalist obsessive second. While it seemed like I drove many, many miles. When I look at the map I only covered a very, very small part of the state.
I also went at time of year that was probably somewhat less productive from an animal standpoint than if I had gone during breeding season or when flowers were blooming.The advantages of breeding season are that more animals are out and about, while birds haven’t yet migrated.
That being said, there are still plenty of resident species to see and get excited about. September is normally a good time for bears and moose.
Starting with the disappointments first, I didn’t see a couple of my target species like Dall's sheep (now known as thinhorn sheep) and caribou. I tried but just couldn’t find any…however for all I know, they were out there and I just didn’t see them. It’s always difficult to drive and do wildlife spotting at the same time. I had also hoped to get some better photographs of some species but unlike here, where animals are confined to small islands of habitat, i.e. Yellowstone, animals in Alaska can spread way out and are often far away. I also lost the use of my telecomverter on the first day of the trip so I was further away than I liked.
I also happened to arrive during a long rainy spell…it rained every day for my first 6 days as well as part of another day. Fortunately with the exception of two half days, I was out walking around in spite of the rain. Those two half days were so rainy I couldn't really do much but drive, either to new destinations or to areas where I might spot some wildlife.
So where did I go? I spent four days in Denali and four days in the Kenai peninsula. I’m so used to California that I found it surprising that the area around Denali kind of shuts down on September 15th…you can still go into the park but services in the area start closing. Winter comes fast up north.
Denali is also a bit of a challenge as you can only drive in a private vehicle up to the 13 mile mark. My timing was such that I was actually able to drive in to the 30 mile mark on my third day there as the bus tours stop. There is only one road in the park, so you are somewhat confined although you can basically hike anywhere you want. Those who aren’t serious photographers like me, can book bus tours that go much further into the park with additional opportunities to spot wildlife.
Denali is absolutely gorgeous..fall colors were on full display and the surrounding mountains had snow making for some stunning landscapes. Another advantage of the fall rainy season is the absolute proliferation of fungi and lichen. Denali has two main biomes: northern boreal forest and tundra at higher elevations. While the area I was in, was boreal forest, it contained some features that reminded me of tundra, with some smaller sized plants and lots of moss and lichen. You could literally spend a lot of time looking at one small patch of forest and find an amazing array of species.
Fortunately for someone like me who likes everything, I never ran out of interesting things to photograph. What were the highlights of my time in Denali? Seeing the adorable collared pikas up close, seeing a very large bull moose in the field and glancing up on a hike to see a grizzly bear across the river from me. Other highlights were getting close range photos of a spruce grouse, a willow ptarmigan and a black-backed woodpecker. Just being in a beautiful place with interesting habitat was wonderful.
My visit to the Kenai peninsula was quite different. It’s much more of a maritime area. While still cold, you are often driving along the coast and there are countless lakes and rivers. I spent time in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Seward and Homer.
What were the highlights of the Kenai peninsula? One was the boat cruise I took in Resurrection Bay. While there are some large cruise boats that are very popular, I chose to go with a small cruise operator that limits customers to six per boat. This provides for a much more personalized tour and works well for serious photographers. The weather turned out to be perfect that day…sunny, calm seas and relatively warm….high 50’s. Some wildlife highlights included several bald eagles, a sea otter eating a giant red octopus, two mountain goats high on a cliffside, two bears fishing for and eating salmon and even a moon jelly and sea nettle.
Another interesting place I explored was a beach where the super low tides of Alaska permit great tide pooling. Unfortunately due to the distance from where I was staying, I couldn’t get to the area until the tide was at its lowest and it was over a mile’s walk to the actual tide pools so I was limited to what I could find in the vast beach area as the tide moves in quickly. I thought the beach area was so much healthier than those that I see here in Southern California, which makes sense due to the low numbers of people who go to the beach in Alaska. There was a large variety of wrack, virtually no trash, and it was apparent, there was abundant sea life. You could actually spend a lot of time in Alaska just visiting tide pools.
Another nice experience was watching three juvenile bald eagles riding the thermals and perching up close along the Kenai river. And finally, though my photos are super poor, I was lucky enough to see Beluga whales in two different locations…what a treat! It was definitely a highlight of the trip and one that was definitely unexpected.
Here are links to some of my favorite observations:
Beluga: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244255312 (if only those trees weren't in the way and I had a 600 mm lens!)
Dragonfly (yet to be ID'd): https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244225272 --Surprised to even see one out in the rather cold weather so unexpected
Bald eagle juvenile: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244207390 - one of the three along the Kenai River
Arctic Green Sea Urchin: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244205371--while I never made it to an actual tide "pool" I did fine this cool urchin on the beach
Alaska Indian Paintbrush: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244199508 --one of the few fresh flowers I found
Tree Lungwort lichen: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244045673--interesting lichen that grows on tree bark
Sea Otter with Octopus: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243923278
Northern Sea Nettle: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243923264
Willow ptarmigan: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243847811
Spruce grouse: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243847812
Pelt lichen: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243659639 --many different types so not sure if these are ID-able but interesting lichens growing on the ground
Grizzly bear: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243472676--seen quite a few in my time but first time I ran into one while hiking alone (luckily I was a decent distance away and it didn't seem too interested in people)
Collared pika: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243253385 --always adorable
Moose: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/243471172 -- nice to see surrounded by fall color
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