Birding is considered one of the fastest-growing nature-based tourism types in the world, and Alaska has a lot to offer. New research shows birders are more likely to travel to remote communities, boosting the economy and conservation efforts.
UTQIAĠVIK— A flock of brants took off from the surface of the Arctic Ocean in Utqiaġvik, and Eben Hopson named them without blinking.
“At times, there may be three or four different birder groups that are here that fly in from the Lower 48 and from all around the world to see these — you know, for me — everyday birds. But for them, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these groups of birds that migrate from thousands of miles away,” Hopson said. “And to me, that’s pretty cool.”Birding is considered one of the fastest-growing nature-based tourism types in the world, and Alaska has a lot to offer.
Hopson usually guides one or two bird enthusiasts at a time. He said he drives them in his truck around town, “stopping every 25 feet to look at every single bird in that area.” If they’re looking for certain species, he takes them to places where he spotted those birds recently — for example, Nunavak Bay 3 miles south of Utqiaġvik to see snowy owls, or tundra mounds and ponds to see eiders.
In Utqiaġvik, birders can see eiders that spend summer and fall on the shore before they fly south for the winter. During the same season, long-tailed ducks are neighbors with Pacific loons, and brants can be spotted alongside white-fronted geese, while in fall, birders can spot rare Ross’s gulls by thousands. The North Slope area is home to about 278 waterfowl and shorebird species, according to UAF research, and Alaska overall is a global breeding hot spot for hundreds of migratory species.
Lang said that “a lot of the shorebirds people are familiar with — they migrate through various regions in the lower 48. But they’re not in their showy plumages and they’re not displaying and singing, so when you see them on the breeding grounds, it’s really like seeing a different animal.”Birders visit Nome and other places in Northwest Alaska to see high densities of breeding waterfowl and shorebirds such as dunlins, western sandpipers, red knots and bar-tailed godwits.
Lang said that a certain sector of his clients like going to places that are “out of the way, places that seem novel and new, that they don’t know anyone’s gone to.” Communities, he said, can attract these types of tourists by emphasizing the unique aspects of their culture and life — such as ivory and bone carvings in Gambell or the history and economy of Nome.A red-throated loon swims near the Utqiagvik shoreline on June 27, 2022.
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