The annual
Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival heralds the return of migratory shorebirds every May. Our isolated location is ideally suited for those birders who want to get away from the crowds and spend quality time in a unique and private viewing environment. Chrome Bay Wilderness Lodge sits on a bluff, overlooking an intertidal area that is host to many species of shorebirds, eagles, and even hummingbirds. Settle into your yurt nest for a unique viewing opportunity. We also take boat excursions to cliff and island rookeries that abound in our remote waters. Don’t forget to visit the
Wings over Alaska website and download the Alaska bird checklist before you visit. The best time for birding trips is the month of May during the migration season.
Harlequin ducks live in some of the wildest and most remote habitat in our hemisphere. Undoubtedly one of North America’s most beautiful and least noticed waterfowl, these ducks can be viewed in small flocks of 5-25 birds in Chrome Bay. They are also known as “rock ducks” since they can be found roosting on or swimming near emergent rocks or rocky outcrops in intertidal zones.
The Black Brant breeds in eastern Siberia and along the northern coast of Alaska and western Canada. It is a small sea goose that is about the size of the common Mallard and stages one of the most spectacular migrations of all waterfowl. The Brant leave their Arctic staging grounds in late fall, and fly non-stop for almost 50 hours to wintering grounds in Baja, Mexico. We are fortunate to catch a few sightings of these unique birds as they pass through our area on their reverse migration each spring.
What birding trip to Alaska would be complete without puffins? Two species live in Alaskan waters: the horned puffin and the tufted puffin. Horned puffins are recognized by a small, fleshy, dark horn above each eye, and the tufted puffin is named for the tufts of feathers that curl back from each side of the head. The most striking puffin feature is the large colorful bill. Early sailors dubbed them the “sea parrot” due to their stout bodies, short wings, and red or orange webbed feet.
This is just a quick snapshot of some of our Chrome Bay birds. Eagles, eiders, gulls, loons, murrelets, peeps, plovers, sandpipers, and even rufous hummingbirds inhabit our area. Migratory bird sightings are best in the month of May.
Email us: poiboyfishing@alaska.net
Call us: 907-235-0778 or Toll Free: 888-Poi-Boy1
