Birds of Sitka Alaska

World Renowned Birding

Saint Lazaria Island

St. Lazaria is a protected wildlife refuge and about a half - million seabirds call it home during breeding seasons. As you can imagine the photo and viewing opportunities are quiet good. While we can’t take you on the island itself. We can get our boat right up to the shoreline on calm ocean days.

Some of the species you could expect to see are as follows:

  • Black Oystercatcher

  • Common Murre

  • Eagles

  • Gulls

  • Pelagic Cormorant

  • Puffins

  • Rhinoceros Auklet

The best months to visit St. Lazaria are from May to August.

Saint Lazaria Island in Sitka
Saint Lazaria island tour

Shorebirds

Due to Sitka’s unique outer coastlines. There are endless remote beaches to view shorebirds from. We like to boat out to some of the beaches, dawn our waterproof waders and go ashore to find these birds. Some of the birds you could expect to see are are as follows:

  • Oystercatcher

  • Sandpipers

  • Plovers

  • Turnstones

  • Snipes

  • Greater yellowlegs

Sea ducks

Year round in Sitka Alaska offers plentiful opportunity to photograph and view many types of ducks, including ones not on our list below. Spring and Fall are the best times to photograph ducks in Sitka Alaska.

We’re going to touch on the sea duck species you can expect to see:

  • Harlequin

  • Long-Tailed

  • Red-breasted Merganser

  • Common Merganser

  • Hooded Merganser

  • Goldeneye

  • Scoters