(Cover photo: Photo by Wynand van Poortvliet on Unsplash)
Avid birders are continually adding to their life list - and one of the best ways to increase their chances of seeing rare and unfettered birdlife is via small-ship cruise.
You’ll have
access to remote destinations larger ships can’t go and glimpse some of the
10,000 species of birds in our world in their native habitats. From puffins to
penguins, Antarctica to the Amazon, here are some of the world’s top birding
destinations.
Alaska
Best Birding
Time: May 15-June 15; after August 15
Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash
Each summer,
hundreds of bird species migrate to Alaska’s Arctic region, crossing over the
Inside Passage. In Glacier Bay National Park, you can expect puffins and the
rare Kittlitz’s Murrelet, and on South Marble Island, nesting puffins,
kittiwakes, cormorants, bald eagles and Peregrine falcons. In Glacier Bay
National Park alone, approximately 240 species of birds have been recorded.
Include Adak, in the western Aleutian Islands, in your Alaska birding
experience and you’ll find Asiatic birds during their journey north, including
tufted duck, smew, garganey, whooper swan, Siberian rubythroat, brambling and
many more. A few other Alaska birding hot spots: Pribilof Islands in the Bering
Sea, the city of Nome, Denali National Park, Kenai Fjords, Kodiak and the
Copper River Delta.
Galapagos
Islands
Best Birding
Time: Year-round
Photo by Andy Brunner on Unsplash
The
Galapagos Islands are home to 56 native bird species - 80 perfect are found
only there. Avid birders will delight in the 13 species of Darwin’s finches -
although they can be tricky to identify. If you seek the waved albatross,
choose a trip that includes Espanola Island between May and November (breeding
season). You’ll find flightless cormorants on Fernandina and Isabela islands.
Look, too, for flamingoes and the Galapagos penguin, the northernmost penguin
in the world.
The Amazon
Best Birding
Time: December-May
Photo by Juliana Amorim on Unsplash
You won’t
want for birds here in the Amazon rainforest - an ornithologist’s dream. There
are 1,700-plus bird species here (which is close to 20 percent of the world’s
total) - more than 300 species are endemic. One one Amazon River cruise alone,
you might add 100 birds to your life list, including colorful macaws and
toucans, Antbirds and Hoatzin’s.
Antarctic
Best Birding
Time: November-December for courtship, nesting and eggs; January-February for
baby and tween chicks
Photo by Susan Tuckey, Penguins2PolarBears - South Georgia 2019
Penguins,
yes, but you’ll see colonies of up to a million birds when you take a
small-ship cruise in Antarctica. Meet Chinstrap, Adelie, Gentoo and, if you
include South Georgia and the Falkland Islands on your itinerary, King penguin.
Look, too, for wandering albatross, petrels, skuas and more. Your small-ship
expedition will offer birdwatching opportunities from open decks and from on
shore. Birding-specific departures may include the accompaniment and expert
ornithologists such as Fabrice Genevois.
Kuril Islands
Best Birding
Time: May-September
Photo by Paul Carroll on Unsplash
The Pacific
Ring of Fire, where you’ll find the Kuril Islands in Russia’s Far East,
provides the perfect conditions for seabirds. Volcanic and geothermal activity
have created deep trenches and the currents that surround many of the islands.
The rich birdlife here includes tufted and horned puffins, parakeet, whiskered
and rhinoceros auklets, spectacles and pigeon guillemots, cormorants, petrels,
kittiwakes and the Laysan albatross - to name a few!
Papua New Guinea
Best Birding
Time: October-November
A small-ship
cruise to Papua New Guinea is a boon for birders. You’ll not only see a
stunning diversity of bird species, but also have the opportunity for authentic
cultural interactions and snorkeling. Be on the lookout for the endemic
Raggiana, Blue and Wilson’s Birds of Paradise, as well as the rare Fire-Maned
Bowerbird.
Binoculars ready? Let’s chat about the world’s best birding destinations.