Prince William Sound has abundant populations of birds year round but especially in the summer months when the supply of bait fish is at it peak and thousands of pelagic seabirds arrive from a winter out at sea, to take advantage of the food supply and protected remote breeding grounds. Birding in Prince William Sound is at its peak in May, June, July and August.

Using our Prince William Sound Taxi, we offer several birding tours from our base camp boat, visiting the seabird rookeries to see thousands of black-legged kittiwakes, horned puffins, tufted puffins, common murres and cormorants. We can also encounter various species of waterfowl such as Harlequin ducks, Barrow’s goldeneyes, mergansers, scoters as well as nesting Bald eagles and Arctic terns. We sometimes even see the elusive Kittlitz’s murrelet! On the way to and from the rookeries, you may also see sea otters, seals, sea lions and whales!

In the spring and fall, Prince William Sound is part of the migratory pathway for the millions of birds flying up to their Alaskan breeding grounds for the short but sweet summer. May and September are the best time to view the migrants including waterfowl, cranes and shorebirds. June, July and August are the best months for viewing nesting birds.

With Whittier Water Taxi, we only take up to 6 passengers at a time, using a small vessel, making our tours less intrusive and more environmentally friendly than the large, high speed tour boats. We can customize your tour, going where the birds are at the time, rather than follow a pre-determined route.

Pacific Loon

Horned Puffins

Sea Otter