Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska - Part 1 (Oct 7-8, 2025)

For a few years I had been toying with the idea of trying to see Polar Bear in a reasonably non-touristy way. I had no interest in the Churchill, Manitoba tundra buggy outdoor zoo experience. I wasn't against being shown a Polar Bear by someone, but self-found was the preference. The issue of course is that no place that harbors Polar Bear is cheap and easy to reach, so an all-or-nothing self-guided Polar Bear trip seemed at risk of being a waste of money and time. If no bears, ideally there would be something else to do. This is why Utqiagvik, by no means a guaranteed destination to see Polar Bear, rose to the top of the list. A visit in October would likely include sightings of Ross's Gulls migrating in their normal range, which is something I had wanted to see after twitching two vagrants around here: a first cycle in NY and a subadult in CT.

October 2025 seemed like the right time to do this, since I had a bunch of Alaska Airlines miles set to expire, and I had already time off work in October. Dan Errichetti joined me for the adventure.


Oct 7 (Day 1)

I arrived late in the afternoon at Barrow Airport and walked across the street to grab the rental vehicle, a “weathered” Ford F150 from UIC, which is currently the only public car rental option in Barrow. The King Eider Inn is basically next to the UIC rental site, also across the street from the airport. Dan and I reserved the kitchenette double room so we could prepare most of our own meals (packed some food, too) to save on cost, as everything here is very expensive. Dan would be arriving a day later, so I was on my own for 24 hours. I checked into the King Eider and changed as quickly as possible so I could get out and bird the last couple hours of light. Sunset here at this time of year is after 7pm.

Visibility was low due to fog. Temps were above freezing and there was a light breeze from the southwest. As I glimpsed the Arctic Ocean for the first time in several years, I saw that offshore scoping wouldn’t be an option this evening. There were many large gulls lingering around the whale butchering site at the base of the Point. Here, each fall, there is a legal subsistence hunt of Bowhead Whales by the Inupiat people of Barrow. As there was no sign of Ross’s Gulls, large gulls would have to do. GLAUCOUS GULL dominates here. Some 99% of large gulls here in October are pure-looking Glaucs. There were a couple interesting birds straight away. First, a pale and white-winged first cycle ICELAND GULL was clearly not the expected thayeri form and was of the kumlieni/glaucoides type…a rarity here. I'd have liked a better look to more seriously consider nominate form, as it was very white-winged, but I had to settle for brief distant views on the water. I also had poor views of a first cycle AMERICAN HERRING/VEGA-type gull.

first cycle Iceland Gull, kumlieni/glaucoides type

While I was puttering around the area, I noticed that a handful of vehicles began to congregate along the beach road (Stevenson Street). A local noticed that I was a tourist and was kind enough to give ma a heads-up that a successfully hunted Bowhead Whale was on its way in, hence the gathering. I debated for a moment whether or not this was something I wanted to see. I have a soft spot for whales and certainly prefer them alive, but I quickly decided that this was a cultural experience I did not want to miss. I do appreciate the subsistence hunting. Living off the land is the cleanest way of living and something I wish I practiced more at home.

After some 45 minutes of hanging around, four boats finally emerged from the fog. Slowly, a crowd gathered as dusk fell. This was clearly a significant event for the town. Families gathered in anticipation. Children played in the sand as the whale was floated to shore. Cars honked their horns and tribal flags were flown.

I'll spare the whale photos for those who might not enjoy seeing them. It should be noted that this practice is completely sustainable. The Bowhead Whale population in that particular ocean is reportedly 15k+ strong, and growing.

I'd have liked to stay to witness more of the process, but I was knackered from travel and headed back to the room for some rest. I'd catch the butchering in the morning.


Oct 8

Coming from the east coast, a 4-hr time difference meant I was up early. This was only worsened by the local sunrise being after 9am. I drove to the restaurant at the Top of the World Hotel, which opens at 7am (8am Sundays) for hot coffee and a hearty breakfast. I reached the base of the Point at 0845, which was the first birdable light. A steady rain was falling, as was forecast all morning. The wind was out of the WSW at 10mph. I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as Ross's Gulls go, but I figured this was not an ideal wind.

I was interested in watching the whale butchering, but to my amazement only a carcass and a few scraps were all that remained! They worked through to night to cut up and transport basically the entire animal. Very impressive.

As expected, there wasn’t a whole lot happening offshore. Long-tailed Ducks made a decent showing, but the standout species was YELLOW-BILLED LOON. Twenty-one birds passed westbound, including one alternate adult. The theme would continue all week with several YBLO tallied each day.

I took a break from scanning the ocean to focus on the lagoon behind me. Scanning the icy far edge with scope, I nearly fell over when a POLAR BEAR suddenly appeared front and center in my field of view. As seeing Polar Bear was the original inspiration for this trip, finding one on my first full day was both exhilarating and unexpected. This bear was facing me, at the edge of the ice and looking down into the water in front of it. Zooming out, two more bears came into view (!), one large and one medium-sized together up the slope behind the lagoon. These two were interacting, tumbling over and pawing at one another. Thrilling!

In an attempt to [safely] get a bit closer, I drove down Dewline Road and had better views from there, scope still required. Totally enthralled, I stayed here for a while just enjoying the bears from this very safe distance.

Polar Bear (this photo taken a couple days later, in the same area, a bit closer)

After a while I pulled myself away and turned my attention back to the Arctic Ocean. By this point the skies were clearing and there were even a few breaks of sun. More was happening offshore, with the obvious change being a massive eastward movement of SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS. I did several minute-long counts that varied anywhere from 100-250 per minute. Taking the low number, that made an easy 12,000 birds during this 2-hr watch and in reality it was likely many more than that. Also moving east were BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES in small pulses, plus another 29 YELLOW-BILLED LOONS. As it was apparent that Ross’s Gulls were not a part of the movement, I decided on a change of scenery before Dan’s afternoon flight arrived. Scoping from the airport bluffs yielded two GRAY WHALES (not the hoped-for living Bowheads). There wasn’t much else happening other than the continuing shearwater movement and a distant jaeger sp.

It was time to pick up Dan and get back out there for the last bit of daylight. First stop was obviously to see if the bears were still in view, and luckily they were! We enjoyed all three again from Dewline Road; Dan was obviously stoked. What a start!

While watching the bears, we had a "BLACK" BRANT in the lagoon. Once we had our bear fill for the evening, we spent the waning moments of light at the whale butchering site, as several hundred birds had come to feed on the whale remains. As we pulled up to the melee, Dan picked out an adult SLATY-BACKED GULL from the middle of the pack. Up to a half-dozen first cycle thayeri ICELAND GULLS (the expected subspecies) were present, plus a couple apparent GLAUCOUS x HERRING hybrids (hereafter "Nelson's Gull").

Slaty-backed Gull

Slaty-backed Gull with Glaucous Gulls

thayeri Iceland Gull

Glaucous Gulls on slabs of Bowhead Whale

We hung in until it was too dark to bird, then retired to the inn where Dan unpacked his things and reflected on a first couple hours in Barrow that included a mega mammal and a rare Asian gull!



- NB