Birding the Russian Far East

Days 1-2 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatkskiy. Russia / Disembark

Fly to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy and stay overnight at a centrally located hotel. If you want to arrive a few days earlier exclusive arrangements can be made for you, including visiting the famed Valley of the Geysers or explore one of a number of volcanoes for which the region is famous. During the evening, members of the Expedition Team will be at the hotel to meet you and answer any questions.

The next morning you can take the opportunity to explore the city; there is an excellent museum and a number of monuments that let you discover its history. In the afternoon you will board the Spirit of Enderby in preparation for the departure of the expedition this evening as you will leave Avacha Bay which is one of the greatest natural harbours in the world toward the Commander Islands. After departing there will be a number of introductions and briefings (eg compulsory ship safety lecture),to be kept as short as possible to allow you ample time to settle into your cabin and to get out on deck to look for seabirds.

Day 3 At Sea

Have a day at sea as you cruise towards Commander Islands. The waters cruising through are renowned for cetaceans as this is the border between two major tectonic plates and there are deep canyons where these animals feed, Blue, Fin, Humpback, Sperm and Baird’s Beaked-Whales have all been seen here on previous expeditions, as have Dall’s Porpoise and Orca, so there is real potential to start the voyage with some great cetacean sightings. During the crossing there will be your first opportunity to see birds such as Red-legged Kittiwake, Tufted Puffin, Ancient Murrelet and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel.

Days 4-5 Commander Islands

There are two main islands in the Commander group, Bering and Medney, and during your two days you will explore several sites. While ashore, stand an excellent chance of finding Rock Sandpiper, Mongolian Plover, Pechora Pipit and Grey-crowned Rosy-Finch, as well as the endemic subspecies of Arctic Fox. Zodiac cruising can be extremely rewarding here with Whiskered, Least and Parakeet Auklets all possible as well as the range-restricted Red-legged Kittiwake.

The area is also extremely rich in marine mammals and previous voyages have encountered Sperm, Humpback, Northern Minke and Baird’s Beaked-Whales, as well as Orcas, Steller’s Sea-Lions, Northern Fur Seals and Sea Otters.

Day 6 Zhupanova River, Kamchatka

By midday approach the mouth of the Zhupanova River and after an early lunch Zodiac cruise the river for several hours looking for birds and other wildlife. The combination of smoking volcanoes and mile upon mile of untouched forest make this area very special but it is also home to some exceptional wildlife, including a high density of Steller’s Sea-Eagles. There are several massive stick nests immediately adjacent to the riverbank and consequently have an excellent chance of getting some exceptional views of this majestic raptor. There should, however, be plenty of other wildlife too and other species seen on previous occasions include Pacific Diver, Falcated Duck, Wood Sandpiper, Aleutian Tern, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Arctic Warbler, Willow Tit and both Yellow-breasted and Rustic Buntings.

At the river mouth there is a small fish-processing plant as huge numbers of salmon spawn in the river. There will be an opportunity to meet the villagers, sample the fish and see how it is processed, as well as doing some land-based exploring.

Both Long-toed Stint and Far Eastern Curlew are possible here and nearby there is usually a flock of scavenging gulls attracted by the processing plant. See several species including the localised Kamchatka Gull, which is now regarded by some as distinct from Common or Mew Gull.
It is always with genuine reluctance in leaving this area and heading back to the ship, however, possibly end your visit with some more views of Steller’s Sea-Eagle and the chance of Long-billed Murrelet as you cruise away from the shore.

Day 7 Bukta Russkaya, Kamchatka

On previous expeditions to this same region several pairs of the critically endangered Kittlitz’s Murrelet were discovered in this fiord. Plan to look for these as well as Long-billed Murrelet which also occur here. There is at least one active nest of the spectacular Steller’s Sea-Eagle in the bay and while ashore look for Lanceolated Warbler, Oriental Greenfinch and Rustic Bunting.

Spend the day exploring the Eastern coast of Kamchatka and, assuming the weather is fine, there should be fantastic views of the many snow-covered volcanoes that dominate the southern part of the peninsula. You could see at least half a dozen species of Auks during the morning including Tufted Puffin, Brunnich’s Guillemot and Parakeet Auklet, however, also expect to get good views of Fork-tailed Storm- Petrel and Laysan Albatross. There is also a decent chance you may find some new species for the voyage as Aleutian Tern has been seen here previously, also Red-necked and Grey Phalaropes. In the morning hope to be off the entrance to Bukhta Russkaya, an isolated fiord roughly 150 miles north of the southern tip of Kamchatka.

Day 8 Onekotan and Atlasova Islands

Landing at the northern end of Onekotan walk to a nearby lake through meadows of wildflowers where you could find Buff-bellied Pipit, Pine Grosbeak and Japanese Grey Bunting.

In the afternoon, visit Atlasova where there is a colony of Red-faced Cormorants. Other species that can be found here include Long-toed Stint, Falcated Duck, Arctic Warbler, Brown-headed Thrush and Siberian Rubythroat.

Day 9 Toporkovy and Ekarma Islands

By early morning expect to be off Ekarma Island, which like so many of the islands in the Kuril chain is an active volcano. The island is, however, home to hundreds of thousands of breeding Northern Fulmars and plan to Zodiac cruise along the coast enjoying the multitude of birds. Other species that breed here include both Tufted and Horned Puffins and you may even see some of the island’s resident Peregrines hunting Alcids. For some reason, this area also seems to be favoured by Short-tailed Albatross.

After your Zodiac at Ekarma and a short ships cruise too Toporkovy Island where, once again, there are spectacular colonies of breeding seabirds. The island is named after the Tufted Puffin and you can expect to see large numbers of these rafting on the sea, as well as vast flocks of Crested Auklets which can contain tens of thousands of individuals.

After exploring Toporkovy hope to land on the nearby island of Matua where there is an active volcano which last erupted in 2009. During the Second World War Matua was heavily fortified by the Japanese and there is a labyrinth of trenches across the island. This makes exploring somewhat challenging but you should still find a range of good birds with a decent chance of Grey-tailed Tattler along the shore and Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat and Black-faced Bunting in the scrubby trees which are now growing back across the island. Arctic Skuas also breed on the island. Returning to the ship cruise on towards Yankincha Island for the next morning adventures. Assuming the conditions are favourable, there should also be some cetaceans and previous expeditions have seen Orca, Northern Minke Whale, Sperm Whale and Dall’s Porpoise on this transit.

Day 10 Shimushir and Yankicho Islands

Enter a flooded caldera at the northern end of Shimushir Island where there was once a top secret Soviet submarine base; now abandoned. In the surrounding area, likely species include Siberian Rubythroat, Eurasian Nutcracker, Pine Grosbeak and Japanese Grey Bunting.

Your visit to Yankicho Island is likely to be one of the highlights of the voyage as the numbers of alcids which breed here are incredible, with spectacular concentrations of Crested and Whiskered Auklets. You may also see Parakeet Auklet, Horned Puffin and Pigeon Guillemot.

Day 11 Urup and Chirpoy Islands

Make an early morning activity to Chirpoy Island where there are some dramatic headlands covered in breeding seabirds and, depending on the conditions, either land or have a Zodiac cruise. While Black-legged Kittiwakes and Brunnich’s Guillemots are among the more numerous species, you may also find your first Redfaced Cormorants of the voyage, as well as the more widespread Pelagic Cormorant.

Returning to the ship for lunch sail south with an excellent chance of Sperm Whale and Orca as you head towards Urup Island. Laysan Albatross can be numerous here and on previous occasions we have also seen Ancient and Long-billed Murrelets, Brunnich’s Guillemot, Crested and Rhinoceros Auklets and Tufted Puffin so there should be plenty to see.

During the afternoon arrive off Urup Island and expect to see White-tailed Eagle, Harlequin Duck, Grey-tailed Tattler, Japanese Cormorants and Black-backed Wagtails along the shoreline. Previous voyages have also seen Largha and Harbour Seals along the shore as well as Pacific Sea Otters.

Day 12 Iturup Island

The waters off Iturup can be excellent for the localized Spectacled Guillemot and plan an early morning Zodiac cruise to search for this species. After breakfast, buses will take you into the volcanic highlands of Iturup where Brown Dipper, Arctic Warbler, Japanese Robin, Pine Grosbeak and Japanese Grey Bunting can be found. You will also visit the community of Kurilsk where Russet Sparrow and Chestnut-cheeked Starling breed.

Day 13 Kunashir Island

By early morning expect to be ashore and exploring the Kurilsky Reserve with the assistance of the local rangers who will act as our guides. The reserve covers an extensive area of woodland and the species you could encounter include Latham’s Snipe, Oriental Turtle- Dove, Oriental Cuckoo, Japanese Bush-Warbler, Eastern Crowned Warbler, Narcissus and Brown Flycatchers, Siberian Stonechat and Long-tailed Rosefinch.
Overhead and along a nearby river, find good numbers of White-tailed Eagle as this species can be particularly numerous here and previous expeditions have recorded up to 25 individuals.
Be on the lookout for two special species which occur in the reserve, namely Blakiston’s Fish-Owl and Crested Kingfisher, however, these are difficult to find and have only been seen infrequently on previous visits to the area.
If the weather is favorable you should get great looks at the Tyatya volcano which, at almost 6,000 feet, is an impressive sight. By afternoon be back on the Spirit of Enderby and heading towards Sakhalin Island. As you cruise towards your final distention you will be fare welled by the amazing wildlife of the region that you have come to know so well on the expedition. During the afternoon there will an expedition recap and farewell dinner.

Day 14 Sakhalin Island, Russia

Land at Korsakov Port and transfer to nearby hotels or to the airport for onward flight. To allow time for disembarkation procedures it is not recommended booking flights before 13:00hrs.