Puffin's and More
Saint Paul Island, Alaska
Instructors: Alan Murphy & Greg Downing
This exciting adventure takes us to the tiny remote island of St. Paul in Alaska's Pribilofs. Situated in the Bering Sea, St Paul Island attracts hundreds of thousands of seabirds to nest in its vertical cliffs, and the majority of the world's population of Northern Fur Seals to bear and raise young on its shores.
Parakeet, Crested and least Auklets will be brooding young while Tufted and Horned puffins deliver fish to offspring waiting is their nest cavities – sometimes flying and landing within close range! Our timing on the island will coincide with puffins feeding their young and the best chance at capturing images of adults bringing in fish
Among the Auklets and Puffins are thousands of other seabirds including Northern Fulmar, Red-legged and Black-legged Kittiwake, Glaucous-winged Gull and Thick-billed and Common Murre. Ruddy Turnstone, Rock Sandpiper, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting and Winter Wren all nest on the Island as well as the St. Paul race of the Grey-crowned Rosy Finch. It’s always a treat to see – much larger than the mainland racesDuring our week on the Island will have exclusive use of our own bus and professional guide. This will afford the freedom to call the shots and take advantage of every opportunity.
The focus will be on photography and flexibility in the field! Photographic opportunities range from capturing perching seabirds, set up shots with some of the songbirds and shore birds (Alan's specialty!) to free access to the seal blind to safely witness and capture images of the seals raising their young
Workshop Date:
August 3-10, 2012
Cost: $4995.00
Limited to 12 participants
- Price includes all instruction, round-trip air transportation from Anchorage, all ground transportation at destination, private guide and sightseeing services, and shared accommodations on the island.
- Meals and gratuities not included. Meals are roughly $50 per day. Suggested gratuity for local private guide is $10-$15 per day per person.
- *Single supplements can be arranged at an additional $500 for those wanting a single room, but spots are limited.
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- *Cost for Non-Photographers is $3,995 and requires a separate registration and deposit.
- ***Non-photographers require a separate registration and deposit. Please indicate "non-photographer" next to your name in the registration form.
Why travel to St. Paul Island with Alan and Greg rather than a regular tour through St. Paul Island Tours or with another tour leader?
Alan and Greg are both expert birders and photographers and each offer their own style and unique skills when it comes to not only teaching the nuances of bird photographing but also working with people in a small group setting.
Greg and Alan will cater to your needs in a non-ego driven and approachable friendly style. They will work with you individually and as a small group to ensure you receive not only the instruction you need, but the images you desire as well.
Greg has been visiting St. Paul for a decade and he knows the island intimately. He can be sure your time is not wasted finding the best spots under the varying weather conditions you will encounter.
We will have EXCLUSIVE use of a bus, even though there will only be a handful of participants. If you were to try and travel to the island alone or as a smaller group you will be stuck on a bus with birders and tourists and will not be able to focus on photography.
We will have professional guide who will also be there solely for our group. This means we can go anywhere we want on the island and concentrate on photography when the light is right.
When the weather turns bad we have comfortable and casual space to download, work on images, learn about post processing from Greg and Alan or just relax.
Register right away to reserve your spot in this workshop!
http://www.naturescapes.net/docs/index.php/workshopdetail?ws_code=st_paul_alaska_2012
