Folks,
In mid-Sept, I'll be taking a family trip on an inside-passage Alaska
cruise (round-trip from/to Vancouver, B.C.) I expect to be doing a fair
amount of birdwatching from the ship's stern (bow is much too windy, I'm
told) expecting to see a number of seabird species, all mostly life birds
for me, including, hopefully, albatrosses. I'll be taking my 3rd edition
Nat Geo Guide plus considering Sibley's guide and even the venerable
"Seabirds of Great Britain and the World" by Captain 'forget-his-name.'
Is there an Alaska specialty bird guide that would be useful to take
covering most all I might see? There will be three port stops (Ketchikan,
Juneau and Skagway) that might also allow some beach perusing for
shorebirds (Dennis Paulson's guide?) and also a few hours of inland forest
birding.

The ship (a Holland-America cruise) does have a library that may have a
number of bird and wildlife books, but I need to have one or two of my own
on deck while birding. This is my first trip to Alaska or anywhere this
far up the West Coast. While, this is not a bird-focus tour, the ship
is slow-cruising a day in the Glacier Bay area for ice scenery and
wildlife viewing, particularly, whales. Naturally, I'm very excited and
expecting seeing a bunch of wonderful things on this trip.

Any information or suggestions, especially from others who have also done
cruise ship birding up the B.C.-Alaska coast is most appreciated.

Cheers & Thanks, Maureen
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Maureen Ellis, PhD, Research Scientist
Toxicology Group at Roos 1, 284A
Lab/Office phone: 206-685-1938
Dept of Environmental Health, Mailstop 354695
School of Public Health and Community Medicine
University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98115

Personal Financial Representative
Primerica division of Citigroup, Inc.
VoiceTell: 206-213-7430

E-Mail: me2 at u.washington.edu
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"Why are we now traveling into space? Why, indeed, did we trouble to look
past the next mountain? Our prime obligation to ourselves is to make the
unknown known. We are on a journey to keep an appointment with whatever
we are."_____Gene Roddenberry