best time of day for wildlife viewing

[melissasneu]

I know there are no guarantees but since this is our first trip to Alaska I was wondering if we should try to book excursions during certain times of day to increase our chances of seeing different species. It may not matter but if anyone has an opinion or knowledge please share.

 

Melissa

Veendam May 30 & June 6, 2004

[juneau-ite]

You might want to run a search (on this board) for the wildlife species that of most interest to you. And, in which locations that your are hoping to see them in/at/near.

 

Was quite a run on this topic about a year ago.

 

Or, maybe speak to some of the specific species you would hope to see, in this thread. People like Yukon or Budget Queen (as well as many others) often follow the wildlife threads and they have great info.

 

Also, there are some wildlife viewing tours that do offer $ back guarantees.

 

Hope this helps ...

[melissasneu]

I'd really hope to get an opportunity to see bear,moose,otters,seals, and of course whales especially orcas. We will be viewing the areas of Sitka, Juneau,Ketchikan,Seward.

 

Melissa

[Yukon]

Hi Melissa - there's no blanket statement that would be accurate. Every species, location, habitat and temperature gives different variables. About the only thing that's for sure is that sightings of everything will be really poor in open country on a hot day (hot being 75+ here). Early morning is the best bet for moose and caribou, but that means 2-4 a.m., before the sun comes up.

 

Murray

[Budget Queen]

Best for land animals is to add several days and get to Denali Park. Inside passage is poor and chancy without costly tours. Humpbacks are likely out of Juneau- but if you want to see orcas again add a couple days to go to Victoria or Friday Harbor Wa. From just going on the cruise, will not likely have any significant sightings. Any sightings you do have will be from a distance and brief. Binoculars are necessary.

[JohnQ]

Melissa

We were on Statendam two years ago at same time you are going and we had a week land before our southbound tour. We spent a day in Seward before the cruise and saw humpbacks and orcas on the 6 hr tour early morning tour, in addition to harbor seals and pups, puffins, goats/sheep, otters, Alaskan terns, and tons of other sea birds. We had good luck seeing humpbacks, harbor seals, eagles, 3 bears on beach (long way off) on Capt Larry's tour in Juneau in the morning hrs. We saw lots of eagles near Island Wings dock in Ketchikan sitting on the rocks and pilings around noon and afternoon. The best viewings we had were on the shuttle bus tours in denali park in the early morning for all day trips. We saw everything there and often right next to the bus. If you are doing back to back one way tours, you probably can't make that happen unless you were to take one of the fly in bear trips which I don't think start in early June?

[melissasneu]

Thanks for your replies. It sounds like morning are probably the best bet. Unfortunately, we won't get the chance on this trip to get into Denali or the interior but that's okay because it's another reason to return.

 

Melissa