Alaska is a birder’s paradise and there’s a new online resource highlighting prime viewing spots in the state’s largest city. The Anchorage Birding Trail features 35 locations in and around the municipality, from Eagle River to Whittier.
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Hundreds of thousands of people flock to Alaska to bird each year, commonly traveling to hubs like Nome, Denali National Park and the Kenai Peninsula. However, Anchorage is also a birding hotspot, said Lauren Cusimano, communications manager for Audubon Alaska, the statewide chapter of the National Audubon Society.
“We have a whole lot of species that are present in town,” she said. “We’re trying to demonstrate Anchorage as a cool place to bird and make this trail something of a community asset for Anchorage residents and visitors.”
Nearly 300 bird species have been recorded in Anchorage, . More than 500 species have been found in the state. The online map highlights popular locations, like Westchester in west Anchorage and Potter Marsh along the Seward Highway. Each location includes a brief description of the area and birds that may be spotted.
The trail also includes less known birding spots, like Hillside Park, and Cheney Lake in East Anchorage, which was named the 2026 Park of the Year by the Anchorage Park Foundation. Cusimano lives nearby and called Cheney a “sleeper site.”
“Cheney Lake is more or less like a neighborhood lake. There are tons of redneck grebes, there are tons of waterfowl coming through, bald eagle, raven [and] songbirds,” Cusimano said.
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These online trails also exist for bird nerds in Utqiagvik and Southeast Alaska.
To coincide with the new trail, Audubon Alaska updated a checklist of Anchorage area birds for the first time since 2014. The checklist is a hot commodity among the local birding community, Cusimano said. It’s color coded to show the time of year you may see a specific species and how common they are.
Cusimano said it’s surprising how much birds have changed over time. For example, the old checklist said European Starlings were uncommon in the city. The squeaky birds are invasive and often seen as pests.
“European starlings are literally everywhere, they’re all over town. I’m surprised they didn’t accidentally fly through the door with you just now,” Cusimano said.
There’s a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new trail at Westchester Lagoon on Wednesday at 5 p.m., followed by a bird walk. Bird checklist brochures will also be available.
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