The following information summarizes the various aspects of the trip. You can skip all this nonsense using the links above to go directly to the trip log and trip list. The trip list also has links to all the bird photos that I took. 

PLANNING:
Resources used in order of most used: A Birder's Guide to Alaska (ABA/West, 2002), Alaska Milepost 2003 edition, the Internet, A Bird Finding Guide to Alaska (Lethaby, 1994), DeLorme Alaska Atlas and Guide to the Birds of Alaska (Armstrong, 4th edition 1995).

I used A Birder's Guide to Alaska (BGA) as my main planning tool (review below) and using the guide I was quickly able to figure out where to go. However, I was certainly not able to figure out when to be in the various locations with any great degree of confidence. Apart from some general guidelines and specifics for a few species, the data in the guide about when birds come and go is, in my view, inadequate.

For my target birds (see The Birding section) I decided to visit Kenai Peninsula, Barrow, Denali Highway and Nome in that order. Actually, Denali Highway wasn't really necessary from a target bird standpoint but I wanted to experience the scenery there. A place that I definitely decided not to visit was Denali National Park -- it's not necessary from a birding standpoint so why hassle with shuttle busses and lots of people? There's plenty of great scenery elsewhere. Although I figured that I could do the target stuff in about 10 days by working at 100 mph all the time, I decided not to skimp on time and scheduled 3 weeks so I could enjoy the birds and scenery and spend time doing some digiscoping. In retrospect, I wish that I had allowed 4 weeks (trading the week that I spent traveling through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado -- see the journal starting June 18 for details of that trip). 

For Anchorage (a necessary evil to fly in and out of several times), the Kenai Peninsula and the Interior including Denali Highway, I made extensive use of the Alaska Milepost and found it to be extremely useful even if it does weigh a ton (do I hear Paul McCartney?). However, Nome and Barrow are not covered in the Milepost so I relied on BGA and the Internet. I made all initial inquiries and final bookings for flights, vehicles and hotels via email or Internet; and I only needed to make one phone call during the whole process. 

I found the logistics of planning a trip to Alaska to be quite complex. Most of my target birds could be seen in the Nome area so I fixed dates and made reservations for that portion of the trip first. I filled in the rest as I did more research and that led to a scheduling problem when I added Barrow to the itinerary. Visiting Nome and Barrow meant a couple of plane trips and vehicle rentals in those locations Obviously, I needed a vehicle for the Kenai Peninsula and Denali Highway segments too. I didn't want to have to rent a vehicle twice in Anchorage so I decided to rent a vehicle for the first two weeks (for Kenai and Denali Highway) and to leave it at the airport during the 3 day trip to Barrow (no impact on cost other than parking). I then dropped it at the airport as I left for the final week in Nome. I could have done this more efficiently (see what I did wrong) but hotel/vehicle rental in Barrow was a controlling item. 

FLIGHTS:
I scheduled all flights on Alaska Airlines:  Costs are round trip, rounded up.

Seattle-Anchorage. May 29-June 18. $397. Booked April 3.
Outbound flight full, 5 minutes early. Return flight almost full, 10 minutes late. 

Anchorage-Barrow. June 6-8. $453. Booked April 17.
Outbound flight quite full, on time. An annoying 40 minute delay in baggage pickup was apparently quite normal here in Barrow as priority is given to outgoing flight. Return flight about half full, on time.

Anchorage-Nome. June 12-17. $436. Booked March 21
Outbound flight cancelled due to aircraft problems. Next flight via Kotzebue, flight full. Lost time 3.5 hours.
Return flight about half full, 10 minutes early. (Some flights June 16 were cancelled because of fog in Nome.)

VEHICLES:
Costs are final amounts including taxes, rounded up (no additional insurance except Barrow). Vehicle pickup and drop was fast and efficient at all locations. 

In Anchorage I reserved a 4x4 SUV (Chevy Blazer or similar) from Alamo for pickup early May 29 and drop early June 12. Vehicle supplied was an almost brand new (500 miles) Isuzu Axiom that had plenty of bells and whistles. The desk agent tried to charge me $200 more than the quoted price but I had no trouble in getting the Internet price once I brought it to his attention. Total cost for 2 weeks was $537. This was probably the best deal on any aspect of the trip. Obviously, the vehicle was in good condition and performed very well.

I drove 1830 miles and spent $117 on gas. Gas prices ranged from $1.62 in Anchorage to $1.89 in Seward.

In Barrow I reserved a 4x4 Ford Explorer Sport Trac from King Eider Inn (where I was staying) for pickup early June 6 and drop late June 8. Basic cost was $115 per day and I decided to add damage waiver (hell, I didn't know shit about road conditions in Barrow). The total cost for 3 days was $405. The vehicle wasn't the best looking or cleanest in the world (but like a Rolls compared to many vehicles in Barrow) and had a fairly seriously cracked windshield that was sometimes a problem when viewing birds up ahead. The vehicle performed flawlessly.

I drove 102 miles and spent $28 on gas. Gas price at the gas station was $3.09/gallon.  

In Nome I reserved a 4x4 Ford Escape from Stampede Ventures (associated with Aurora Inn where I was staying) for pickup early June 12 and drop late June 17. Basic cost was $90 per day and total cost for 6 days was $562. Although the vehicle performed without problems, it was definitely in the worst condition of the three that I rented. A couple of door seals were shot (and the three birding roads around Nome are gravel and very dusty!) and there were plenty of rattles -- definitely a problem if you are an ear birder listening as you drive. The vehicle was delivered with a tire that had a slow flat -- this caused me to be delayed on the second day when I discovered it. Hotel staff got it fixed quickly and I did not have any further problems.

I drove 860 miles and spent $98 on gas. At least 3 gas stations in town, lowest gas price was $2.30/gallon.

LODGING:
Lodging costs were a significant part of total trip cost. I could have saved quite a bit by choosing not to stay at the best places in Nome and Barrow, but I decided not to skimp. I didn't want my trip to be ruined, or the overall experience diminished, by staying at rinky-dink places. 

Here's the list of places where I stayed (in chronological order). The rates shown include tax. Links are to hotel web sites.

Harborview Inn, Seward. $107.91/night. May 29
Harbor view? Yes, if you can see through buildings. The same guy that named the Inn writes birdfinding guides  -- "warblers may be dripping from the trees". Clean, comfortable, well appointed, albeit small room.

Bay View Inn, Homer. $88.62/night. May 30-June 3; 5 nights
I had a kitchenette room (stove & oven but no microwave) that was too small and I always felt cramped. Plumbing noises (hot water heater?) below me in the basement were a distraction. Clean, great views of Kachemak Bay, plenty of birds on the property. Friendly and helpful host. Room was always cleaned early and I was able to take lunch breaks here without problems.  

Sunrise Inn, Cooper Landing. $91.75/night. June 4
This was by far the least celubrious place that I stayed. It was more than adequate for an overnight, however, I wouldn't want to stay for an extended period of time. A little dark and no phone. The cafe was pretty good -- excellent cheesecake. 

Hillside on Gambell Motel, Anchorage. $102.60/night. June 5, 8, 11, 17; 4 nights
Convenient and fairly clean for an older place in a major city. Some of the staff were helpful, others far from it. Again, okay for a quick overnight but not for a long stay. The single rooms are on the second floor above the office and were too warm for me. I ended up reserving a ground floor double room (at extra cost) for the last couple of nights.

King Eider Inn, Barrow. $180.00/night. June 6-7; 2 nights (Photo)
I had a large kitchenette room (I'm sure non kitchenette rooms are large, too). A very clean place (everyone has to remove footwear at the door). Friendly and helpful hosts. I had everything that I needed and was very comfortable here. 

Denali Highway Cabins, Paxson. $120.00/night. June 9-10; 2 nights
A fairly new, self contained cabin. Compressor for water (on roof) very noisy but only ran briefly whenever water was used. Clean, no maid service during my two days (not that it mattered to me). Friendly and helpful host. Lack of a phone to get email (business must go on) was an inconvenience.

Aurora Inn, Nome. $140.40/night. June 12-16; 5 nights
Large, clean room and just like the King Eider I was very comfortable here. Charging 50 cents for a local call was tacky (just in case you don't already feel that you are paying too much). Staff were friendly and helpful. 

THE BIRDING: (oh yes, this is why I came)
As I mentioned at the outset of this trip in my journal of May 29, this was not just a target birding trip. I wanted to enjoy the scenery of Alaska and see some of the birds that I had never seen in breeding plumage. By reading through the trip log that starts on May 29 you'll get a good feel for how good the birding was in each place as well as what I liked and disliked. I scheduled three weeks and wish it had been four (see what I did wrong). 

It's hard to summarize three weeks in a few words but I can definitely say that Eider good time in Barrow and there's no place like Nome -- I could easily bird the whole summer in these two locations -- of course, that wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea. Denali Highway was spectacular and the birding was interesting. I wasn't too enamored with the Kenai Peninsula -- particularly Homer and especially Homer Spit that had lots of people and generally unexciting birding. Perhaps it's better here in winter and spring. 

In all I recorded 149 species in Alaska -- the trip list shows where I saw each species in terms of the four major destinations that I visited and gives an indication of abundance. Cumulative totals for each of the destinations are shown below and you can find day lists in the trip log.

In terms of target bird success, I'd have to say that I had an excellent trip, especially considering that I'd never visited Alaska before. I had a total of  27 potential target birds that were either lifers, U.S. birds or birds that I wanted to see again. Of these, 3 were Alcids that I was never going to see without taking the necessary boat trips -- Parakeet Auklet, Crested Auklet and Least Auklet. Of the remaining 24, White Wagtail wasn't present (not reported by anyone and not specifically looked for by me); and I looked for and missed Slaty-backed Gull (present in Nome), Kittlitz's Murrelet and Horned Puffin. 

That leaves the good part -- the 20 target species that I actually saw:
Red-faced Cormorant, Spectacled Eider, Steller's Eider, Gyrfalcon, Willow Ptarmigan, Rock Ptarmigan, Bar-tailed Godwit, Bristle-thighed Curlew, Pacific Golden-Plover, Arctic Tern, Aleutian Tern, Long-tailed Jaeger, Thick-billed Murre, Arctic Loon, Bluethroat, Northern Wheatear, Arctic Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Hoary Redpoll & Common Redpoll. I also managed to photograph 13 of these species.

I found most of them just by showing up, or by investing a minimal amount of time and/or effort. Exceptions were Bristle-thighed Curlew (required a fair amount of physical effort) and Bluethroat (required a considerable amount of time over several days). I was perhaps fortunate to see Thick-billed Murre close to shore at Cape Nome, something that might not happen on every trip (although I did check this location daily -- persistence pays). Bar-tailed Godwit and particularly Pacific Golden-Plover were far less common than I had anticipated. Smith's Longspur became a secondary target (after I decided that I wanted to see a male in breeding plumage) and finding this bird also required a fair amount of physical effort.

The Kenai Peninsula had the most habitat diversity of all the locations that I visited and produced the most overall species. My target bird opportunities were quite limited here and I saw only four: Red-faced Cormorant, Arctic Tern, Steller's Eider (unexpected) and Common Redpoll -- all of which I saw elsewhere except for the cormorant. I enjoyed the coastal birding, particularly the alcids that I don't get to see much in Arizona! It was fun to see the sheer numbers of birds on the Kachemak Bay boat trip (especially since I didn't get sick).

84 species seen on the Kenai Peninsula (mostly around Homer), May 29-June 5.
Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested, Red-faced & Pelagic Cormorants, Canada Goose, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Canvasback, Greater Scaup, Common & Steller's Eiders, Harlequin Duck, Oldsquaw, Surf & White-winged Scoters, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Bald Eagle, Sandhill Crane, Wilson's Snipe, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary & Spotted Sandpipers, Wandering Tattler, Black Oystercatcher, Mew, Glaucous-winged & Herring Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Arctic Tern, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Tufted Puffin, Pacific & Common Loons, Rock Dove, Rufous Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Western Wood-Pewee, Olive-sided & Alder Flycatchers, Steller's & Gray Jays, Black-billed Magpie, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied, Gray-cheeked, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Tree, Violet-green, Bank & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned & Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped, Boreal & Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Horned Lark, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Red & White-winged Crossbills, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's & Wilson's Warblers, N. Waterthrush, Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco and Fox, Song, Lincoln's, White-crowned, Golden-crowned & Savannah Sparrows.

As you might imagine due to its extreme northern location, species diversity in Barrow was the lowest of all my destinations. However, the birding here was excellent and very enjoyable -- although it definitely helps if you like cold weather! It was great to see birds in high breeding plumage, especially Red Phalarope and Lapland Longspur. I saw nothing really unexpected (except perhaps for Rusty Blackbird) and most of the species that one might expect (although no King Eider nor Snowy Owl, neither of which were targets). Someone saw a Red Knot well out on the tundra.

30 species recorded in Barrow, June 6-8:
Tundra Swan, Greater White-fronted Goose, Brant, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, Spectacled & Steller's Eiders, Oldsquaw, Bar-tailed Godwit, Long-billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated, Baird's & Pectoral Sandpipers, Dunlin, Red-necked & Red Phalaropes, Am. Golden-Plover, Glaucous & Sabine's Gulls, Arctic Tern, Pomarine & Long-tailed Jaegers, Red-throated Loon, Hoary & Common Redpolls, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, Savannah Sparrow and Rusty Blackbird.

Except for the Denali Highway with its spectacular scenery, I didn't much care for the limited section of the interior that I visited (I'm sure it's much better the further away from civilization that you get). Birding at the eastern end of the Denali was fun amidst great scenery -- good therapy.

55 species recorded in the Interior from June 9-11 (49 on the Denali Highway):
Trumpeter & Tundra Swans, Am. Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Greater & Lesser Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Oldsquaw, Surf Scoter, Barrow's Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Bald Eagle, N. Harrier, Willow Ptarmigan, Wilson's Snipe, Lesser Yellowlegs, Wandering Tattler, Red-necked Phalarope, Am. Golden-Plover, Mew & Bonaparte's Gulls, Arctic Tern, Long-tailed Jaeger, Pacific & Common Loons, N. Flicker, Olive-sided & Alder Flycatchers, Gray Jay, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Gray-cheeked, Swainson's & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Tree & Cliff Swallows, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Arctic Warbler, Horned Lark, Am. Pipit, Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, Orange-crowned, Yellow, Blackpoll & Wilson's Warblers, Smith's Longspur, Dark-eyed Junco and Fox, White-crowned, Savannah & Am. Tree Sparrows.

Nome was always going to be the focal point for my target birding and I actually saw 17 of 20 in Nome. The only species on the "target birds seen" list not seen in Nome were Red-faced Cormorant and Spectacled & Steller's Eiders. However, since Nome was my last destination, I had already seen 7 of them before arriving. Of the 17 targets seen in Nome, I didn't see 10 of them elsewhere which emphasizes why a visit here is a major component of a birding trip to Alaska (especially if you are not going to any of the islands). Species seen by others during my time here (that I know about) were Yellow-billed Loon, Slaty-backed Gull and Siberian Rubythroat.

73 species seen in and around Nome and on the Council, Kougarok and Teller Roads, June 12-17:
Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Tundra Swan, Snow & Canada Geese, Brant, Am. Wigeon, N. Pintail, N. Shoveler, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Oldsquaw, Black & Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Merganser, Osprey, Rough-legged Hawk, Gyrfalcon, Willow & Rock Ptarmigans, Sandhill Crane, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Bristle-thighed Curlew, Ruddy Turnstone, Spotted, Semipalmated & Western Sandpipers, Dunlin, Red-necked Phalarope, Pacific & Am. Golden-Plovers, Semipalmated Plover, Mew, Glaucous & (Vega) Herring Gulls, Black-legged Kittiwake, Arctic & Aleutian Terns, Parasitic & Long-tailed Jaegers, Common & Thick-billed Murres, Red-throated, Arctic & Pacific Loons, Common Raven, Am. Dipper, Varied, Gray-cheeked & Hermit Thrushes, Am. Robin, Bluethroat, N. Wheatear, Tree & Cliff Swallows, Arctic Warbler, Horned Lark, Yellow Wagtail, Am. Pipit, Hoary & Common Redpolls, Orange-crowned, Yellow & Wilson's Warblers, N. Waterthrush, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting and Fox, White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Savannah & Am. Tree Sparrows.

TRIP AWARDS:
Best sounds -- Pectoral Sandpiper in Barrow and Willow Ptarmigan on Denali Highway.

Best sights -- 20+ Spectacled Eiders at Emaiksoun Lake in Barrow, Bluethroat on the Nome-Teller Road, and Smith's Longspur on Denali Highway.

Favorite bird -- Hoary Redpoll

Favorite photos -- Bluethroat  (P2)  Northern Wheatear  (P2)  Smith's Longspur

Toughest birds found -- Bluethroat (time) and Bristle-thighed Curlew (physical effort).

Toughest bird not found -- Slaty-backed Gull (time!).

Biggest disappointment -- Homer Spit (and having to leave Alaska).

Most enjoyable aspect -- birding virtually alone in Barrow and at the east end of the Denali Highway.

WHAT I DID WRONG:
This isn't everything that I did wrong, but it hits the highlights.

General:
I should have taken hip-waders instead of just wellies to allow me to get further out on the tundra in Barrow. I should have purchased some mosquito proof head gear for birding on the Denali and in Nome. I should have taken far less luggage -- I took spares for most things (and they may well have come in handy) and enough clothes for three weeks so that I wouldn't have to do laundry (dumb move, an hour doing laundry wouldn't have killed me).  [Added June 2004: It's a shame that I didn't have the camera that I have now!]

Birding: I spent too much time on the Kenai Peninsula (or at least in Homer) and I should have used some of that time to take a boat trip to Kenai Fjords National Park out of Seward (I really regret not doing this). Initially, I was just too chicken-shit to put this into the plan and the weather killed my one chance when I tried to fit it in. Spending as much time as I did in Homer would only be productive earlier in May during shorebird migration. I was mislead by the BGA (or misinterpreted the information) into thinking that I could easily see my target alcids with a boat trip on Kachemak Bay. I think the problem was mainly due to timing, an area where the guide is weak. I could easily have spent at least another day or two on the Denali Highway, two or three more days in Barrow, and another week in Nome. Note: this certainly isn't necessary from a target birding standpoint, just my personal preferences. 

In terms of scheduling, I should have gone to Barrow after Nome (although not doing so didn't cost me any birds). I was pretty much the first birder of the season staying at the King Eider which is an indication that I was too early. I wanted to go later but getting a room and vehicle was a problem. This would allow for a late thaw as well as being a little warmer with more birds around. Starting earlier in Nome (end of May/beginning of June) and staying longer would have produced more migrants, allowed for more leisurely birding and hey, the Bluethroats would have been singing.

Logistics: Because accommodations in Barrow and Nome are expensive, I attempted to get more bang for my bucks by minimizing the number of nights and judicious scheduling. By arriving early the first day and leaving late on the last day, I could get X days of birding with only X-1 nights of lodging. In reality, this ended up costing me money and time because I still had to stay the night in Anchorage and spend time and money getting back and forth to the airport.

I should have stayed that last night in Barrow and Nome and traveled to the next destination the following morning (still via Anchorage no doubt) for easier traveling at little or no extra cost. It's tough to check out of a hotel in the morning, do a day's birding and then finish packing in the car for an evening flight. I won't plan to do that again. In terms of cost, a motel in Anchorage is around $100, add two taxi rides at $20 each, airport baggage handling, etc.; and that easily covers a night in Nome and goes a long way to covering a night in Barrow.

A BIRDERS GUIDE TO ALASKA:
The guide has about 512 pages, 448 of which comprise the main birdfinding section. The annotated list of species is 45 pages of compressed text and the "summer checklists" (no bar-graphs) take 20 pages. Like so many of the guides in the ABA birdfinding guide series, it suffers from too much extraneous information. If I want background, I'll buy a history book. At the very least, put non-birding stuff in sidebar boxes. This has always been a pet peeve of mine. Maybe it doesn't bother most folks

Constantly throughout the book (and sometimes several times within a chapter), there are cautions about bears (referring the reader to the section on hazards at the beginning of the book) and reminders about being aware of native cultures, etc. While I understand the need to be prudent, I wonder how many pages could have been saved for other stuff by simply printing a banner reference (to the hazards/cultures section) at the bottom of each page.   

First of all let me state that this was my primary resource for planning the trip and I used it on a daily basis while in Alaska. As an independent traveler, I found the book to be invaluable and would not have had a successful trip without it. If you are planning an independent trip such as I did, the guide is indispensable. Even if you are going on an organized tour, the book will definitely enhance your Alaska experience.

Having said this, the guide has plenty of shortcomings and, in some cases, holes big enough to drive a bus through. Obviously, Alaska is immense and no single author could adequately cover all areas. Consequently, as you would expect, each chapter varies in depth of coverage depending on the experience of the author of that chapter. My comments about the guide apply only to those chapters for the locations that I visited (Barrow, Denali Highway, Kenai Peninsula and Nome).

In general, information about species arrival times for the majority of species is weak or non-existent. There are no bar-graphs (obviously difficult to do because of the scope of Alaska) and the text only has specific dates for a few species. I had lots of difficulty deciding when to be in each location using just the guide alone. Looking at the itineraries of the various tour companies provided a few clues, but sometimes they have to compromise and the dates may mislead you.  

The next biggest problem that I had was in determining which species I would be kicking out of my way and those for which I would have to beg, borrow, steal, scratch, scrape or work my ass off to see. Although the guide has some information about the species commonly seen in each location, there was certainly no consistency between chapters. Given the fact that the chapters describe locations that are quite diverse in habitat, every chapter should be specific about what is commonly seen. Something along the lines of the following (although perhaps just a tad more PC): Unless you are deaf, blind, or can't tell shit from shinola, here are the birds that you will find just by showing up (list of birds goes here).

In support of why this is necessary, let me give you a couple of examples. In the Denali Highway chapter, Common Redpoll doesn't get mentioned once. Is this because they are not present or that they are abundant? -- something a first time visitor does not know (they were common). In the Nome chapter, Thick-billed Murre doesn't get mentioned once but the "summer checklist" for Nome lists the bird as "easy to see" (they certainly were not easy to see, at least from shore, and the Nome chapter doesn't mention boat trips). Confusing stuff. It might be argued that this information is contained in the range information described in the species accounts. However, in many cases this information is so wordy and convoluted that it becomes almost impossible to interpret. When are we going to get bird finding guides that have range maps? (like the guide for Montana).

Perhaps in lieu of bar-graphs, the guide provides "summer checklists" for selected locations. For each species, the columns for each location are either blank or marked "E" easy to find, "M" moderately easy to find, "H" hard to find or "N" not expected to find. At first, I used these checklists as my first level means of determining where to go to see my target species. In compiling the checklists, the author states some of the problems relating to seasons, and the data really encompasses more than "summer". In my view this compromises the data so much that it's tough to interpret and can only be a useful as a general tool. More of a problem, however, were some errors in the data that I found while planning the trip. The problem here was that I could no longer really trust the data and I was somewhat "in the dark" from that point on. 

A couple of examples from the Nome checklist. Gyrfalcon is shown as not present , whereas the species account lists Nome as one of the best places to find this species in summer. White Wagtail is listed as "E" -- I don't think so! The Barrow checklist shows Bar-tailed Godwit as "N" whereas the species account lists the bird as a common breeder in north coastal Alaska, including Barrow. I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture, After finding problems such as these from limited use while still in Arizona, I very soon realized that I couldn't rely on these checklists alone for planning purposes. I used them for the broad strokes then found other means for fleshing out the details, such as on-line trip reports and by talking to people who had been to Alaska.

The Kenai Peninsula chapter was thorough, generally accurate, detailed (mileages, etc.) and useful. However, at times I thought that I was reading a fishing guide -- there's way too much info about fishing (a problem in other chapters, too). By removing all the historical and fishing stuff, there'd be plenty of room to include data about arrival and departure times that is so sadly lacking throughout the book.

At 8 birdfinding pages the Barrow chapter was skimpy considering its importance in terms of birds and the fact that it's very costly to visit here. The maps are miserable --  how much detail can you include when the overall area map and detail map are on the same page? (Omitting the names of a few fish in other chapters might help free up a page or two). The "birding in and around town" text referred to locations and street directions that were not even on the detail map. How could they be, it's too bloody small! (By contrast, the Anchorage section has a two page fold out map and a full page detail map of downtown -- and most people will be birding there just to fill in time.) One might argue that Barrow is so small with so few roads that maps are not necessary. However, with only a limited number of very expensive days here, the last thing I want to spend time on is figuring out how to get around. Fortunately, I had realized these problems way in advance and had printed out detail maps from my DeLorme Mapping Software -- others may not fare as well.

Reference points to correlate maps to text were few and far between making it difficult to follow directions. Do the people that write this stuff understand that you are driving while trying to follow along?  As an example, "About 1.5 miles from the center of town you will reach the intersection of .....(2 street names)".  Now, where is the "center of town" pray tell? Also, neither of the street names mentioned are on the map! 

Much of the birdfinding information is from Lethaby's A Bird Finding Guide to Alaska published in 1994. While it still seems mostly valid and useful, I can't see that much attempt has been made to fill in with detailed information about where to find key birds.

The Denali Highway chapter is well organized (by habitat zones along the road) and has good maps with mile markers for easy reference to the text. The general birdfinding information is good and there are plenty of specifics about where to find key species.

The Nome chapter consists of 15 pages (12 birdfinding, 2 fairly good maps and 1 logistics) that describe birding in town and 3 roads with a total distance of some 230 miles. Needless to say, specifics are not strong. 

I found the mileages to be incorrect in a number of places (both + and - so it wasn't my vehicle). In some cases, I think this may be due to the fact that roadside mile markers (that the guide refers to) are not accurate, so using the vehicle trip mileage causes problems. In other cases, the text is just plain wrong. For example, the Nome River bridge is referenced at milepost 4 and I think the roadside marker here shows 3. The Council Road section states "... the road descends into the boreal forest edge, Milepost 55". In reality, this mile marker is in high alpine tundra and I didn't see a single tree until mile 63, let alone boreal forest.

Generally, the chapter suffers from lack of detail about where to find key species (although there is some useful and accurate birdfinding info by my results). The birdfinding section was very spotty -- sometimes providing detailed info about where to find a bird while at other times being completely vague. Generally speaking, the further away from town the weaker the info. For example, there's absolutely zero information about locations within the boreal forest at the end of the Council Road, or even how to gain access at all, just a list of species that you might find!