St. Paul Island

Protected Landscape · United States

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Photo © B.navez

Photo © B.navez — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Windswept tundra rolls across this remote Pribilof island, where volcanic basalt cliffs plunge into the Bering Sea and fog rolls in thick enough to erase the horizon. The terrain is deceptively harsh—a treeless expanse of low grasses, sedges, and wildflowers that anchor themselves against relentless Arctic winds. What appears barren at first glance reveals itself as one of North America's most productive ecosystems, where nutrient-rich waters surge against the coastline and sustain an astonishing abundance of marine life.

For birders and wildlife photographers, St. Paul Island ranks among the continent's premier destinations. Nearly two million seabirds converge here during breeding season—thick-billed murres, tufted puffins, and red-legged kittiwakes nest on the precipitous cliffs in such densities that the rock face seems alive. The low Arctic sun bathes the landscape in ethereal light for eighteen hours daily during summer months, while the concentrated wildlife and accessible vantage points make documentation straightforward. June through August offers peak viewing, when the island transforms into a cacophony of wings, calls, and raw natural drama.

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Bubo scandiacus

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

Parakeet Auklet

Aethia psittacula

Fratercula cirrhata

Glaucous-winged Gull

Larus glaucescens

Pelagic Cormorant

Urile pelagicus

Pigeon Guillemot

Cepphus columba

Red-faced Cormorant

Grey-crowned Rosy Finch

Leucosticte tephrocotis

Lapland Longspur

Calcarius lapponicus

Plectrophenax nivalis

Troglodytes pacificus

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Wandering Tattler

Ancient Murrelet

Synthliboramphus antiquus

Cygnus columbianus

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Western Sandpiper

Larus hyperboreus

Long-tailed Jaeger

Stercorarius longicaudus

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapilla

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Long-toed Stint

Calidris subminuta

Parasitic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticus

Fork-tailed Storm Petrel

Hydrobates furcatus

Eyebrowed Thrush

Turdus obscurus

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla tschutschensis

Far Eastern Curlew

Numenius madagascariensis

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

Black Guillemot

Red Fox Sparrow

Passerella iliaca

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Podiceps auritus

Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

Bristle-thighed Curlew

Numenius tahitiensis

Pin-tailed Snipe

Gallinago stenura

Gallinago gallinago

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis

Curlew Sandpiper

Calidris ferruginea

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

Eurasian Skylark

Alauda arvensis

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Corthylio calendula

Red-flanked Bluetail

Tarsiger cyanurus

Anthus rubescens

Haemorhous purpureus

Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Fratercula corniculata

Aethia cristatella

Red-necked Stint

Calidris ruficollis

Short-tailed Shearwater

Ardenna tenuirostris

Thick-billed Murre

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Acanthis flammea

Somateria mollissima

Melanitta americana

Bucephala albeola

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Pacific Golden Plover

Pluvialis fulva

Aythya fuligula

Tundra Bean Goose

Anser serrirostris

White-winged Scoter

Melanitta deglandi

Steller's Eider

Polysticta stelleri

Calidris ptilocnemis

Red-legged Kittiwake

Rissa brevirostris

Histrionicus histrionicus

Phalaropus fulicarius

Slaty-backed Gull

Larus schistisagus

Northern Wheatear

Oenanthe oenanthe

Oriental Cuckoo

Cuculus optatus

Townsend's Warbler

Setophaga townsendi

Sterna paradisaea

Riparia riparia

Violet-green Swallow

Tachycineta thalassina

Dark-sided Flycatcher

Muscicapa sibirica

Luscinia svecica

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Northern Fulmar

Fulmarus glacialis

Somateria spectabilis

Tringa glareola

Terek Sandpiper

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Calidris acuminata

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Grey-tailed Tattler

Tringa brevipes

Northern Pintail

Bar-tailed Godwit

Limosa lapponica

Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Eurasian Wigeon

Mareca penelope

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Fringilla montifringilla

Anser canagicus

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

Calidris minuta

Calidris pugnax

Calidris alpina

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Rhodostethia rosea

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinus

Grey-streaked Flycatcher

Muscicapa griseisticta

Siberian Rubythroat

Calliope calliope

Red-throated Loon

Larus glaucoides

Loxia curvirostra

Anser caerulescens

Spatula querquedula

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Cuculus canorus

Gallinago delicata

Wilson's Phalarope

Phalaropus tricolor

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Calidris canutus

Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

Rhinoceros Auklet

Cerorhinca monocerata

Yellow-billed Loon

Pterodroma inexpectata

Tachycineta bicolor

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Ixoreus naevius

Taiga Flycatcher

Ficedula albicilla

Red-throated Pipit

Anthus cervinus

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Melospiza melodia

Taiga Bean Goose

Lesser White-fronted Goose

Anser erythropus

Sibirionetta formosa

Mareca strepera

Aythya valisineria

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Spectacled Eider

Somateria fischeri

Melanitta perspicillata

Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

Barrow's Goldeneye

Bucephala islandica

Porzana carolina

Antigone canadensis

Black Oystercatcher

Haematopus bachmani

Pluvialis squatarola

American Golden Plover

Pluvialis dominica

Upland Sandpiper

Bartramia longicauda

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Black-tailed Godwit

Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseus

Gallinago solitaria

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Spotted Redshank

Tringa erythropus

Calidris virgata

Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Calidris subruficollis

White-rumped Sandpiper

Calidris fuscicollis

Onychoprion aleuticus

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Short-billed Gull

Larus brachyrhynchus

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Cassin's Auklet

Ptychoramphus aleuticus

Kittlitz's Murrelet

Brachyramphus brevirostris

Marbled Murrelet

Brachyramphus marmoratus

Black-throated Loon

Laysan Albatross

Phoebastria immutabilis

Short-tailed Albatross

Phoebastria albatrus

Leach's Storm Petrel

Hydrobates leucorhous

Pandion haliaetus

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Steller's Sea Eagle

Haliaeetus pelagicus

Rough-legged Buzzard

Aegolius funereus

Short-eared Owl

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Downy Woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Falco columbarius

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Empidonax flaviventris

Alder Flycatcher

Empidonax alnorum

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Northern Shrike

Lanius borealis

Lanius cristatus

Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulus

Bombycilla cedrorum

Eremophila alpestris

Siberian House Martin

Delichon lagopodum

Phylloscopus fuscatus

Phylloscopus trochilus

Kamchatka Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus examinandus

Phylloscopus borealis

Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler

Helopsaltes ochotensis

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Regulus satrapa

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoides

Hylocichla mustelina

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Catharus guttatus

Grey-cheeked Thrush

Catharus minimus

Turdus migratorius

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Muscicapa dauurica

Rufous-tailed Robin

Larvivora sibilans

Siberian Accentor

Prunella montanella

Olive-backed Pipit

Anthus hodgsoni

Pallas's Rosefinch

Carpodacus roseus

Two-barred Crossbill

Loxia leucoptera

McKay's Bunting

Plectrophenax hyperboreus

Emberiza leucocephalos

Emberiza rustica

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

American Tree Sparrow

Spizelloides arborea

Dark-eyed Junco

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Rusty Blackbird

Euphagus carolinus

Northern Waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

Tennessee Warbler

Leiothlypis peregrina

MacGillivray's Warbler

Geothlypis tolmiei

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Cape May Warbler

Setophaga tigrina

Magnolia Warbler

Setophaga magnolia

Blackpoll Warbler

Setophaga striata

Setophaga palmarum

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Black-headed Grosbeak

Pheucticus melanocephalus

Eastern Warbling Vireo

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Rangifer tarandus

Steller Sea Lion

Eumetopias jubatus

Eschrichtius robustus

Common Killer Whale

Northern Fur Seal

Callorhinus ursinus

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