Bering's Natural Features

Birdwatchers can find an abundance to observe and enjoy in and around the Bering Land Bridge area. The Seward Peninsula is home to seabirds such as gulls, murres and kittiwakes; migrating and nesting waterfowl that include ducks, swans and geese; plus some legendary birds of prey including hawks, eagles, falcons and owls. Since this area stands at the crossroads of the Asiatic-North American flyway, it offers a rare glimpse of several Old World or Asian bird species.

Bering's Natural Features

Birdwatchers can find an abundance to observe—and enjoy—in and around the Bering Land Bridge area. The Seward Peninsula is home to seabirds such as gulls, murres and kittiwakes; migrating and nesting waterfowl that include ducks, swans and geese; plus some legendary birds of prey—hawks, eagles, falcons and owls. Since this area stands at the crossroads of the Asiatic-North American flyway, it offers a rare glimpse of several Old World or Asian bird species.

Along the coastline, you can occasionally see several species of seals, walrus, and beluga and bowhead whales. On land, there are roaming moose, grizzly bears, wolverine, wolves, plus a variety of smaller Arctic species. Reindeer from Siberia were introduced here in 1891 as a meat source to replace native caribou; reindeer herding and husbandry continues to be a small but thriving industry for Eskimo herdsmen.

More than 400 species of plants have been listed in the preserve. Many evolved in ancient Beringia and spread into Asia or northern Canada and the United States. Tundra plant communities range from wet tundra on the coast to alpine tundra on mountains. Fishing enthusiasts who visit the Bering Land Bridge Preserve can cast a line for salmon, grayling, char, whitefish and pike in area rivers and lakes (both hunting and fishing are permitted under state regulations; Alaska hunting and fishing licenses are required). The preserve contains extensive lava flows and ash/stream explosion craters—now turned to lakes called maars. It also offers dynamic coast and beach environments of barrier islands and low sand dunes.