Guided Wildlife & Nature

Memorable wildlife experiences

Explore the diverse ecosystem within the boundaries of Zachar Bay on Kodiak Island during our guided wildlife viewing adventures. Kodiak's scenery is magnificent- rugged mountains, hundreds of miles of shoreline, lakes, marshes, bogs, and meadows. Four-thousand-foot mountains rise from the sea accented with fjord like inlets.

Lush vegetation blankets the mountains ranging from sedges, alders, and spruce to colorful wildflowers and berries. The refuge is home to an estimated 2,300 brown bears, and at least 600 nesting pairs of bald eagles. More than 250 species of birds live upon or visit the refuge, while more than 1.5 million seabirds overwinter in near shore waters surrounding Kodiak Island.

Zachar Bay Lodge offers nature lovers, wildlife viewers, and photographers every opportunity to enjoy all the boundless beauty and varied wildlife Kodiak Island has to offer. On marine mammal boat tours, you can see adorable otters, seals, sea lions, porpoises, and whales. Bird enthusiasts will see a variety of interesting birds, including two kinds of puffins.

In addition to the mighty brown bear, there are several other land mammals on the island, including blacktail deer, mountain goats, and foxes. They can often be seen on a kayak trip or on a lovely hike up the beautiful Zachar River.
Full day guided trips from the lodge offer you the opportunity to view and experience wildlife in its natural environment with a minimum disturbance to the animals and their habitat.

"Beautiful landscape. Very friendly and familiar atmosphere. Very friendly host. Good food. We enjoed the time in Zachar Bay Lodge very much. Our main interest was to see a lot of animals, especially bears. We have had a good bear guide who shows us the great animals . We have had always a good feeling together with him. Thank You"

 ~~Birger, Germany

Kodiak Bears

Kodiak Island is well known for its fishing and bears. The Kodiak Brown Bear is one of the largest carnivores on earth. Over 2,300 bears make their home throughout the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, and Zachar Bay Lodge is surrounded by this wildlife haven. After hibernating during the winter months, bears awaken in the spring with an extreme hunger and a yearning for salmon. Starting in June and extending through October, masses of bears travel to the river and lake systems of Kodiak to dine on the salmon delicacy. It is not uncommon to view up to four bears at a single area during one day, depending upon Mother Nature.

During your stay at Zachar Bay Lodge, you have the opportunity to potentially view bears in at least three different settings with our guides. One day there is the possibility of finding bears during a boating in the bays, using binoculars to search the hillside and shoreline. Another day is a hike through prime "bear country" - up the pristine Zachar River. Observe bear habitat up close - how thick and plentiful the plant life is, while in search of the ever-elusive Kodiak Bear. Fly-out bear viewing is a great treat, because our guides can bring you to places on Kodiak where bears congregate on the plentiful salmon runs.

Zachar River Hike

Zachar River meanders 17 miles from the salt water through steep gorges and wide valleys and meadows filled with beaver ponds. You'll disembark the lodge boat about a mile and a half from the river or at the river mouth, depending upon the stage of tide.

At low tide, you'll hike along a dry stream bed. This hike takes you across numerous bear trails, which parallel the river, and you can follow a well-worn bear trail along the riverbank. Reaching the river in approximately an hour, you may find the bears fishing in the first pool of the river.

Guides will stop in the various open areas that appear. Bears are very private, and and tend to initially avoid people. Once bears become comfortable with our presence at the river, they will return to the river to continue fishing, and you can stay to watch their antics or continue following the river to the next pool.

Explore the river valley as far as you desire. Some of our clients have traveled over 7 miles round trip in a day.

Frazer Lake Fly-Out

For a very special bear viewing experience, you can fly out for a full day of possible bear viewing at Frazer Falls, one of the world’s best places to see high concentrations of wild brown bears fishing for salmon. Here there is nothing between you and the bears save for the long-held tradition of mutual respect that exists only at this particular spot. The opportunities for bear photography in this picturesque setting are superb

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You will, of course, be accompanied by your very own professional bear-viewing guide the whole time. Such a situation is unique in the world, and Zachar Bay is honored to share it with you. In addition to seeing bears on special bear viewing trips, you are very likely to see bears while fishing, while flying around in a bush plane, and indeed during any of the wilderness activities. With all the bears you’re likely to see during your guided day trips, you’ll probably be happy to know that bears are hardly ever found nosing around the lodge.

The Kodiak Bear is a wild animal, and deserves great amounts of respect. Our job is to provide a memorable bear viewing experience for you. Fly-outs to Frazer Lake run from June 20 – July 31 and are provided by Kingfisher Aviation. Kingfisher Aviation’s pilots are Glen and Kyle Eaton, Andy Eaton’s brothers, and the planes are based in Kodiak City. When the Frazer Lake season ends, you also have the option of flying out to Geographic Bay for bear viewing. This trip takes a total of four hours, two of which are spent on the ground.

Boating Tours

Leisurely motor along the shoreline looking for fox, deer or bear. Search above in the trees to locate eagles’ nests. In the open water scan for spouts that indicate whales in the area: fin, humpback and orcas. Slowly pass the many rock outcroppings that are the home for many seabirds including puffins, oyster catchers and cormorants. Hear the barks and rumbles of the sea lions long before you come upon their rocky hangout. Watch seal heads popping in and out of the water as they spy on you when you travel through their area. Catch glimpses of sea otters as they bob on the water; rejoice in the occasional one that allows itself to be photographed.

Shore excursions provide another sort of wonder. Examine tide pools to find and photograph sea urchins, sea anemones, small fish and star fish. Just off shore sea ducks and otters can be seen and eagles often rest on nearby rocky ledges. Search the beach for treasures including things that have washed up on shore such as old buoys or treasures more of the natural kind like rocks: pumice, jade and other local gems as well as a variety of sea shells. Discover animals that have been there before you and follow their tracks into the beach grass. There you will find an abundance of local flora including lupine, fireweed and arnica. There is never a lack in something to photograph whether you go big and capture the beauty of the water with the island in the background or go micro and try to capture the delicate arms of the anemone floating in the tide pool. Rocks, grass, driftwood and landscapes are abundant and never the same; each shoreline has its own wonders.

Marine Wilflife

Kodiak Island has over 2500 miles of rugged coastline. With this much ocean front real estate, marine wildlife has thrived throughout the archipelago and offers great opportunity for you to experience it firsthand. Our boating trips explore the calm, coastal waters of Zachar, Spiridon and Uyak Bays.

There are large populations of marine mammals such as seals, sea lions and otter. Zachar Bay has a harbor seal estuary right within its boundaries, and an occasional sea lion will swim through the bay in search of salmon. Sea otters drift in and out with the tide and ocean currents, and there can be pods from 50 to 100 animals. Outside the bay, pods of fin whales (the second largest whale and can reach lengths of 80 feet) feed year-round, and it is not uncommon to have dahl's porpoise swim alongside the boat.

During the months of July and August, stellar sea lions and harbor seals haul out on the rocks nearby salmon streams – offering our adventure seekers great photo opportunities. You may also see orcas in their pod groups as well, or humpback whales. Cruising the boat near the shoreline offers sights of foxes, deer and possibly bears. We typically will spend lunch on a beach where you can beach comb and stretch your legs.

Birding Opportunities

Kodiak Island has one of the most diverse populations of birds in the whole state of Alaska. Summer lures many migrant birds to nest and feed upon the plentiful supply of food. The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge indicates that there have been 237 species of birds recorded in the Kodiak archipelago, most of which have been seen inside the refuge.

Most of our emphasis is based on the marine birds that call Kodiak their home. In our area, there are nesting puffins (both horned and tufted), black oystercatchers, cormorants, arctic terns, kittiwakes, numerous gull species and sea ducks and of course the Bald Eagle.

We don't forget about the little birds that make a day special with joyous songs, such as the black-capped chickadee, varied thrush, yellowcrowned sparrow and the darting belted kingfisher. Hikes up the river provide yet another type of birds to view. The sandpipers duck and bob along the shores of fresh water streams while gulls and kittiwakes are never far away. Freshwater ducks like harlequins, mallards, and common mergansers can be sighted on the river occasionally too.

Photograph

Whether you are a novice or a professional, whether you use a cell phone camera or top of the line camera equipment, Zachar Bay Lodge provides you with ample photographic opportunities. Starting at the lodge, capture a bit of history by shooting the old cannery buildings. Varied textures from old machinery, bits of random equipment and signs of a once-working cannery sit among the greens and blues of the island. Most shots will be peppered with color from wildflowers, making each shot a work of art.

The ocean provides you with both shore shots and on the water shots for keepsakes worth framing. Low tide leaves many starfish and tidal pool creatures open to view, while ocean-going boat trips may find you capturing porpoises playing in the wake or the elusive breach of a whale. Zoom in on a fuzzy sea otter pup riding on its mother’s stomach or a puffin in flight.

Hikes up the river reveal a multitude of wildflowers, vegetation and valley scenery. A stop at the gorge for some landscape photography may also be an opportunity to photograph the occasional Kodiak Brown Bear, black tail deer or song bird passing by on the river’s bank. An optional flyout to Frazer provides you with Kodiak Brown Bear shots in which your zoom lens may need to be put aside. Even those with inexpensive cameras can capture great bear photos. Don’t leave Zachar Bay without a photo record of your stay or that one shot that lands you in a national magazine.