he Delta Tours are offered annually every third week in April.  These tours are scheduled to coincide with Wrangell Alaska’s Annual Garnet Festival.  The festival celebrates the arrival of the world’s largest springtime concentration of Bald Eagles on the Stikine River Delta.  Stellar Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and an occasional Killer Whale gather on the delta to feast on the returning runs of hooligan, a small smelt-like fish that spawns in the lower Stikine in March and April.  Jet boat tours to the Stikine River Delta offer participants a chance to view Sea Lions chasing a supper of hooligan up the Stikine River, Bald Eagles fishing, as well as flocks of shore birds and other wildlife located on the delta. The Stikine River Delta is a major stopover on the Pacific Flyway for migrating birds during the spring and autumn months. 

The variety of the springtime concentration of wildlife on the Stikine’s (Stik-Heen) delta sets the Stikine River Garnet Festival apart from all other festivals in Alaska.  The delta is a major stopover on the Pacific Fly-Way for approximately 200,000 shorebirds and up to 15,000 Snow Geese and over 10,000 Sand Hill Cranes. Approximately 123 different species of birds are represented annually on the delta beginning mid-April through the beginning of May.  The spring run of “Hooligan” or Eulachon (a small, smelt like fish) also attracts large numbers of Steller Sea Lions and Harbor Seals.  Leisnoi Island, located near the mouth of the river is a popular Sea Lion “haul out” during the spring Hooligan run.  Occasionally, Orcas can be seen near the delta waiting to feast on stray Sea Lions or Seals.    

This is a great opportunity for avid birders to enjoy festival events and bird watching on the delta and Wrangell Island as well.  Please call for a brochure that lists the many bird species and peak viewing opportunities.

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