One million, that’s a difficult number to comprehend. You can count and count for hours and never even get close. That’s a number I’ve never really understood, that is, until I visited one of Alaska’s great seaside bird cliffs.

Each year, over two million birds pass through this region in Alaska. They come to nest, feed and raise the next generation. Multiple species of Puffins, Murres, Kittiwakes, Auklets, Cormorants and so many other species. I’d always read about nesting bird colonies like this before, but it’s difficult to prepare yourself for such a breathtaking spectacle. There I crouched, on the side of a tall cliff reaching up hundreds of feet above the sea far below, with countless birds flying all around me! And the noise! My goodness, the noise was nearly deafening. Thousands of birds calling at once. Birds calling to mates returning with food, birds calling to others on a neighboring nest that got too close, a great cacophony of sound all melding together. 

With so many birds in the air flying all around, it was a wonder I hadn’t been pooped on yet. Oop, I guess I spoke too soon! With so many birds all around, it can be surprisingly difficult to pick one to focus on and photograph. Settling on a pair of Parakeet Auklets, I focused my camera just as they began to call, adding to the great chorus of bird sound. Pretty flowers in the foreground and a dark, seaside cliff in the background. Clicking the shutter I got my picture; a simple pair of birds, you’d never know that there were countless others all around!