Kobuk Valley National Park lies 35 miles above the Arctic Circle, where the northern edge of the boreal forest gives way to woodland carpeted with moss and caribou lichen. The meandering Kobuk River divides the park, with the Baird Mountains to the north and the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, the largest active sand dunes in the Arctic, to the south. Kobuk Valley protects one of the last great migrations on the planet. Every spring and fall, the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, about a quarter of a million animals, passes through the valley on a 600-mile trek between its summer and winter ranges. Caribou are often seen trotting across the dunes and swimming the Kobuk River. While they travel, moose feed in the swampy areas, watching for gray wolves and grizzly bears. A few Dall sheep live on the mountaintops of the uplands, and lucky visitors may see a wolverine. Red foxes, porcupines, muskoxen, Canada lynx, snowshoe hares and beavers also live in the park.
Northwest Alaska is one of the best places to see migratory birds, which arrive from all seven continents to nest each summer. Ducks, cranes, loons, geese and swans spend a few months on the park’s sheltered lakes and rivers, and the Arctic tern makes the longest migration of any bird, flying all the way from the coast of Antarctica. The Kobuk River winds 61 miles through the park, and its waters hold an abundance of fish. Sheefish, which are rare elsewhere, are plentiful in the Kobuk and can grow as large as 60 pounds. Each summer, chum salmon return from the ocean to spawn in the valley, bringing nutrients to the river and food to the people who live along its banks. Dolly Varden and Arctic grayling are also popular with visitors. NPSpecies lists no reptiles or amphibians as present in the park. Keep reading to see featured photos of Kobuk Valley’s wildlife and to learn more about wildlife photography.
Featured Kobuk Valley National Park Wildlife Photographs
Have a National Park Wildlife photograph you’d like featured? Contact us today to learn more!
Wildlife Photography Tips
Wildlife photography in the US National Parks offers a unique and enriching experience, as these protected areas are havens for diverse species and pristine natural landscapes. Capturing wildlife in such settings requires preparation and respect for both the environment and its inhabitants. Photographers should familiarize themselves with the specific animals and ecosystems of the park they are visiting, as each park hosts different species and behaviors. Early mornings and late afternoons, known as the golden hours, provide the best light and increased wildlife activity. Different seasons also offer different wildlife viewing opportunities. Patience and stillness are key, as the best moments often come to those who wait quietly.
If wildlife does present itself, always make sure to maintain a safe distance. Using a telephoto lens allows for close-up shots without intruding on the animals’ space. If you already own or want to own a professional grade mirrored camera like the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Full Frame Digital SLR, we recommend using a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens zoom lens for wildlife photography. If you have or are interested in a newer mirrorless model like the Canon EOS R5 Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera, we recommend using a Canon RF100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM Black for long distance shots.
Not quite ready to invest in traditional professional-grade camera equipment but want to enhance the quality of your cell phone photographs? Consider using a Moment Tele 58mm Mobile Lens II for improved reach, and use a Moment camera case with a lens mount to attach it to your phone. Since cell phones generally cannot provide the same reach as a dedicated telephoto camera lens, never compensate by moving dangerously close to wildlife. As with any visit to a national park, it’s important to follow park regulations, practice “Leave No Trace” principles, and prioritize safety while photographing wildlife.
Want to take your wildlife photos further? Featured photographer Vella Torvik shares her field-tested advice on gear, camera settings, light, composition and safely approaching wildlife in our Wildlife Photography 101: Insider Tips From the Field masterclass.
Kobuk Valley Wildlife Education and Resources
Want to learn more about Kobuk Valley National Park and the wildlife that inhabits it? Check out these guides & books:
- Peterson Field Guide To Mammals Of North America: Fourth Edition (Peterson Field Guides)
- Peterson Field Guide To Birds Of Western North America, Fifth Edition (Peterson Field Guides)
- Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song
- Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes, Second Edition (Peterson Field Guides)
- Animal Tracks: A Folding Pocket Guide to the Tracks & Signs of Familiar North American Species (Wildlife and Nature Identification)
Please note, by making purchases through our affiliate links, you are supporting our mission to celebrate and showcase our National Parks and the photographers who frequent them. As an Amazon Associate, National Park Photographer earns from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. We appreciate your support.
Kobuk Valley National Park Species List
The wildlife at Kobuk Valley National Park is beautiful and diverse. There are a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish to view. Check out all the incredible species this park has to offer! Click on the links below to see the different animal species that inhabit Kobuk Valley National Park:
Species Spotlight
Photo posts of animals you’ll find in Kobuk Valley.
Kobuk Valley National Park Mammals
29 species
- American Beaver(Castor canadensis)
- American Black Bear Photo post(Ursus americanus)
- Arctic Ground Squirrel(Spermophilus parryii)
- Barren Ground Shrew(Sorex ugyunak)
- Brown Lemming(Lemmus trimucronatus)
- Canada Lynx(Lynx canadensis)
- Caribou Photo post(Rangifer tarandus)
- Collared Lemming(Dicrostonyx groenlandicus)
- Dall Sheep(Ovis dalli)NPS says a few Dall sheep live on the mountaintops in the park’s uplands (NPSpecies: Probably Present).
- Gray Wolf(Canis lupus)
- Grizzly Bear Photo post(Ursus arctos)
- Least Weasel(Mustela nivalis)
- Masked Shrew(Sorex cinereus)
- Mink(Mustela vison)
- Montane Shrew(Sorex monticolus)
- Moose Photo post(Alces alces)
- Muskox(Ovibos moschatus)
- North American Porcupine Photo post(Erethizon dorsatum)
- Northern Red-backed Vole(Clethrionomys rutilus)
- Pygmy Shrew(Sorex hoyi)
- Red Fox Photo post(Vulpes vulpes)
- Red Squirrel(Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
- Singing Vole(Microtus miurus)
- Snowshoe Hare(Lepus americanus)
- Taiga Vole(Microtus xanthognathus)
- Tiny Shrew(Sorex yukonicus)
- Tundra Shrew(Sorex tundrensis)
- Tundra Vole(Microtus oeconomus)
- Wolverine(Gulo gulo)
No mammals match.
Kobuk Valley National Park Birds
109 species
- Alder Flycatcher(Empidonax alnorum)
- American Dipper(Cinclus mexicanus)
- American Golden-plover(Pluvialis dominica)
- American Kestrel(Falco sparverius)
- American Pipit(Anthus rubescens)
- American Robin Photo post(Turdus migratorius)
- American Tree Sparrow(Spizella arborea)
- American Wigeon(Anas americana)
- Arctic Tern(Sterna paradisaea)
- Arctic Warbler(Phylloscopus borealis)
- Baird’s Sandpiper(Calidris bairdii)
- Bank Swallow(Riparia riparia)
- Belted Kingfisher(Ceryle alcyon)
- Black Scoter(Melanitta nigra)
- Black-capped Chickadee(Parus atricapillus)
- Blackpoll Warbler(Dendroica striata)
- Bohemian Waxwing(Bombycilla garrulus)
- Bonaparte’s Gull(Larus philadelphia)
- Boreal Chickadee(Parus hudsonicus)
- Boreal Owl(Aegolius funereus)
- Canada Goose(Branta canadensis)
- Canvasback(Aythya valisineria)
- Cliff Swallow(Hirundo pyrrhonota)
- Common Loon Photo post(Gavia immer)
- Common Raven(Corvus corax)
- Common Redpoll(Carduelis flammea)
- Common Snipe(Gallinago gallinago)
- Dark-eyed Junco(Junco hyemalis)
- Fox Sparrow(Passerella iliaca)
- Glaucous Gull(Larus hyperboreus)
- Golden Eagle(Aquila chrysaetos)
- Golden-crowned Sparrow(Zonotrichia atricapilla)
- Gray Jay(Perisoreus canadensis)
- Gray-cheeked Thrush(Catharus minimus)
- Gray-headed Chickadee(Parus cinctus)
- Great Horned Owl(Bubo virginianus)
- Greater Scaup(Aythya marila)
- Greater White-fronted Goose(Anser albifrons)
- Green-winged Teal(Anas crecca)
- Gyrfalcon(Falco rusticolus)
- Harlequin Duck Photo post(Histrionicus histrionicus)
- Hawk Owl(Surnia ulula)
- Herring Gull(Larus argentatus)
- Hoary Redpoll(Carduelis hornemanni)
- Horned Grebe(Podiceps auritus)
- Lapland Longspur(Calcarius lapponicus)
- Least Sandpiper(Calidris minutilla)
- Lesser Scaup(Aythya affinis)
- Lesser Yellowlegs(Tringa flavipes)
- Lincoln’s Sparrow(Melospiza lincolnii)
- Long-billed Dowitcher(Limnodromus scolopaceus)
- Long-tailed Duck(Clangula hyemalis)
- Long-tailed Jaeger(Stercorarius longicaudus)
- Mallard(Anas platyrhynchos)
- Merlin(Falco columbarius)
- Mew Gull(Larus canus)
- Northern Flicker(Colaptes auratus)
- Northern Goshawk(Accipiter gentilis)
- Northern Harrier(Circus cyaneus)
- Northern Pintail(Anas acuta)
- Northern Shoveler(Anas clypeata)
- Northern Shrike(Lanius excubitor)
- Northern Three-toed Woodpecker(Picoides tridactylus)
- Northern Waterthrush(Seiurus noveboracensis)
- Northern Wheatear(Oenanthe oenanthe)
- Olive-sided Flycatcher(Contopus borealis)
- Orange-crowned Warbler(Vermivora celata)
- Osprey(Pandion haliaetus)
- Pacific Loon(Gavia pacifica)
- Pectoral Sandpiper(Calidris melanotos)
- Pine Grosbeak(Pinicola enucleator)
- Pomarine Jaeger(Stercorarius pomarinus)
- Red-breasted Merganser(Mergus serrator)
- Red-necked Grebe(Podiceps grisegena)
- Red-necked Phalarope(Phalaropus lobatus)
- Red-throated Loon(Gavia stellata)
- Rock Ptarmigan(Lagopus mutus)
- Rough-legged Hawk(Buteo lagopus)
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet(Regulus calendula)
- Rusty Blackbird(Euphagus carolinus)
- Sanderling(Calidris alba)
- Sandhill Crane Photo post(Grus canadensis)
- Savannah Sparrow(Passerculus sandwichensis)
- Say’s Phoebe(Sayornis saya)
- Semipalmated Plover(Charadrius semipalmatus)
- Semipalmated Sandpiper(Calidris pusilla)
- Sharp-shinned Hawk(Accipiter striatus)
- Short-eared Owl(Asio flammeus)
- Snow Bunting(Plectrophenax nivalis)
- Snow Goose(Chen caerulescens)
- Snowy Owl(Nyctea scandiaca)
- Solitary Sandpiper(Tringa solitaria)
- Spotted Sandpiper(Actitis macularia)
- Spruce Grouse(Dendragapus canadensis)
- Surf Scoter(Melanitta perspicillata)
- Surfbird(Aphriza virgata)
- Swainson’s Thrush(Catharus ustulatus)
- Tree Swallow(Tachycineta bicolor)
- Tundra Swan(Cygnus columbianus)
- Varied Thrush(Ixoreus naevius)
- Wandering Tattler(Heteroscelus incanus)
- Whimbrel(Numenius phaeopus)
- White-crowned Sparrow(Zonotrichia leucophrys)
- White-winged Crossbill(Loxia leucoptera)
- Willow Ptarmigan(Lagopus lagopus)
- Wilson’s Warbler(Wilsonia pusilla)
- Yellow Wagtail(Motacilla flava)
- Yellow Warbler(Dendroica petechia)
- Yellow-rumped Warbler(Dendroica coronata)
No birds match.
Kobuk Valley National Park Reptiles
0 species
NPSpecies currently lists no reptiles as present in this park.
Kobuk Valley National Park Amphibians
0 species
NPSpecies currently lists no amphibians as present in this park.
Kobuk Valley National Park Fish
16 species
- Alaska Whitefish(Coregonus clupeaformis)
- Arctic Char(Salvelinus alpinus)
- Arctic Grayling(Thymallus arcticus)
- Broad Whitefish(Coregonus nasus)
- Burbot(Lota lota)
- Chinook Salmon(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
- Chum Salmon(Oncorhynchus keta)
- Dolly Varden(Salvelinus malma)
- Lake Trout(Salvelinus namaycush)
- Least Cisco(Coregonus sardinella)
- Longnose Sucker(Catostomus catostomus)
- Northern Pike(Esox lucius)
- Pink Salmon(Oncorhynchus gorbuscha)
- Round Whitefish(Prosopium cylindraceum)
- Sheefish(Stenodus leucichthys)
- Slimy Sculpin(Cottus cognatus)
No fish match.
Note: The wildlife species included in the lists above have been confirmed with the National Park Service to be present in Kobuk Valley National Park. Other species may exist in the park that are currently under review or not yet known.
Do you want to be featured on National Park Photographer?
Why wait! Contact us today at nationalparkphoto@gmail.com for more information!
