Russia's Ring of Fire

Transfer from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to the Port of Korsakov where you will board Spirit of Enderby.

As we cruise south-east across the Sea of Okhotsk our first seabirds could well include Tufted Puffin, Ancient Murrelet, Pelagic Cormorant, Black-tailed Gull and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel. We are also likely to see huge flocks of Shorttailed Shearwaters. We are also likely to encounter our first cetacenas of the voyage and these could include Dall’s Porpoise, Northern Mike Whale and Orca (Killer Whale).

Kunashir is the largest island in the Kuril chain. We plan a landing in the Kurilsky Reserve and will explore an extensive area of woodland, where there are some good walks and birding. This afternoon while we are at sea there are great bird watching opportunities.

This morning we land at the small settlement of Kurilsk from where local buses/trucks will take us into the volcanic highlands to thermal hot pools where you can enjoy a soak or go birding. Possible species include Brown Dipper, Arctic Warbler, Japanese Robin, Pine Grosbeak and Japanese Grey Bunting.

This morning depending on weather we will either Zodiac cruise or land on Chirpoy Island where there are some dramatic volcanic landscapes and headlands covered in breeding seabirds. This afternoon's landing on Urup Island is a chance to stretch your legs on an extended walk, beachcomb and look for Sea Otters or birds in the forest behind the beach.

Enter the flooded caldera at the northern end of Simushir Island where a once top secret Soviet submarine base lies abandoned. In the surrounding area look for the Siberian Rubythroat, Eurasian Nutcracker, Pine Grosbeak and Japanese Grey Bunting. Our visit to Yankicha Island is likely to be one of the highlights of the voyage as the number of alcids which breed here is incredible, with spectacular concentrations of Crested and Whiskered Auklets.

Today we plan to Zodiac cruise along the shores of Toporkovy Island where, once again, there are spectacular colonies of breeding seabirds. The island is named after the Tufted Puffin and we can expect to see large numbers of these rafting on the sea, as well as vast flocks of Crested Auklets, which can contain tens of thousands of individuals. There are usually good numbers of Whiskered Auklets here too, as well as the more localised Parakeet Auklet. We will also investigate the island’s cliffs as various species breed on these including Brunnich’s Guillemot and Red-faced Cormorant.

We hope to land on the island of Matua where there is an active volcano that last erupted in 2009. During the Second World War Matua was heavily fortified by the Japanese and there is a labyrinth of trenches across the island. This makes exploring somewhat challenging but we should still find a range of good birds with a decent chance of seeing Grey-tailed Tattler along the shore and Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat and Black-faced Bunting in the scrubby trees which are now growing back across the island. Arctic Skuas also breed on the island.

This morning we will make a landing at the northern end of Onekotan Island from where it is a relatively easy walk to Black Lake through an amazing field of wild flowers. On the lake a selection of wildfowl can usually be found including Greater Scaup and Goosander. In the scrub look out for Buff-bellied Pipit, Brown-headed Thrush, Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler, Siberian Rubythroat and Pine Grosbeak.

This afternoon we visit Atlasova Island where the tallest volcano in the archipelago can be found. On the shore near our landing site are the remains of a Gulag that you can explore. Beyond that you can wander as far as you can in the time allocated, as there are no brown bears on this island. Near our landing site there are some small marshy ponds where it might be possible to see Long-toed Stint and other waders. On some nearby low cliffs there is a colony of Redfaced Cormorants and out in the bay there is a chance of finding Harlequin Duck, Black and Whitewinged Scoters as well as Pacific Sea Otters.

As we continue north we will cruise through Second Strait in the Kuril Islands, this region has one of the highest densities of Sea Otters in the Kuril Islands.

In this deep fjord on the Kamchatka Peninsula we will look for the critically endangered Kittlitz’s Murrelet as well as Long-billed Murrelet. We may spot Kamchatka brown bears and hopefully, orcas and Steller's Sea Lions.

We plan an extensive zodiac cruise here looking especially for Steller’s Sea Eagles as well as Pacific Diver, Far Eastern Curlew, Glaucous-winged Gull, Aleutian Tern and Yellow-breasted Bunting. We will also visit a major salmon fishery near the mouth of the river.

A day at sea sailing towards the Commander Islands. Enjoy lectures and briefings plus some good birding with Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel and Red-legged Kittiwake amongst the likely sightings.

During our time here, we will explore various sites on both main islands, Bering and Medny. Hope to see Rock Sandpiper, Mongolian Plover, Pechora Pipit and Grey-crowned Rosy-Finch, as well as the endemic subspecies of Arctic Fox. From zodiacs, we will look for several species of auklets as well as the Red-legged Kittiwake and marine mammals. Potential species include Sperm, Humpback, Northern Minke and Baird’s Beaked-Whales, as well as Orcas, Steller Sea Lions, Northern Fur Seals and Sea Otters. We include a visit to the small settlement of Nikolskoye and the local museum and if weather permits Commander Bay, where Vitus Bering was shipwrecked and is buried.

Disembark and transfer to the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy airport for onward flights.