Potter Marsh in Anchorage

The marsh is a bird lover's paradise at the southern end of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge.

A protected wetland, the 2,300-acre viewing area is just south of the city and has a long, raised 1,550-foot boardwalk from which you may access the wetland without disturbing the birds. There are interpretive signs along the walk. You may also use a pull-out along the Seward highway to access it.

Some of the bird varieties seen at the marsh are the Bald Eagle, American Wigeon, Great Horned Owl, Greater Scaup, Canvasback, Northern Pintail, Red-Necked Grebe, and many more. A spotting scope and volunteer bird enthusiast are sometimes available during park hours.

Spruce, cottonwoods, and alders frame the north and east borders of the marsh. To the south, Turnagain Arm sweeps out to Cook Inlet. Bald eagles, water birds, and spawning salmon flourish here. A 1,550-foot boardwalk with interpretive signs (and, often, local naturalists)

Potter Marsh hosts the greatest number of birds between late April and the end of May. Bald eagles, northern harriers, yellowlegs, Arctic terns, pintails, Canada geese, red-necked grebes, and Pacific loons stay through the summer. Muskrats and moose frequent the marsh year-round; in May and June, look for them in the evenings as they forage on the new green growth. From June through September, three species of salmon return to spawn in Rabbit Creek, which flows under the boardwalk.

Directions to Potter Marsh: The boardwalk starts at the brown highway sign on the Seward Highway at mile 117.4. Drive 10 miles south from downtown Anchorage; the sign is just past the Rabbit Creek Road exit.

Bald Eagles can weigh up to 14 pounds and attain a height of 3 to 3 1/2 feet. They have a huge wing span of 6–8 feet. Typically, the female of the species is larger that the male and bald eagles living in the north are believed to be larger than ones in the south. They can live up to 30 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.