Brina Kessel conducted research on many aspects of Alaska's bird life over a span of more than 55 years. A particular interest was birds of the taiga and tundra. Her early research in the 1950s explored the lands of Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 4 on Alaska's North Slope; however, in those days the Department of Defense did not permit women to conduct fieldwork on the property. Thus, Tom Cade and George Schaller worked in the field, while Kessel wrote up results as principal investigator. A few years later, Kessel worked in the Brooks Range with Margaret Murie and her husband Olaus Murie. Kessel worked in the field for many years studying the avifauna of the Seward Peninsula.