Glacier Bay National Park
Our morning was cool and overcast but dry, which allowed us to view the numerous animals of Glacier Bay. Many awoke to the opportunity to see hundreds of sea otters amongst the kelp near Boulder Island. A pair of otters wrestled in an especially friendly encounter that may result in adding another furry face to this rapidly expanding population. We soon spotted 6 transient killer whales. There were two females, a young calf, small subadult, and two males. After a few minutes they stopped and interacted with each other. It’s always a treat to observe surface activity, because we are able to see so much that is normally below the water. Spy hops showed us the white, oval eye spot and round pectoral flippers. One whale slapped its flukes against the water while lying upside down, showing the white patterns on the underside. Others showed their flanks as they rolled onto their sides and stretched their flippers skyward. Including the killer whales seen after dinner last night, this made the 4th killer whale sighting in 4 days!
Just after breakfast the ship reached the Marble Islands. Northern sea lions growled and shifted as others crawled over them. The western population is on the endangered species list because of more than an 80% drop in numbers. No one is yet sure why they have gone through such a precipitous drop. Those in the more southern parts of their range, including Southeast Alaska, have been doing well.
The noise from birds blasted out from South Marble Island. Some of the more conspicuous residents included comical tufted and horned puffins, beautifully accessorized black oystercatchers, precariously housed blacklegged kittiwakes, and noisy glaucous-winged gulls.
Later, cruising by Gloomy Knob, we watched 5 mountain goats. A young kid walked boldly along a narrowing ledge that eventually became the rock face. Sometimes kids just don’t have much common sense. When it could barely stand, it looked around awhile, managed to turn back, then returned to its mom and suckled for a brief time. Another nanny and kid lay close below the others.
Near Russell Cut a female brown bear foraged in the intertidal with her 3 spring cubs. The small, almost black cubs foraged under the same rock their mom had turned over. At other times they pulled and rolled over their own, but this didn’t always work. Sometimes after a gallant tug, the rocks didn’t even budge. There is a lot to learn before they leave “home.”
After lunch we stopped at the Margerie Glacier, the first tidewater glacier we’ve seen. Not long after our stop near the face, small pieces started to cascade down. Soon larger chunks tumbled into the sea, and just as we left another crack sounded as ice tumbled down. Later we admired Johns Hopkins and Lamplugh Glaciers.
After dinner the forest around Bartlett Cove was filled with laughter and conversation as we wound our way through a beautiful trail. This early successional forest was covered by glacial ice only 200 years earlier and is now growing towards maturity.
Our morning was cool and overcast but dry, which allowed us to view the numerous animals of Glacier Bay. Many awoke to the opportunity to see hundreds of sea otters amongst the kelp near Boulder Island. A pair of otters wrestled in an especially friendly encounter that may result in adding another furry face to this rapidly expanding population. We soon spotted 6 transient killer whales. There were two females, a young calf, small subadult, and two males. After a few minutes they stopped and interacted with each other. It’s always a treat to observe surface activity, because we are able to see so much that is normally below the water. Spy hops showed us the white, oval eye spot and round pectoral flippers. One whale slapped its flukes against the water while lying upside down, showing the white patterns on the underside. Others showed their flanks as they rolled onto their sides and stretched their flippers skyward. Including the killer whales seen after dinner last night, this made the 4th killer whale sighting in 4 days!
Just after breakfast the ship reached the Marble Islands. Northern sea lions growled and shifted as others crawled over them. The western population is on the endangered species list because of more than an 80% drop in numbers. No one is yet sure why they have gone through such a precipitous drop. Those in the more southern parts of their range, including Southeast Alaska, have been doing well.
The noise from birds blasted out from South Marble Island. Some of the more conspicuous residents included comical tufted and horned puffins, beautifully accessorized black oystercatchers, precariously housed blacklegged kittiwakes, and noisy glaucous-winged gulls.
Later, cruising by Gloomy Knob, we watched 5 mountain goats. A young kid walked boldly along a narrowing ledge that eventually became the rock face. Sometimes kids just don’t have much common sense. When it could barely stand, it looked around awhile, managed to turn back, then returned to its mom and suckled for a brief time. Another nanny and kid lay close below the others.
Near Russell Cut a female brown bear foraged in the intertidal with her 3 spring cubs. The small, almost black cubs foraged under the same rock their mom had turned over. At other times they pulled and rolled over their own, but this didn’t always work. Sometimes after a gallant tug, the rocks didn’t even budge. There is a lot to learn before they leave “home.”
After lunch we stopped at the Margerie Glacier, the first tidewater glacier we’ve seen. Not long after our stop near the face, small pieces started to cascade down. Soon larger chunks tumbled into the sea, and just as we left another crack sounded as ice tumbled down. Later we admired Johns Hopkins and Lamplugh Glaciers.
After dinner the forest around Bartlett Cove was filled with laughter and conversation as we wound our way through a beautiful trail. This early successional forest was covered by glacial ice only 200 years earlier and is now growing towards maturity.
