Wrangell, Alaska, 8/14/2023, National Geographic Sea Bird
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Bird
Alaska
Adapted from the style of old cowboy Western novels, today’s chapter is titled “In Which Scanning for Wildlife Saves a Life.”
The morning was typical Southeast Alaska: soggy and foggy. Our full day in the small town of Wrangell allowed for a choose-your-own adventure opportunity. Many opted to join jet boat tours that we arranged with local vendors. It was on one of these tours that a guest, whom I will call “N,” was scanning the shoreline for wildlife and found quite a wild sighting of life — a man waving his arms desperately, far from roads or homes. The jet boat detoured, rescuing the man who had suffered injuries and ended up in trouble in wild Alaska. N claims that it is thanks to the lessons from our naturalists to use our binoculars that this man was spotted and rescued, and that this group returned to the vessel with an incredible story!
The informal education of a childhood among frogs, hardwood forests, and intensely
snowy winters of northeast Ohio established Chelsea’s passion for the natural world.
Indulging her curiosity about the world through formal education, she added a
geol...
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We started off the morning by making the way to our landing site within Williams Cove. Although it was a misty morning, the sun soon broke through the clouds, and it turned into another stunning day. After a forest morning hike, the Global Explorers had some driving practice! The young naturalists in training did a great job maneuvering Zodiacs through the Alaskan waters. Soon after, we had our polar plunge, where guests dunked themselves into the frigid ocean! Our day ended with visiting Tracy Arm fjord and traveling via Zodiac to South Sawyer Glacier. The fjord provided a beautiful, glacially carved landscape and gorgeous turquoise ocean water. The glacier itself was quite a sight and even had a few calving events!
If yesterday was a “Whale of a Day,” today was “Icing on the Cake.” Several of us participated in the traditional Polar Plunge — enthusiastically jumping into the icy waters of Sand Bay just after dawn (and before breakfast)! It was bracing by all accounts. After a hearty breakfast, we went ashore for hikes along a stream in Sand Bay, which was a totally different landscape from yesterday. As we walked along the stream at low tide, we saw hundreds of steelhead and a few pink salmon, cautiously making their way upstream to spawn. Many dead salmon were beached along the shore and in the shallow, calm water; some of their lives were over after spawning, while others were clearly the remains of bear meals. Mature and immature eagles were perched on towering Sitka spruce and flying overhead. We saw fresh bear, moose, and eagle tracks in the soft mud. Those who explored the vast and exposed intertidal found all sorts of interesting creatures, including nudibranchs and their egg masses. It was an absolutely perfect morning: calm and quiet conditions, cloudless sky, and pleasant temperatures. After returning to the ship, we sailed up Stephens Pass and into Endicott Arm in search of wildlife and the spectacular views of ice. After reaching Dawes Glacier by mid-afternoon, half the guests embarked on a Zodiac cruise among the “growlers” and “bergy bits” to the glacier. The other guests listened to a presentation from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Rangers about their role in monitoring vessel traffic and camping permits in the Endicott Arm area. The two groups later switched roles. The views were magnificent, and the weather remained perfect. We observed several harbor seals resting on the bergy bits and icebergs, and a single harbor porpoise that cruised through the area. Halfway up the towering fjord wall, a single mountain goat grazed nonchalantly. And of course a large glacier calving event occurred, to the delight of all. Following dinner, we enjoyed the traditional guest slide show and solidified new friendships, before preparing for tomorrow’s departure.
We didn’t know how great the day would get — but it certainly started out lovely! We began with no rain and an excellent location for a variety of onshore walks. Cascade Creek lived up to its name, providing lots of photo opportunities with waterfall backgrounds as well as some good exercise, especially for the group of long walkers (a.k.a. mud hikers). The casual coastal walk revealed several marine secrets including worms and gunnel fish, the favorite food of pigeon guillemots. Moderate walks allowed time for forest bathing and finer-focus forest elements including an abundance of mosses and lichens. Returning to the ship for sustenance, we decided to spend the afternoon searching for “signs of life” in Frederick Sound, since this would be our last significant opportunity for whale watching. And did we ever find some marine mammal activity! Many guests commented that when the expedition staff get excited and the Captain comes out on deck with a camera, then you know there’s something special happening. We enjoyed an incredible afternoon of whale spectating, spending several hours in “whale soup.” Easily one hundred whales surrounded the ship from near to far. Everywhere you looked there were whales doing all sorts of interesting things including lunge feeding, tail slapping, bubble-net feeding, and even breaching. There was barely enough time to run inside for a bathroom break, hot chocolate, and a bit of warming up. We were listening to a presentation by Joselyn about plant adaptations when the action overwhelmed the ship again. It was truly magical — the flat, calm conditions and light shining through distant clouds created a perfect backdrop for the thousands of photos taken collectively by the dedicated bow-watchers. As the evening progressed, we skipped recap; we were in danger of skipping dinner altogether! But it was time to let the whales be and gain some sustenance ourselves to prepare for our last full day aboard the good ship National Geographic Sea Bird.
