Juneau and break

 This was the last week of my rotation, and we started in Sitka.  Since we had only about 43 people on board, we were able to get all of them on skiffs at the same time, so we had a few extra things this week.  Our first was a bonus skiff tour at the Magouns on the first day, where we drove out into Sitka Sound and found a phalarope!  After that we went up to Funter bay to try and find bubblenetter whales, and I did a bushwack and found a chestnut backed Chickadee, which was eager to show itself off to me and get close.

 I think it may have been nesting nearby.  Here's another shot.

 Then we had a gigantic thunderstorm in the afternoon and when it cleared we found the bubblenetters!  We dropped the skiffs and put everyone in them and went out to look.

 We had a digital rangefinder to make sure we were far enough away, and I must confess, I didn't really know what 100 yards looked like.  I was really quite surprised at how big these animals are and therefore how hard it is to tell distance.  We were 104 yards at closest approach and I would have thought it was much less.  I guess I tend to be about 150 or so away when I watch whales and that is the distance I estimate to be 100.

 They were really cool

 Ben, who organized this and made it happen, was really excited about it all, of course.

 We had a hydrophone, and put it in the water and listened to them as they were getting ready to feed, and they have a call that is really eerie before they come up, its called "the call of the bubble warrior"

 Here's one from pretty close

 Then we went to Hidden Falls hatchery and there are lots of bears there when the salmon are running, so we toured the hatchery and also looked at the bears.

 The Chum salmon are coming in and they are cool looking, and apparently tasty.

 The bears didn't pay us much mind.

 Poor salmon

 Then we went to Takatz and went up a river to look at birds, and I found these Mergansers

 Then we went out to Cross Sound, where the ocean waves meet the inland waters and I did a kayak that is my favorite one.  I found an oystercatcher.  There is some sea caves and I like to paddle in one and howl, and then also go through an arch.

 Then we went to the inian islands and got snuggly with some otters

 They were all tucked into the kelp

 And holding on to each other like teddy bears

 There are loads of sea lions at the inians and we found a few

 And got nice and close

 Also a few whales.  This one came really close

 And in this shot you can see the whale lice around the blowhole.

 It was a nice week, and a good one to end my rotation on.