Salmon video

 I went for a hike the other day up a river full of salmon.  They were all trying to get up to spawn, and the water levels were low, so they were crowded amongst each other.  

Cool video with seals and a calving glacier

 This video was from Meares Glacier, it was calving a bit, and I got this shot of the ice breaking free and then falling down and nearly obliterating the seals that were sleeping nearby.  They run for cover and get underwater.  I think once they get underwater they are mostly safe, since they ice is flying through the air and the pressure wave underwater isn't that powerful.  

Sunny week

This week was really nice, we had a lot of sunshine.  Wilson, who I have worked with for many years in the past, was aboard as well.  It was his only week up here, but it was nice.

At Chenega there was this great seal with drool all over the side of his face

We found some nice whales, and got a good look at them.  

And also one was slapping his tail

There was a full moon also, with a nice morning of moonset over the mountains

Going into Columbia Glacier there was a lot of ice.  It was really stretched out and extended well out to sea, probably because of the large tides with the full moon

The moraine was very full of ice

We also found an Ice cave, and it was really cool looking

It was really stable and we managed to get a view inside

I love the blue ice inside

It goes a long ways

There is a great spot where the glacier was pulling across the wall and the ice pulled a piece of rock out.  This is called plucking

A river otter

And a porcupine!

This guy was eating grass at the intertidal zone, and I went over for a closer look

He wasn't much perturbed by me, but gave me a little sniff

A nice seal

And a wandering tattler

We had lots of bears

This mama bear was chasing a salmon

And a bunch of close sea lions

a closer view

This guy was sitting in the river eating salmon

a male bear

 and another bear giving me a nice look.

I have one more week before I head to Glacier Bay for a canoe trip.

Chenega Glacier calving

 A really cool calving from a kayak at Chenega Glacier.  On August 15, 2024

A week in reverse!

We just did the week in the opposite direction than we normally do, starting with the Hatchery and a new place for me, called Bettles Bay.  It was really nice and a few bears.  The hatchery bears are getting more comfortable being close to humans, so that was cool.  Here's a shot of the sein net hauling in a set.

And a couple close bear shots

This one has lipstick

When we got to Columbia Glacier it was pretty iced in, so we went to the west side

And found some calving

And a cool smooth rock face

And an Ice cave

A wicked cool ice cave

This was a day to remember, going into the blue tunnel

With the folks...

The ripples on the sides are so cool

On the way out we found some Jaegers

In Cordova I found some cool birds

And a chestnut backed chickadee

And some water grass up the hill

Then at Knight Island we found a spotted Sandpiper

And I found some kelp to make Kendra!

And then in the afternoon I went on a hike up a salmon stream to swim with sockeye and then hike in a nice muskeg

The final day we went to Chenega Glacier and it was calving a lot.  Also there was this cute seal

And Captain Rob refused to pose for a shot.

At the very very end, as we cruised back to Whittier, we found some orcas which caught and killed (and ate) a Dall's Porpoise.  We saw the whole thing.
 

Black bear eating salmon

 At the Esther island hatchery this bear was walking along the shore and caught a salmon and then ate it right in front of me.  It was really cool.

Long tailed ducks!

I've been seeing a few ducks that I couldn't identify, but finally I got a few shots of them and I'm pretty sure they are long-tailed ducks.  In southeast alaska, they come north and pass through in May, but then are gone, but it seems that maybe they are spending the summer up here in Prince William sound or further north.  

I also got a nice Oystercatcher

The Safari Explorer is really fun to work on, and here she is in Tiger Glacier

The gulls are growing up!

And this cormorant has really pretty eyes.

Chenega glacier calved a lot this week

I did a kayak in front of it and it was non-stop, just little pieces all over the place and then bigger calvings every few minutes.

That night there was Northern Lights

It was really cool, but I didn't get the proper focus.

It wasn't really that dark, but hopefully we will get some more clear nights in the next few weeks and get more.

Lots of otters again

As it began to cloud over, there was the last glimmer of sunshine

After Monday, it got rainy, and has been raining all week.  At columbia glacier it was rainy and cold, and the ice was super blue

Then it rained at Meares, and I found a bear in the evening, eating grass

At the hatchery, the bears were really popping.  They were active and got close to us.

A few were curious of us

And some were waiting for us to pass and then they would go get fish

This one was looking for salmon when we were at the dock

And it got one, and we saw the whole thing from about 20 feet away.