Frederick Sound and Saginaw Bay
Blue-skies and clear views of distant snow-capped mountains encircled us as we sipped coffee on the bow and greeted this beautiful morning. As the Sea Bird neared Turnabout Island in Frederick Sound, whale blows were sighted in the distance. We moved closer and held our collective breath in hopeful anticipation of seeing and experiencing something truly extraordinary.
We were richly rewarded for our steadfastness. Captain Jeff Kalbach slowed the ship and skillfully piloted our vessel near the humpback whales feeding just offshore. At first we watched some individual lunges, though the group soon coalesced and we were in the midst of a forty foot ring of bubbles, hundreds of fleeing herring, and water streaming out of the sides of at least twelve huge open mouths. Lucky us… we had just witnessed the breathtaking mystery of cooperative feeding humpback whales! These enormous mammals repeated their feeding behavior as Steve Zeff, our enthusiastic marine biologist, spoke of his and others’ experience and research concerning the endangered humpback whale.
A sunny afternoon of kayaking out to a pictograph, a black bear and her two small cubs, forest walking, looking at fossils, exploring the intertidal zone and swimming (!) capped this quintessential summer day in Southeast Alaska!
Blue-skies and clear views of distant snow-capped mountains encircled us as we sipped coffee on the bow and greeted this beautiful morning. As the Sea Bird neared Turnabout Island in Frederick Sound, whale blows were sighted in the distance. We moved closer and held our collective breath in hopeful anticipation of seeing and experiencing something truly extraordinary.
We were richly rewarded for our steadfastness. Captain Jeff Kalbach slowed the ship and skillfully piloted our vessel near the humpback whales feeding just offshore. At first we watched some individual lunges, though the group soon coalesced and we were in the midst of a forty foot ring of bubbles, hundreds of fleeing herring, and water streaming out of the sides of at least twelve huge open mouths. Lucky us… we had just witnessed the breathtaking mystery of cooperative feeding humpback whales! These enormous mammals repeated their feeding behavior as Steve Zeff, our enthusiastic marine biologist, spoke of his and others’ experience and research concerning the endangered humpback whale.
A sunny afternoon of kayaking out to a pictograph, a black bear and her two small cubs, forest walking, looking at fossils, exploring the intertidal zone and swimming (!) capped this quintessential summer day in Southeast Alaska!
