Today’s Southeast Alaska performance opened with the early morning light on Icy Straight, off the coast of Chichagoff Island. Humpback whales came to dance for us, spouting streams of mist into the air, arching their dorsal fins and then diving to feed, periodically flashing their flukes.
During act two, hikers went to Fox Creek and kayakers to Shaw Island. Fox Creek is a wonderful place to see some of the early summer wildflowers of the area. Shooting stars, chocolate lilies, and buttercups to name a few. Out on the water, kayakers made a “circumnavigation” of Shaw Island and saw its marine mammal life; there was a sea otter lounging in the bull kelp forest near shore, adult and juvenile bald eagles fishing in the surface waters, and Harbor Seals periscoping their heads out of the water to gaze at our plastic yellow craft in curiosity. Humpback whales were also nearby, out in the main channel. One or more of these whales had a tendency to trumpet when it exhaled at the surface, making a sound similar to a ship’s foghorn. We also saw lunge feeding, in which the whales get some momentum, rush at a school of fish, and open their mouths, breaking the water’s surface as their mouths fill with fish and water.
After a brief intermission, the entertainment extravaganza continued in the afternoon. We cruised in our inflatable boats around the Inian Islands, where strong tides and currents mix up the layers of water and fish, providing lots of food for the hungry. Steller sea lions, bald eagles, sea otters, and humpback whales all come together in this area to feed on the abundant food sources. We feasted on the sights and activity around us.
The final act of today’s production closed on the shores of Idaho Inlet, where we said goodnight to a coastal brown bear on the beach.
