Inian Islands and Fox Creek-Shaw Island
This morning we had our first wildlife encounter long before breakfast, when a group of sea otters were spotted rafting on the surface. They made a perfect start to a great day and set the pace for many more sightings to come. The National Geographic Sea Lion anchored at the Inian Islands and we soon divided to explore them aboard the Zodiacs. Located at the entrance of the northern portion of the Inner Passage, between Chichagof Island and the Fairweather Range, the Inians are surrounded by really strong currents, as huge volumes of water flow through them during the spring tides. This is a very dynamic area and numerous creatures take advantage of the great productivity of its waters; black-legged kitiwakes and pigeon guillemonts flew around, sea otters and Steller’s sea lions swam and a great number of bald eagles looked down from their perches waiting for a chance to grab a fish. The Steller’s sea lions were particularly numerous at a haul-out located on the northwestern corner of the area, facing the majestic Mt. Fairweather, which today glowed in plain view. Numerous individuals were swimming in the strong currents and occasionally slapped in the air the fish they captured, whereas eagles and gulls disputed the leftovers, making a very exciting sight! During the afternoon we anchored at Fox Creek, in front of Shaw Island. Kayakers, hikers and Zodiac cruisers explored the different areas and made some very exciting discoveries, including a young brown bear that peacefully foraged grasses on the beach and let everyone get excellent views of him. Meanwhile, Jeff Litton and I went SCUBA diving and filmed the inhabitants of the kelp forest at Shawn Island, like sunflower and sand sea stars, greenlings and orange-peel nudibranchs. All in all, a great day in Southeast Alaska!
