Glacier Bay National Park
The guests of the Sea Bird discovered that Glacier Bay National Park offers much more than beautiful glaciers. Our first insight into this spectacular day came as we approached Boulder Island in the calm lower part of the bay. Here we saw hundreds of sea otters in seeming nonchalance. They floated easily on their backs, with their heads and feet sticking out of the water. They rolled and groomed to keep their luxurious pelts clean and fluffed for flotation and insulation. Sea otters “rediscovered” Glacier Bay in 1993, and their numbers have grown to nearly 2,000 since then.
Further north, we slowed down at South Marble Island, which is a breeding and nesting site for populations of several species of seabirds, including black-legged kittiwakes, glaucous-winged gulls, and tufted and horned puffins. Other species seen here were pelagic cormorants, harlequin ducks, black oystercatchers, pigeon guillemots, and common murres. Rounding the corner, we noticed and heard Steller sea lions that were sprawled on the rocks. This is a haul-out area occupied mostly by males. The species is doing well in Southeast Alaska but numbers have plummeted in other parts of the state.
We continued up the bay and shortly came upon a black bear that was feeding on a moose carcass on the rocky shore. Her cubs had gone up into the protection of the forest. She blended right in with the rocks as she feasted. It seemed a bit gruesome but we realized that we were witnessing a natural event in nature.
Another black bear was spotted feeding on barnacles as the falling tide exposed the rocks. The bear would smash the barnacles with one front paw and then lick the underside of its foot. As we watched, a smaller black bear came out of the forest and down to the intertidal zone to feed. Over the next few minutes we were spellbound as we observed the interaction between two individuals of the same species. The larger bear (of unknown gender but presumed male) slowly approached the smaller one (which we could see was a male), which started to back off toward the forest. The two broke into a run and disappeared into the forest. We let out a collective and audible sigh of amazement, thinking we had seen the last of the drama, but seconds later, they came crashing back out onto the beach and ran around some more. We never saw them make contact and it seemed like a half-hearted effort on the part of the larger bear. The smaller bear went back to feeding as if nothing had happened and we quietly departed the scene, leaving the bears to resolve their dispute. We will never know the final outcome. Although bears are usually solitary, if there is enough food in an area, they will sometimes tolerate each other. There were probably enough barnacles for both bears.
Later in the morning we found a brown (grizzly) bear along the shore, also feeding in the intertidal zone, but in a different way. This bear was flipping large boulders and slurping up invertebrates underneath. During a break from feeding, the bear went for a swim to bathe and cool off on this warm, sunny day. Upon emerging from the water, it went right back to feeding. Eventually it casually walked back into the shrubbery.
With the expertise of our ship personnel, we were able to safely observe wildlife in its natural environment without disturbing it. This is the ideal situation which we strive for and attain with Lindblad Expeditions. A guest remarked that it was like being in the middle of a professional wildlife documentary. Alaska is a special place that can provide the kinds of experiences that we will forever treasure.
Oh, and we saw glaciers today too. And we were well-fed by our galley and hotel staffs between bouts of watching wildlife and splendid scenery. In the evening we docked in Bartlett Cove and had a chance to walk the forest trail and visit the lodge.
The guests of the Sea Bird discovered that Glacier Bay National Park offers much more than beautiful glaciers. Our first insight into this spectacular day came as we approached Boulder Island in the calm lower part of the bay. Here we saw hundreds of sea otters in seeming nonchalance. They floated easily on their backs, with their heads and feet sticking out of the water. They rolled and groomed to keep their luxurious pelts clean and fluffed for flotation and insulation. Sea otters “rediscovered” Glacier Bay in 1993, and their numbers have grown to nearly 2,000 since then.
Further north, we slowed down at South Marble Island, which is a breeding and nesting site for populations of several species of seabirds, including black-legged kittiwakes, glaucous-winged gulls, and tufted and horned puffins. Other species seen here were pelagic cormorants, harlequin ducks, black oystercatchers, pigeon guillemots, and common murres. Rounding the corner, we noticed and heard Steller sea lions that were sprawled on the rocks. This is a haul-out area occupied mostly by males. The species is doing well in Southeast Alaska but numbers have plummeted in other parts of the state.
We continued up the bay and shortly came upon a black bear that was feeding on a moose carcass on the rocky shore. Her cubs had gone up into the protection of the forest. She blended right in with the rocks as she feasted. It seemed a bit gruesome but we realized that we were witnessing a natural event in nature.
Another black bear was spotted feeding on barnacles as the falling tide exposed the rocks. The bear would smash the barnacles with one front paw and then lick the underside of its foot. As we watched, a smaller black bear came out of the forest and down to the intertidal zone to feed. Over the next few minutes we were spellbound as we observed the interaction between two individuals of the same species. The larger bear (of unknown gender but presumed male) slowly approached the smaller one (which we could see was a male), which started to back off toward the forest. The two broke into a run and disappeared into the forest. We let out a collective and audible sigh of amazement, thinking we had seen the last of the drama, but seconds later, they came crashing back out onto the beach and ran around some more. We never saw them make contact and it seemed like a half-hearted effort on the part of the larger bear. The smaller bear went back to feeding as if nothing had happened and we quietly departed the scene, leaving the bears to resolve their dispute. We will never know the final outcome. Although bears are usually solitary, if there is enough food in an area, they will sometimes tolerate each other. There were probably enough barnacles for both bears.
Later in the morning we found a brown (grizzly) bear along the shore, also feeding in the intertidal zone, but in a different way. This bear was flipping large boulders and slurping up invertebrates underneath. During a break from feeding, the bear went for a swim to bathe and cool off on this warm, sunny day. Upon emerging from the water, it went right back to feeding. Eventually it casually walked back into the shrubbery.
With the expertise of our ship personnel, we were able to safely observe wildlife in its natural environment without disturbing it. This is the ideal situation which we strive for and attain with Lindblad Expeditions. A guest remarked that it was like being in the middle of a professional wildlife documentary. Alaska is a special place that can provide the kinds of experiences that we will forever treasure.
Oh, and we saw glaciers today too. And we were well-fed by our galley and hotel staffs between bouts of watching wildlife and splendid scenery. In the evening we docked in Bartlett Cove and had a chance to walk the forest trail and visit the lodge.
