Glacier Bay National Park
In the early morning mists, the Sea Lion slid quietly alongside the dock at Bartlett Cove and National Park Ranger Emily Scott joined the group for an amazing day of wildlife and wilderness. Up bay, low clouds lay across the valleys while white wisps decorated the tops of the mountains surrounding us. Within the hour, South Marble Island’s avian inhabitants were charming us with their raucous calls and colorful plumage. The tufted puffins, horned puffins and black oystercatchers all shaped and colored like cartoon characters were irresistible. Black-legged kittiwakes swooped across the bow carrying nesting materials, and glaucous-winged gulls claimed their territory and our attention by being the loudest.
As we drifted along the rocky shore admiring the profusion of birds, growling sounds drew our ears and eyes to larger and rounder shapes draped across the nearby smooth rocks. Nearly two hundred Steller or northern sea lions were hauled out on the island. These large and noisy pinnipeds were a joy to watch- some climbed up the rocks and out of the water, others were mock-fighting, while some seemed to simply enjoy sliding down the rocks and splashing into the water. The observation of a nursing female was particularly notable as this place has previously been known as a haul-out for male sea lions.
Our visit to Sandy Cove was also remarkable. As we cruised up the narrow forested channel that seemed barely wide enough for the ship, a black bear grazing along the intertidal zone appeared on the shore to our left. Next, on our right side, we heard high pitched whining sounds, which were soon attached to a wandering coyote – quite a rare sighting here in Glacier Bay! Gloomy Knob, that looming gray hunk of dolomite, hosted several mountain goats today and we all cheered on a young kid as it climbed impossibly steep slopes with its mother.
And so, finally, we glimpsed the blue ice towers of Marjorie Glacier in the northernmost part of Tarr Inlet. Bits and pieces of glacier chipped off and fell from the icy face with sounds of thunder as we watched and waited, willing the leaning spires to break and crash into the sea.
Finally, this day of endless delights brought us south to Boulder Island and an opportunity to view the smallest and cutest of marine mammals, the sea otter. Several hundred of these once nearly extinct animals have re-established themselves here, and in Glacier Bay, population numbers are increasing. Tonight we will dream of wild places, and feel blessed in our shared experience of beauty.
In the early morning mists, the Sea Lion slid quietly alongside the dock at Bartlett Cove and National Park Ranger Emily Scott joined the group for an amazing day of wildlife and wilderness. Up bay, low clouds lay across the valleys while white wisps decorated the tops of the mountains surrounding us. Within the hour, South Marble Island’s avian inhabitants were charming us with their raucous calls and colorful plumage. The tufted puffins, horned puffins and black oystercatchers all shaped and colored like cartoon characters were irresistible. Black-legged kittiwakes swooped across the bow carrying nesting materials, and glaucous-winged gulls claimed their territory and our attention by being the loudest.
As we drifted along the rocky shore admiring the profusion of birds, growling sounds drew our ears and eyes to larger and rounder shapes draped across the nearby smooth rocks. Nearly two hundred Steller or northern sea lions were hauled out on the island. These large and noisy pinnipeds were a joy to watch- some climbed up the rocks and out of the water, others were mock-fighting, while some seemed to simply enjoy sliding down the rocks and splashing into the water. The observation of a nursing female was particularly notable as this place has previously been known as a haul-out for male sea lions.
Our visit to Sandy Cove was also remarkable. As we cruised up the narrow forested channel that seemed barely wide enough for the ship, a black bear grazing along the intertidal zone appeared on the shore to our left. Next, on our right side, we heard high pitched whining sounds, which were soon attached to a wandering coyote – quite a rare sighting here in Glacier Bay! Gloomy Knob, that looming gray hunk of dolomite, hosted several mountain goats today and we all cheered on a young kid as it climbed impossibly steep slopes with its mother.
And so, finally, we glimpsed the blue ice towers of Marjorie Glacier in the northernmost part of Tarr Inlet. Bits and pieces of glacier chipped off and fell from the icy face with sounds of thunder as we watched and waited, willing the leaning spires to break and crash into the sea.
Finally, this day of endless delights brought us south to Boulder Island and an opportunity to view the smallest and cutest of marine mammals, the sea otter. Several hundred of these once nearly extinct animals have re-established themselves here, and in Glacier Bay, population numbers are increasing. Tonight we will dream of wild places, and feel blessed in our shared experience of beauty.
