Chatham Strait, Frederick Sound and Saginaw Bay
A calm sea and sunny skies greeted early risers today as we made our way up Red Bluff Bay on the eastern side of Baranof Island. Several bald eagles were seen along the shore or perched in trees as we passed schools of chum and pink salmon making their way to spawning grounds in the streams that feed the inlet. Our guests had the opportunity for an early morning bath as the Sea Lion nudged her bow into the spray of a beautiful waterfall that fell several hundred feet into the fjord.
Later that morning, we cruised through Chatham Strait where we observed several groups of humpback whales feeding on small fish or krill. The whales repeatedly displayed a distinct and fascinating behavior known as lunge feeding where the animal would quickly swim, mouth agape, through water containing its intended prey. Closing its jaw, the whale would force water through the baleen filter and extract the food. On several occasions, the whales came so close to the ship that we could clearly see the baleen within its mouth. During this fascinating display, we caught sight of a mixed pod of Dall’s and harbor porpoise moving rapidly through the water.
Our afternoon was spent in Saginaw Bay on the northern end of Kuiu Island. Here, we split our time kayaking and hiking along a beautiful deserted beach beneath a steep cliff of fossil-bearing, Paleozoic limestone. Fossils of brachiopods, corals and extinct protozoa known as fusilinids were observed in the bedrock or in pebbles along the shore. As a final icing on a wonderful day, a pod of orcas, or killer whales joined the Sea Lion as we cruised through Frederick Sound.
A calm sea and sunny skies greeted early risers today as we made our way up Red Bluff Bay on the eastern side of Baranof Island. Several bald eagles were seen along the shore or perched in trees as we passed schools of chum and pink salmon making their way to spawning grounds in the streams that feed the inlet. Our guests had the opportunity for an early morning bath as the Sea Lion nudged her bow into the spray of a beautiful waterfall that fell several hundred feet into the fjord.
Later that morning, we cruised through Chatham Strait where we observed several groups of humpback whales feeding on small fish or krill. The whales repeatedly displayed a distinct and fascinating behavior known as lunge feeding where the animal would quickly swim, mouth agape, through water containing its intended prey. Closing its jaw, the whale would force water through the baleen filter and extract the food. On several occasions, the whales came so close to the ship that we could clearly see the baleen within its mouth. During this fascinating display, we caught sight of a mixed pod of Dall’s and harbor porpoise moving rapidly through the water.
Our afternoon was spent in Saginaw Bay on the northern end of Kuiu Island. Here, we split our time kayaking and hiking along a beautiful deserted beach beneath a steep cliff of fossil-bearing, Paleozoic limestone. Fossils of brachiopods, corals and extinct protozoa known as fusilinids were observed in the bedrock or in pebbles along the shore. As a final icing on a wonderful day, a pod of orcas, or killer whales joined the Sea Lion as we cruised through Frederick Sound.
