PART 3, Sept. 04, Arriving in Yakutat Bay-

   The next two days would be sailing days without docking at any port. Viking could not have chosen two better locations for viewing than the pristine and environmentally pure areas of Yakutat Bay today and Glacier Bay tomorrow. Even in Alaska, these areas are so unspoiled and remote; so completely pristine! The snow-peaked mountainous shorelines only broken-up slightly by intermittent Glaciers and Ice-fields....... the areas were pure, unblemished and untouched! You could only hear the wind which was softened by the glacial waters. I can't even describe how beautiful these two areas were!

     With the stunning natural glacial background I was feeling confident that I would find more Kittlitz Murrelets. Glacier Bay is a well-known area for an established population of the Kittlitz..... hopefully a few had not left the bay for winter. I know that my expectations on this cruise were somewhat unrealistic hoping to see all these specialty endemic birds from the bow of a large cruise ship traveling right up the center of these large bays and fjords, but one can wish! I was feeling very confident! 

     With all the solitude and quiet, the air was noticeably colder due to the Glaciers and the cold glacial waters being magnified by the gradually increasing wind and the head-on breeze from the forward motion of the ship.

     We woke up just before dawn and were anxious to see what the day would bring. I remembered the large gathering of Songbirds on the upper deck from the morning before and wanted to get up there before the Merlin patrol. When I opened the door to the top deck, I was stunned! The deck was literally covered with hundreds of tired Fox Sparrows. They were literally everywhere! This beauty was nestled-in on one of the putting greens. It appeared a little anxious probably being so exposed in the open knowing it would be vulnerable to the Merlins that would soon be cruising the ship. As more Sparrows began leaving the boat, this one joined a small group of them and flew the half-mile to the shoreline. I watched them until they disappeared into the distance...... I didn't see any Merlins pursuing them! 

     

        As we sailed into Yakutat Bay, the main destination was the Hubbard Glacier at the head of the bay. After breakfast, Jen and I headed up to the Explorer's Lounge. Jen got comfortable with her good book that she had been reading and I went out to my usual place which was on the bow on the sun deck.  It was noticeably colder this morning, so I wearing a much heavier Irish wool sweater and I was really anxious to pick up my camera and start pushing that shutter button. The wildness and the pure unspoiled scenery was stunning. Even though birds were fewer than I had expected, it really didn't matter! The only birds that I did see (so far) and with much less frequency were than previous days were Kittiwake and a few Glaucous-winged Gulls.

       At the point halfway up into the Bay, I didn't see any birds..... not even Gulls or Kittiwakes..... and of course, no Murrelets! The Orion had traveled a good distance into the  bay when out of nowhere a pair of Trumpeter Swans appeared off the port side. They hugged the water heading into the wind and to the northwest part of the bay.

     For the next mile or two, the sky and the water was essentially birdless, only broken by an occasional distant fly-by Kittiwake. It really didn't matter, the deafening quiet from this soulful location with its visually stunning panorama was amazing; something I had never experienced. A single Steller's Sea Lion broke the surface and almost appeared to be basking in all of this magnificence, it's home!

   

 

   

     The ship traveled farther into the bay and was shortening the distance to the Hubbard Glacier. On the port side, in the distance, a single, small dot of a bird flew low to the deck and headed north. It turned out to be a Cooper's Hawk, my first thought would have been a seabird.  

   We had reached our destination in Disenchantment Bay and the Hubbard Glacier.

I was looking hard for any small Alcid-type birds on the water which so far had been completely missing. I didn't see any! The only birds moving around as we traveled closer to the Glacier were a handful of Kittiwake,.........

 .

                                      .............Glaucous-winged Gulls............

          ......... and this stunning 1st cycle Glaucous-winged Gull with its pink-stained plumage probably a result of feeding on a steady Salmon diet. The keratinoid components in the Salmon concentrating in the uropygial (preen) gland of the Gull then being transferred to its plumage when the Gull preens. This is similar to Common Mergansers late in the winter in the Ct River (near our home) when the Mergansers are feeding on keratin-rich trout.

 

    The Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater Glacier in Alaska. Along the edge of the Glacier where it meets Disenchantment Bay, the glacier is over 600 feet tall, and is 7 miles wide. The glacier is 76 miles long! 350-400 feet is exposed above the water at its face. While we were drifting motionless by the Glacier, it "calved" several times....of course I missed the photos.....wrong side of the ship!  

     Even though I didn't have the opportunity for many birds, experiencing the Hubbard Glacier made the long sail and the day perfect! Just like yesterday, the last bird of the day in the mouth of the Bay was a hybrid Glaucous-winged x Herring Gull,

      As darkness approached, time to head back into the lounge and warm up with the best beverage after a day in the cold birding: hot chocolate with a shot of Bailey's!! We would sail all night to make it to Glacier Bay by morning.

                             PART 4, Thursday, Sept. 05, Arriving in Glacier Bay- 

    Morning breaks as we head into Glacier Bay. Glacier Bay is mentioned in the book entitled "The Auks" (my Auk Bible) as being one of the locations for concentrations of Kittlitz Murrelets. My hopes were high!! In the morning the ship gained a few passengers: the Rangers from Glacier Bay Wildlife Refuge. They were coming onto the ship to talk about Glacier Bay; its history, preservation and the wildlife. They talked about the life of the Glaciers which was fascinating. Everything you would ever want to know about Glaciers they discussed with everyone in the Explorer's Lounge. At this point we had traveled three-quarters the distance into the huge Bay and the only birds I saw were a few of the typical Black-legged Kittiwake and Glaucous-winged Gulls.

     When we stopped at one of the larger Glaciers at the head of the Bay; the Johns Hopkins Glacier. 

      On each side of the Glacier the towering mountains rose steeply to the sky disappearing into the clouds and offered an incredible perspective to the awe-inspiring landscapes. If I were a painter, I would be going home with my journal filled with page after page of inspiration of paintings I needed to paint!  

 

     I was searching hard in the water and broken ice and small calved icebergs for Murrelets..... not today!! The water below the Glacier was packed with crumbled ice which had come from the Glacier. Harbor Seals were quite at home. 

    The calved ice chunks and ice matts also attracted Gulls.....and there were good numbers of them. And for the first time the variety of Gulls had increased. The first California Gull I was able to identify so far on this trip. It was a welcomed addition to the growing list of birds- 

      This ice mat was a resting spot for these Glaucous-winged Gulls and Short-billed Mew Gulls-  

                               Good numbers of Glaucous-winged Gulls  

                                             1st cycle Herring Gull- 

     But I think the Gulls that fascinated me the most were this trio of 1st cycle Glaucous-winged x Herring Gull hybrids! Each bird had a different plumage from one another from very light to very dark. I laughed to myself thinking the darkest one when I saw it fly in to the other two looked like a Jaeger x Gull hybrid with its white flash at the base of its primaries against the dark wing coverts. The other two had been attracted to an expired floating Cod fish. 

     Also throughout the Bay were multiple sightings of Sea Otters just drifting the day away! How can you not be impressed by these magnificent animals!!

The outer islands of Glacier Bay- 

     We never got close enough to look and there was not an Alcid in the sky. After we passed these islands, a few seabirds other than Gulls were in the air like this pair of Pelagic Cormorants........

  ....... and this single drake White-winged Scoter. The only Scoter or Seaduck I saw in Glacier Bay. 

     As the Orion moved closer towards the mouth of Glacier Bay, the first (and only) Whale, a Humpback appeared off the starboard side. No Orca (yet)!! This Humpback was a little unique for a Pacific Humpback. It was showing a little bit of white markings on the ventral side of its tail something that is more expected on the Atlantic ssp. of Humpback Whale. This was told to me by a Whale expert that was on the cruise looking for whales! Good information to know.

     The last Gull I saw heading out of Glacier Bay was a Kittiwake, not the usual Glaucous-winged x Herring hybrid.

     

    Later in the afternoon we were approaching the Gulf of Alaska. Before we got close to the Gulf, you could see and feel that the wind had picked up substantially. The Captain announced that we were headed into a strong gusty southerly wind of 30+ knots and 8 to 10 foot seas! We were in for a couple of days of a really bumpy ride. And yes, as we approached the Gulf..... the Orion was rocking!!

    With the high seas and an unstable vessel, all outside access to the Explorer's Lounge sun deck was prohibited; the port and starboard outside access doors were closed! If I wanted to do any birding, it would have to be from our veranda deck or through the windows that were covered in salt spray in the Lounge! However being a fisherman for most of my life, there is always a way!! On the upper deck there are doors that lead to the top deck and down each side of the vessel. They have high glass walls that are designed to keep you in the boat! The doors were left unlocked. As you open the doors, there is a small staircase leading to the top deck. At the foot of the stairs just outside the doors is a small area without the high glass walls. This area is also located under another staircase going up. These small areas offer shelter from the strong head winds and weather. 

     And no sooner did I take my place on the starboard side......birds!! Small flocks of birds were heading east out in he Gulf quite a way from shore. I was so surprised to see that these birds that were negotiating the big waves and heavy winds were Dabbling Ducks; Shovelers and Pintail! I couldn't believe it! I would have expected Scoters.....but Shovelers!!

     As it turned out, with the strong southerly winds, the fierce head winds from the moving ship and the bouncing and pitching of the Orion, it was just too rough to try and photograph anything outside. Besides, with the winds, the wind-chill had dropped considerably time to come to take a break and warm up! I tried a few shots through the wet window and I wasn't very successful like this image of a flock of Pintail.

     Jen and I decided to relax a while in the lounge. We would later get cleaned up for dinner and enjoy a great dinner! Since the Orion was headed southwest before it could

 make its turn north to Skagway, the heavy pitching and yawing of the vessel made things very interesting! Best to just get to where you were going and sit,,,,, roll with the pitching 

and yawing!! We spent most of our time at dinner grabbing our glasses to keep them from tipping over and our plates from sliding off the table, but it was actually fun! We had a great time with it and plenty of laughs!! Heading back to our Suite after dinner......hold on to anything you can! I think after a few hours of this, we got our sea legs!!

Even though my timing was off for the Murrelets, the two day experiences with the Glaciers and their amazing locations was worth every minute! 

List of Birds and Mammals for Yakutat Bay and Glacier Bay-

Glaucous-winged Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Glaucous-winged x Herring Gull, Herring Gull, Short-billed Mew Gull, California Gull, Pelagic Cormorant, Cooper's Hawk, Fox Sparrow, Trumpeter Swan, White-winged Scoter, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, 

Mammals- Humpback Whale, Sea Otter, Harbor Seal, Steller's Sea Lion

                                PART 5, headed to Skagway will continue.....

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