Sunday, Sept. 01, - Morning check-out from the Seward 360 Hotel, 

                                               and check-in on the Viking Orion- 

   Decided to take an easy day today before we checked-in on the Viking Orion at 11:00 am. Jen and I had finished our re-packing last night so we were not rushed today to check out and head to the Orion. I had originally packed four decoys that I made that were commissions for a collector of mine and they were three Tufted Puffins and a Long-billed Murrelet. My intention to bring them with me was to photograph them in Alaska, and also photograph them floating in Alaskan waters. So after breakfast, I took the decoys down to the edge of the harbor looking for a good spot to photograph them with a fabulous Alaskan background! I also wanted to find a spot that where I could access the Harbor water easily, which proved difficult. Since most of the harbor was mostly accessible by private docks, that wouldn't work. I walked farther down the main docks behind the motels and restaurants and come upon a public fish cleaning station....perfect!! This would be a perfect spot with perfect aesthetics to showcase the decoys for photos. There was also access to reach the water, but it was a little difficult. It was low tide, and in Seward Alaska that means a big tide fluctuation well over 16 feet. That meant the shore along the water was way downhill covered with rocks and this silty-soft muddy grease! Well, I took my time getting down, however getting back up the incline proved more challenging.....but I was successful! The fish cleaning station and the water below the docks made the perfect place for photographing my decoys with that awesome Alaskan background. 

    After Breakfast, Jen and I took the shuttle to the Cruise Ship dock and registered on the Orion. We figured we would spend the rest of the day and get familiar with the ship......and what a beautiful ship!!

We first went to our suite and unpacked!! Can't believe it, after waiting a few years, we are finally here! 

 

    We had a great suite on the upper deck close to the bow and the Explorer's Lounge. The view from the veranda was fantastic......great spot for looking for birds! Here are a few shots looking back at Seward from our veranda. The blue building was the Seward 360 Hotel, and our room was third floor to the right near the end of the building with that awesome view of the harbor.

   It turned out to be a gorgeous day! This is the first day since we arrived in Alaska where the sun appeared. The temperatures were still quite pleasant in the high 50's, what a day!! After we had our lunch on the Orion, we headed back to our suite to relax on the deck and enjoy this beautiful day. Well, there were plenty of Gulls flying around the harbor, so I had my camera with me. The majority of the Gulls were Glaucous-winged Gulls and then there were the less than obvious species, aka hybrids. I assumed they were hybrid Glaucous-winged and Herring, but as I mentioned earlier in my blog, I have no idea about western Gulls. I showed the images later to a couple of birders from the Seward area, they just said they were "Seward Gulls", a common hybrid up there! So here are some of the images of Glaucous-winged and Seward Gulls that were constantly flying around the harbor which I took from our veranda. 

    Double-crested Cormorants would occasionally fly up the harbor and turn around by the cruise ship dock and fly out to the breakwaters and land. 

                         Didn't see too many Harbor Seals, but they did pop up once and a while.

    

     After a nice long relaxing afternoon, it was time for dinner. I think we will go for the Alaskan seafood buffet tonight! 

                              This Squid salad was my favorite! They served it every day! 

     They prepared Wild Salmon daily: poached, baked, smoked, broiled and ceviche'! The buffet had a fresh fish every day such as Halibut, Tile Fish, Rock Fish, Cod and so many others cooked in all ways. I had fish every day! 

   

   Viking has a list of arranged shore excursions when the ship is anchored in port. Well in advance of the cruise dates, Viking posts their shore excursions online and you have the opportunity to reserve the excursions that you are interested in. The list was quite extensive and you can select these excursions to your interests. Jen and I chose mostly Wildlife-based trips seeking birds, whales, and other fauna. Tomorrow morning would be our first excursion; 7-hour Wildlife Boat Tour of the Kenai Fjords. Our daily schedule is posted each day on the TV in our suite. Time to turn in for the night, can't wait until tomorrow! Good night!! 

    

    

               PART 4- Monday, Sept. 02- Kenai Fjords, Part AA- Resurrection Bay, Puffin Walls- 

   This tour was being run by the Kenai Fjords Wildlife Tour Co. which was a different tour than the one we took on Saturday afternoon which was run by the Hotel. 

      This boat tour was longer by two hours and it was a morning tour, the other was an afternoon tour. This trip traveled to the fjord Aialik Bay with the Aialik Glacier being one of the main points of interest. For me, that was one of the main reasons we were looking forward to this tour. Seeing that Glacier would be amazing in itself, but mostly, this would be the place that we would have a chance to see Marbled Murrelets, and the KITTLITZ MURRELET! I had high hopes for Marbled Murrelet, but even higher for Kittlitz! Although, the time of year was getting late for the Kittlitz, Marbled would still be a possibility. 

   We were (again) anxious and were early at the meeting spot at the Hotel. Since the dock for this tour was farther down the road, we all took shuttle buses to the tour office. Once we checked in, we were soon on the boat. Jen and I headed to the bow cabin and found a good set by the window, After the orientation by the mates, the boat was underway out the harbor. I walked out onto the bow deck and got my camera ready. It was a much better day today than the last time I was on a boat in this bay. That day was steady rain; today it was mixed clouds and sun. The trip started the same as the other tour. We headed out of the harbor. Although there were many Kittiwake buzzing around in the harbor area, the breakwaters that were packed with roosting Gulls the other day, were empty this morning.

                 Another pair of Eagles perched on the channel marker as from the other day- 

   

             About halfway out the bay to the Seabird Cliffs, this Eagle flew by the bow of the boat-   

    Just a hundred yards after he Eagle, we passed by the small groups of Sea Otters that were almost in the same location as the other day. I was surprised by this pair of Horned Puffins, they were closer to the harbor, I never expected to see them here. 

     

              Close fly-bys from a couple of Double-crested Cormorants. No Pelagic Cormorants yet.

                            Within a short period of time, we were back at the Seabird Cliffs.

                                      The Sea Lions were back in their usual haul-out spot!

       The Puffin Walls! The amount of birds flying, swimming and standing on the walls was  significantly fewer this morning. Although there were still plenty of birds in the area, they were most likely offshore on their feeding grounds. Like in New England, the Puffins, Razorbill, and Murres fly out to sea in the morning and return (mostly) in the afternoons. I am sure the same applied here. But, there was still plenty of birds to enjoy and photograph. The pace was not as fast-paced as it was Saturday afternoon! 

                                                        Found the Pelagic Cormorants-

     The boat stopped by the walls for a good ten minutes giving all of us plenty of time to watch the Puffins and Murres flying in and out and standing on the walls. Some of the birds came really close to the boat. 

         The number of Common Murre flying this morning were proportionately higher than Saturday-

     The highlight at the Puffin Wall (for me) was this one absolutely gorgeous adult Tufted Puffin that didn't seem to mind us being there close to the wall and him/her. It gave all of us great looks and many of us great photo opportunities!

Kenai Fjords, PART BB continues........Resurrection Bay, Fox Island, Rugged Island, Gulf of Alaska, Aialik Bay and Aialik Glacier continues....................

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