PART 8 CC- Gulf of Alaska heading to Chatham Sound

                                

      CONTINUING from BB,  Gulf of Alaska........ there it was a single splash and a tall dark dorsal fin! ORCA!! Finally, a pod of Orca, the one Whale species we all want to experience in Alaska! Just after the fin appeared, it sounded. I immediately ran through the outside doors into the Lounge and yelled to Bill and everyone in there......ORCA!! With that word, the sun deck was flooded with people looking for the prize of the Alaskan Cetaceans..... the Killer Whale!!

   The dorsal fin sounded again in a big splash. Everyone was holding their breath hoping that the Whale(s) would make another appearance! 

     And a big gasp from everyone as a tail fin appeared!

            Spectacular!!

     Then, more Orca appeared.....a family group! This was getting better!!

     More gasps as the dorsal fin show continued!

     Then it happened........what everyone was waiting for and was praying it would happen; a BREACH.......just yards off the port bow of the ship! I was lucky....I anticipated this event and had my camera pointed and ready to the location I thought this would happen. And it did! Right in my camera viewfinder! Absolutely breath-taking and GLORIOUS!! You should have heard the gasps and cheers when this happened! 

     After only a few seconds this glorious event was over! The Whales continued playing off the bow actually swimming right by the bow like porpoises do. I know in my heart the Orca did this to entertain us; to make us happy. The put on a show for us..... they loved the attention!!

               Just amazing and beautiful animals......we were so blessed to experience them! 

     As it turned out, everyone was so captivated and hypnotized by the pod of Orca, very few people were able to secure pictures of the breaching Orca. I was glad I did, as many people asked me to email them the images when I got home from the trip....which I did and was happy to do! 

    It would be very hard to top the excitement of this pod of Orca and the breaching male Orca so close to the ship. But its funny how unexpected and ill-timed unfortunate coincidences happen.  After the Orca event started to settle down a bit and we slowly moved past it, the only birds I saw were the usual sporadic Shearwaters. It was getting later in the day and the temps were dropping a bit, it started getting much cooler on the sun deck.  I decided to go back to our suite down the hall from the Lounge and get my heavier sweater and to take a little personal break. ..........

     .....

      ......... when I started back to the Lounge, Jen met me in the short hallway. She was visibly excited and she told me to hurry up! I instinctively asked her "What did I miss"? She told me to "Hurry up I might still be able to see it"! When we got to the Lounge she told me of a large, dark brown Gannet-sized bird that looked like a huge Shearwater that glided past the bow of the ship never flapping it's wings! It just sailed by the bow of the ship heading off to the southeast and apparently disappearing into the distance. Since we were at sea, our cell phones were turned off; she couldn't call or text me!  I showed her a picture of a Black-footed Albatross in my Alaska Birds book, and she confirmed!! Talk about really bad timing!! Oh well, one of the other species on my short list that I really wanted to see in Alaska decided to make its appearance when I was unfortunately indisposed!! All I could do now was to imagine what it looked like in my mind! I am happy though that Jen spotted it and experienced it! 

  The day slowly came to an end. We went and enjoyed a nice relaxing to dinner (Halibut on the menu tonight)! After dinner we went back to the Lounge to have a  Gin and Beefeaters and watch the rest of the day fade away. At one point I went back out on the sun deck hoping to get a second chance at that Albatross which unfortunately, never materialized! That's OK, another time! My timing was good in another way, I was following the Shearwaters which led me to a group of Common Murre. 

                                 More Short-tailed Shearwater- 

                              More Common Murre,  the last birds I saw to close out this day.- 

   The day spent in Ketchikan and the sail out the Channel to the Gulf of Alaska was another successful day filled with birds and whales. Two spectacular events of the day included a pod of Orca and a Black-footed Albatross! 

Bird list from today: Glaucous-winged Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous-winged x Herring Gull, Short-billed Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull, Bonaparte's Gull, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Harlequin Duck, White-winged Scoter, Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, Short-tailed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, POMARINE JAEGER, BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS

ORCA, Humpback Whale, BLUE WHALE, Minke Whale, DALL'S PORPOISE, Harbor Seal

    PART 9 AA (two-part AA & BB)- Tuesday, Sept. 10, A day of scenic sailing on the Orion, Gulf of Alaska and heading into Chatham Sound.  

    Since we would be at sea the entire day, Jen and I just took it easy. We relaxed in the Lounge, walked around the ship, shopped on board, and took a little nap in the Lounge. This was the first day that Jen and I explored and enjoyed the ship. The Orion is an absolutely elegant and special cruise ship!

Jen and I spent the last part of the day in the Lounge.  I went out on the deck every now and then, but there wasn't much happening except a Shearwater or two every now and then or a passing Gull, but not much. 

    A few opportunities did materialize when Short-tailed Shearwaters would pass by the bow within a few yards. This gave me the opportunity to photograph them and observe them up closely. You can really see the shorter body length and their customary short neck giving them the "shrugged shoulder" look. They smaller and shorter bill and squared-off forehead and their common white throat are clearly visible in these images. 

 

    For comparison, here are a few images of a Sooty Shearwater I photographed here off the Rhode Island coast showing the longer body profile, longer neck, longer bill, and the rounded forehead. Also missing is the white chin and throat. 

    And where a Shearwater derived its name......................perfect image to illustrate that! 

   Later in the day, a blow way in the distance.......other than a blow or two, and a little splashing on the surface, I never got a good look at these Whales. 

                PART 9BB continues....... sailing on the Gulf of Alaska...........                                  

                                                   To Continue....click on "OLDER POSTS" below right