Glacier Bay National Park
The National Geographic Sea Bird entered Glacier Bay National Park in the early morning hours and docked briefly in Bartlett Cove. Ranger/Naturalist Sarah Betcher embarked to spend the day on board to relate the dramatic story of what makes this park so dynamic – tidewater glaciers, plant succession, geology, wildlife, outstanding scenery and native culture.
Expedition Leader, Jen, made an early wake-up call for breakfast so that we could get out on the decks to view South Marble Island, summer home to Steller sea lions and many species of birds, including the lovable puffins, pelagic cormorants, common murres, pigeon guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, and glaucous-winged gulls. A group of colorful harlequin ducks seen through the spotting scope was a special treat.
Among the low growls of the Steller sea lions, we heard the conspicuous barking of a California sea lion, not often seen in Southeast Alaska. We noticed that some of the sea lions sported numbers on their flanks, cold-branded in their first year, so that researchers could follow their subsequent movements.
Mount Fairweather (15,320’) and her sister peaks made an appearance as we continued up the bay. The weather kept improving until we had a brilliant sunny day. There was no shortage of wildlife along the way and the scenery was magnificent.
We paused at Gloomy Knob, a mound of gray dolomitic rock with very little vegetation, to observe a few mountain goats on the precipitous slopes and rock faces. We also noticed a hoary marmot, a member of the squirrel family, basking high on a sunny knoll.
Hundreds of scoters (a type of sea duck) were strewn across the mouth of Queen Inlet beyond Gloomy Knob. A chance sighting of a moose walking on a snow patch caught our attention until the animal blended back into the vegetation.
Two additional stops were made to observe brown (grizzly) bears foraging along the beach. Bears eat a variety of foods and even the intertidal zone offers them nourishment.
At last we reached our northernmost point at the end of Tarr Inlet, where the Grand Pacific and Margerie glaciers tumble from the mountains and terminate in the sea. We were fortunate to witness the birth of new icebergs when ice from the face of the Margerie Glacier broke off and fell with a thunderous crash to the water below.
We swung by the beautiful Lamplugh Glacier at the mouth of Johns Hopkins Inlet and continued to Jaw Point. Our jaws dropped at the stunning view of and above Johns Hopkins Glacier. Our amazement continued when sharp eyes saw the blows and tall dorsal fins of killer whales around the icebergs further up the inlet. Bird activity around the whales drew speculation that this was a transient pod that may have made a meal of an unsuspecting harbor seal. We watched as the whales swam out of the bay and on to other destinations.
We, too, continued our program of recap, dinner and a quick stop at Bartlett Cove to visit the lodge and walk the forest trail. We departed the park and headed south, eager for tomorrow’s adventures.
