Glacier Bay
This morning we awoke to a gray Glacier Bay day. This kind of weather is common around Bartlett Cove, but it soon brightened as we traveled farther into the park. The naturalists and several passengers had a few quick looks at a distant and elusive male killer whale that soon disappeared. We waited for over ten minutes, but never saw the animal again. Marble Island was our first stop to view a raucous colony of nesting birds. Life abounds here. Black-legged kittiwakes sat contentedly on their clutches of eggs while glaucous-winged gulls attended nests on the higher rocks. Tufted puffins stood near their burrows and looked down on us as pelagic cormorants flew to and fro near our ship. About 250 Steller’s sea lions were loafing on the island. Low growls rolled over the water towards us. Several large males lay conspicuously among younger animals. The biggest ones can weigh up to 2000 pounds.
Just before turning into Tidal Inlet, we found a black bear foraging on grasses far up the mountainside. We were just passing Gloomy Knob when someone yelled, “killer whales!” An adult male with a bent-over dorsal fin, two other adults, and a younger animal swam towards us. The male shown in this photograph is easy to recognize and is well known in the park as T2 (also known as AL40 and T40). There are several kinds of killer whales that differ in behavior and diet. Transient killer whales specialize in foraging on marine mammals, while another type feeds exclusively on fish. Most of the killer whales that use the waters of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are identifiable by their dorsal fins and marks on their bodies. The T in the designation shows that it is the type that consumes marine mammals. The individual T2 has been seen in Glacier Bay every year since 1986. He travels by himself or with one to five other animals. All of the six kills he has been observed with have been of harbor seals. He was observed by three of us two weeks ago on another Lindblad expedition harassing a humpback whale near Kelp Bay. We watched them for about 30 minutes before turning back and heading north again.
The afternoon was spent at the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers before heading south. We saw many mountain goats during the day far off on high green slopes, but found two nannies, two yearlings, and two small kids on a beach. These were close enough for great views as they foraged on seaweeds.
After dinner we managed to squeeze in a fast walk on a forest trail in Bartlett Cove. Some visited the small museum at the lodge, and others explored on their own. We were all in deep slumber as our happy little ship passed out of Glacier Bay and on to new adventures.
This morning we awoke to a gray Glacier Bay day. This kind of weather is common around Bartlett Cove, but it soon brightened as we traveled farther into the park. The naturalists and several passengers had a few quick looks at a distant and elusive male killer whale that soon disappeared. We waited for over ten minutes, but never saw the animal again. Marble Island was our first stop to view a raucous colony of nesting birds. Life abounds here. Black-legged kittiwakes sat contentedly on their clutches of eggs while glaucous-winged gulls attended nests on the higher rocks. Tufted puffins stood near their burrows and looked down on us as pelagic cormorants flew to and fro near our ship. About 250 Steller’s sea lions were loafing on the island. Low growls rolled over the water towards us. Several large males lay conspicuously among younger animals. The biggest ones can weigh up to 2000 pounds.
Just before turning into Tidal Inlet, we found a black bear foraging on grasses far up the mountainside. We were just passing Gloomy Knob when someone yelled, “killer whales!” An adult male with a bent-over dorsal fin, two other adults, and a younger animal swam towards us. The male shown in this photograph is easy to recognize and is well known in the park as T2 (also known as AL40 and T40). There are several kinds of killer whales that differ in behavior and diet. Transient killer whales specialize in foraging on marine mammals, while another type feeds exclusively on fish. Most of the killer whales that use the waters of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska are identifiable by their dorsal fins and marks on their bodies. The T in the designation shows that it is the type that consumes marine mammals. The individual T2 has been seen in Glacier Bay every year since 1986. He travels by himself or with one to five other animals. All of the six kills he has been observed with have been of harbor seals. He was observed by three of us two weeks ago on another Lindblad expedition harassing a humpback whale near Kelp Bay. We watched them for about 30 minutes before turning back and heading north again.
The afternoon was spent at the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers before heading south. We saw many mountain goats during the day far off on high green slopes, but found two nannies, two yearlings, and two small kids on a beach. These were close enough for great views as they foraged on seaweeds.
After dinner we managed to squeeze in a fast walk on a forest trail in Bartlett Cove. Some visited the small museum at the lodge, and others explored on their own. We were all in deep slumber as our happy little ship passed out of Glacier Bay and on to new adventures.
