The Inian Islands, North Chichagof Island, Southeast Alaska
What do bull kelp, Devil’s Club, bluebells, sea otters and humpback whales have to do with today’s trip on the Sea Lion? They were some of the lovely, interesting and fantastic wildlife we saw today! We used part of the morning sailing slowly in the vicinity of Point Adolphus, where we watched a number of humpback whales lunge-feeding at the surface, engulfing enormous amounts of herring during their precipitous “blubber-forming weeks” left before commencing their trip to Hawaii to mate and breed. A long trip out there, and back, without feeding (and they still have to return to Alaska next spring to eat again)! Among them we were able to see small groups of Dall’s and harbor porpoise, very probably fishing the same species.
Just before lunch we were already at the Inian Islands, where different groups of Steller’s sea lions and sea otters were observed for a good while, while we enjoyed a majestic backdrop of the Baird Glacier and the Fairweather range of Glacier Bay National Park. Mount Fairweather is an incredible 15,320 feet high! After lunch we were at our afternoon destination: George Island.
Here hiking was undertaken in different groups, to a WWII 6” cannon left from the U.S. Army occupation of this island, for warding off Japanese warships entering this sector of Alaska. Other hikes were shorter, crossing the narrow island to a lovely fine gray sand beach, where Steve and the family groups made plaster casts of river otter tracks, and spent time tide-pooling.
A series of plants were also observed here, including beautiful bluebells, saxifrages, dwarf fireweed and asters. Probably the most interesting plant among them all was the common butterwort, an uncommon small insect-eating plant, that captures insects by getting them glued to the upper surface of the leaves, and digesting them to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the animal proteins of these bugs.
What do bull kelp, Devil’s Club, bluebells, sea otters and humpback whales have to do with today’s trip on the Sea Lion? They were some of the lovely, interesting and fantastic wildlife we saw today! We used part of the morning sailing slowly in the vicinity of Point Adolphus, where we watched a number of humpback whales lunge-feeding at the surface, engulfing enormous amounts of herring during their precipitous “blubber-forming weeks” left before commencing their trip to Hawaii to mate and breed. A long trip out there, and back, without feeding (and they still have to return to Alaska next spring to eat again)! Among them we were able to see small groups of Dall’s and harbor porpoise, very probably fishing the same species.
Just before lunch we were already at the Inian Islands, where different groups of Steller’s sea lions and sea otters were observed for a good while, while we enjoyed a majestic backdrop of the Baird Glacier and the Fairweather range of Glacier Bay National Park. Mount Fairweather is an incredible 15,320 feet high! After lunch we were at our afternoon destination: George Island.
Here hiking was undertaken in different groups, to a WWII 6” cannon left from the U.S. Army occupation of this island, for warding off Japanese warships entering this sector of Alaska. Other hikes were shorter, crossing the narrow island to a lovely fine gray sand beach, where Steve and the family groups made plaster casts of river otter tracks, and spent time tide-pooling.
A series of plants were also observed here, including beautiful bluebells, saxifrages, dwarf fireweed and asters. Probably the most interesting plant among them all was the common butterwort, an uncommon small insect-eating plant, that captures insects by getting them glued to the upper surface of the leaves, and digesting them to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the animal proteins of these bugs.
