Chatham Strait, Saginaw Bay, Eliza Harbor, Frederick Sound
A typical day on Sea Lion begins with the gentle voice of our expedition leader making a wake-up announcement at 7:00 a.m. This morning was most certainly not typical! A deckhand’s sharp eyes spotted killer whales shortly before 6:00 a.m., so soon thereafter we brought binoculars, cameras, and our sleepy selves on deck. At least a dozen orcas swam in small clusters around the ship. A mother and calf swam side by side, and the tall dorsal fins of two adult males were unmistakable. A pair of humpback whales approached the ship, passed by the orcas with apparent indifference, and then swam off again.
When a juvenile killer whale swam into a patch of floating kelp, it surfaced with long, brown ribbons draped over its head. Other orcas rolled on their sides, and we looked into the water at their white undersides. (The accompanying photo shows one of the orcas exhaling.)
The early morning cloud cover thinned as the sun rose, and suddenly the mountaintops were dramatically highlighted in patches of bright green. And then, a rainbow was visible in front of the lush green mountains. And yes, the orcas surfaced beneath the rainbow. . .and then they breached beneath the rainbow. . .and it was not even 7:00 a.m. No, this was most certainly not a typical morning.
The tide was extremely low at Saginaw Bay. It was so low that large areas of mudflats were exposed, and burrowed clams squirted water upwards as they felt our footsteps approach. White cliffs at the top of the beach held 250-300 million year old fossils of brachiopods (lamp shells). We strolled slowly along the shore, admiring ancient fossils, barnacles, and plants of the shoreline. By the time we returned to Sea Lion, the tide was nearing the cliffs, and the beach was all but gone. Kayakers paddled in the company of a harbor seal, a sea otter, and even a swimming mink!
We cruised into beautiful Eliza Harbor, where high tide lapped at the lowest branches of spruce and hemlock trees that arched towards the channel. Dozens of shades of green vegetation overhung emerald water, and weightless moon jellyfish delicately danced underwater. We searched for wildlife, and found numerous eagles and gulls, diving birds, and ducks. Salmon leapt out of the water like popcorn, in bursts of energy that we cannot explain. Within days, they will spawn, and their carcasses will nourish this lush ecosystem.
Whales brought us on deck again; this time, humpback whales were breaching ahead of the ship. We weathered a gentle drizzle, and watched several humpback whales surface and dive nearby.
A typical day on Sea Lion begins with the gentle voice of our expedition leader making a wake-up announcement at 7:00 a.m. This morning was most certainly not typical! A deckhand’s sharp eyes spotted killer whales shortly before 6:00 a.m., so soon thereafter we brought binoculars, cameras, and our sleepy selves on deck. At least a dozen orcas swam in small clusters around the ship. A mother and calf swam side by side, and the tall dorsal fins of two adult males were unmistakable. A pair of humpback whales approached the ship, passed by the orcas with apparent indifference, and then swam off again.
When a juvenile killer whale swam into a patch of floating kelp, it surfaced with long, brown ribbons draped over its head. Other orcas rolled on their sides, and we looked into the water at their white undersides. (The accompanying photo shows one of the orcas exhaling.)
The early morning cloud cover thinned as the sun rose, and suddenly the mountaintops were dramatically highlighted in patches of bright green. And then, a rainbow was visible in front of the lush green mountains. And yes, the orcas surfaced beneath the rainbow. . .and then they breached beneath the rainbow. . .and it was not even 7:00 a.m. No, this was most certainly not a typical morning.
The tide was extremely low at Saginaw Bay. It was so low that large areas of mudflats were exposed, and burrowed clams squirted water upwards as they felt our footsteps approach. White cliffs at the top of the beach held 250-300 million year old fossils of brachiopods (lamp shells). We strolled slowly along the shore, admiring ancient fossils, barnacles, and plants of the shoreline. By the time we returned to Sea Lion, the tide was nearing the cliffs, and the beach was all but gone. Kayakers paddled in the company of a harbor seal, a sea otter, and even a swimming mink!
We cruised into beautiful Eliza Harbor, where high tide lapped at the lowest branches of spruce and hemlock trees that arched towards the channel. Dozens of shades of green vegetation overhung emerald water, and weightless moon jellyfish delicately danced underwater. We searched for wildlife, and found numerous eagles and gulls, diving birds, and ducks. Salmon leapt out of the water like popcorn, in bursts of energy that we cannot explain. Within days, they will spawn, and their carcasses will nourish this lush ecosystem.
Whales brought us on deck again; this time, humpback whales were breaching ahead of the ship. We weathered a gentle drizzle, and watched several humpback whales surface and dive nearby.
