Bears, bears everywhere!
It was a morning for mammals. Padding onto deck, we peered at a coastal brown bear grazing. A harbor porpoise bade us good morning and a rufous hummingbird checked out our colored shirts, buzzing us repeatedly, hoping for a wake-up sip of nectar. While the hummingbird was disappointed, the river otter was not: he had already procured a large fish and was gnawing it in full view at the water’s edge. What more could we hope for? A pair of bears? Ask and ye shall receive! In a marsh flat, two bears gazed at us as they grazed. But the best was yet to come. Post-breakfast, another bear was spotted. This animal almost posed for us, lying down amongst the grass, strutting across the verdant fields, turning in circles like a fashion model on a catwalk. . . . or bear walk. . . . At the terminus of the waterway, framed by avalanche basins on either side with haunting loon calls and bald eagle chitters echoing in the stillness, we spent an hour watching this powerhouse. The immense hump belied the fact that, while peacefully chewing grass now, those forelimbs could easily dig through dirt to extract tubers. Oddly, three Sitka black-tailed deer stood in close proximity to the bear, apparently undisturbed by its presence. Leaving that particular bear, we were shepherded by coastal brown bears: as one would disappear, another appeared ambling along the shoreline.
Cruising out of South Arm, bald eagles dove to capture small fish, clutching the flopping prey in a steely grip. As we trained our binoculars on a large aggregation of Pacific loons, suddenly the call went out: “Man overboard!” Our hearts in our throats, we rushed to point at the hapless person who had become flotsam. We relaxed, noting that this particular “accident” had prepared himself in an orange survival suit before taking the plunge. The loons could wait for a minute as we watched the Sea Lion crew spring into action for this drill, glad we weren’t the ones floating in that frigid water.
Entering Kelp Bay, our lunch was delayed by yet another coastal brown bear meandering back and forth along the shoreline. After some amazingly close looks, some of us chose to cruise or kayak to explore the shoreline while others decided to plunge into the lush understory and investigate the coniferous forest and marshlands. Mink foraged near freshwater outflows. The hikers caught a glimpse of a river otter plunging through beach rye grass and followed Sitka black-tailed deer and bear tracks (and hair!) through the cow parsnip and magenta salmonberry blooms. The hikers emerged into a sea of incipient iris (not yet blooming), cascades of shooting stars, and an orchestra of fern fiddleheads poised to leaf out at a nod from the sun conductor. The boaters craned back to glimpse the snowy bowl responsible for the lush alder and plunging cascades of meltwater streams. We glimpsed a flash of orange and zeroed in on a varied thrush flitting at the water’s edge. Returning to the boat and steaming hot cocoa, we sank into lounge chairs, eager to view our photographs of this magnificent day.
It was a morning for mammals. Padding onto deck, we peered at a coastal brown bear grazing. A harbor porpoise bade us good morning and a rufous hummingbird checked out our colored shirts, buzzing us repeatedly, hoping for a wake-up sip of nectar. While the hummingbird was disappointed, the river otter was not: he had already procured a large fish and was gnawing it in full view at the water’s edge. What more could we hope for? A pair of bears? Ask and ye shall receive! In a marsh flat, two bears gazed at us as they grazed. But the best was yet to come. Post-breakfast, another bear was spotted. This animal almost posed for us, lying down amongst the grass, strutting across the verdant fields, turning in circles like a fashion model on a catwalk. . . . or bear walk. . . . At the terminus of the waterway, framed by avalanche basins on either side with haunting loon calls and bald eagle chitters echoing in the stillness, we spent an hour watching this powerhouse. The immense hump belied the fact that, while peacefully chewing grass now, those forelimbs could easily dig through dirt to extract tubers. Oddly, three Sitka black-tailed deer stood in close proximity to the bear, apparently undisturbed by its presence. Leaving that particular bear, we were shepherded by coastal brown bears: as one would disappear, another appeared ambling along the shoreline.
Cruising out of South Arm, bald eagles dove to capture small fish, clutching the flopping prey in a steely grip. As we trained our binoculars on a large aggregation of Pacific loons, suddenly the call went out: “Man overboard!” Our hearts in our throats, we rushed to point at the hapless person who had become flotsam. We relaxed, noting that this particular “accident” had prepared himself in an orange survival suit before taking the plunge. The loons could wait for a minute as we watched the Sea Lion crew spring into action for this drill, glad we weren’t the ones floating in that frigid water.
Entering Kelp Bay, our lunch was delayed by yet another coastal brown bear meandering back and forth along the shoreline. After some amazingly close looks, some of us chose to cruise or kayak to explore the shoreline while others decided to plunge into the lush understory and investigate the coniferous forest and marshlands. Mink foraged near freshwater outflows. The hikers caught a glimpse of a river otter plunging through beach rye grass and followed Sitka black-tailed deer and bear tracks (and hair!) through the cow parsnip and magenta salmonberry blooms. The hikers emerged into a sea of incipient iris (not yet blooming), cascades of shooting stars, and an orchestra of fern fiddleheads poised to leaf out at a nod from the sun conductor. The boaters craned back to glimpse the snowy bowl responsible for the lush alder and plunging cascades of meltwater streams. We glimpsed a flash of orange and zeroed in on a varied thrush flitting at the water’s edge. Returning to the boat and steaming hot cocoa, we sank into lounge chairs, eager to view our photographs of this magnificent day.
