Glacier Bay National Park
It’s been a very beary day. Though the morning started as a typical Southeast- Alaskan-Gray-Day, the sea otters, harbor seals, and Steller sea lions didn’t mind a little light rain as they hung out on kelp beds, hunted salmon, or just drifted on the surface to check out who we were and what we were doing in Glacier Bay. But, by the time we reached South Marble Island, the rain had stopped and the clouds had lifted a bit. South Marble was busy with kittiwakes, murres, tufted and – wait for it – horned puffins. The birds which covered much of the island and surrounding seas shared both with the sea lions using the island’s rocky edges as a haul-out to rest between rounds of chasing fish.
Tidal Inlet was our next big find. There we found our first bear, probably a four year-old female who was working her way along the low tide exposed shoreline, eating barnacles and rolling rocks to expose and gobble up small fish, crabs and the like hiding there. We watched her for a good while and, thanks to the eagle eye of Charlie Kane, we also saw a wolf who was hunkered down along the tree line just above the beach but who left when the bear got too close. A few minutes later we passed a nice cliff face with seven adult and two kid goats, some looking sleek and summery while a couple still had the shagginess of having not yet completely shed the winter coat. Passing Russell Island we encountered three more members of Ursus arctos dalli, the Coastal Brown Bear. This time it was a mother with two yearling cubs feeding along the shore by rolling rocks to see what morsels lay hidden below. After a few minutes they smelled something off to our left and hurried away. We started to leave but saw another bear, this one a young single bear cruising the cobble beach of Russell Island.
So much watching others eating had left us hungry, so we adjourned to the dining room until reaching the end of the bay and bright sunshine at Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. Margerie played with us. Quite a few small bits dropped off and there was a lot of cracking, but only one sizeable calf dropped off along the edge next to Grand Pacific where it shattered since it fell on the shore.
Heading back down the bay, we stopped in Johns Hopkins Inlet to see the Lamplugh Glacier and to pass Jaw Point where, on cue, everyone’s jaw dropped as Johns Hopkins Glacier came into view. Coming out we encountered our sixth and seventh bears of the day, a perfectly color-matched mother and two year old, walking along the beach, feeding in the bushes and, finally, finding a shady spot for a nap. We left them curled up side by side and continued on down to the mouth of Glacier Bay and the conclusion of our very beary day.
It’s been a very beary day. Though the morning started as a typical Southeast- Alaskan-Gray-Day, the sea otters, harbor seals, and Steller sea lions didn’t mind a little light rain as they hung out on kelp beds, hunted salmon, or just drifted on the surface to check out who we were and what we were doing in Glacier Bay. But, by the time we reached South Marble Island, the rain had stopped and the clouds had lifted a bit. South Marble was busy with kittiwakes, murres, tufted and – wait for it – horned puffins. The birds which covered much of the island and surrounding seas shared both with the sea lions using the island’s rocky edges as a haul-out to rest between rounds of chasing fish.
Tidal Inlet was our next big find. There we found our first bear, probably a four year-old female who was working her way along the low tide exposed shoreline, eating barnacles and rolling rocks to expose and gobble up small fish, crabs and the like hiding there. We watched her for a good while and, thanks to the eagle eye of Charlie Kane, we also saw a wolf who was hunkered down along the tree line just above the beach but who left when the bear got too close. A few minutes later we passed a nice cliff face with seven adult and two kid goats, some looking sleek and summery while a couple still had the shagginess of having not yet completely shed the winter coat. Passing Russell Island we encountered three more members of Ursus arctos dalli, the Coastal Brown Bear. This time it was a mother with two yearling cubs feeding along the shore by rolling rocks to see what morsels lay hidden below. After a few minutes they smelled something off to our left and hurried away. We started to leave but saw another bear, this one a young single bear cruising the cobble beach of Russell Island.
So much watching others eating had left us hungry, so we adjourned to the dining room until reaching the end of the bay and bright sunshine at Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. Margerie played with us. Quite a few small bits dropped off and there was a lot of cracking, but only one sizeable calf dropped off along the edge next to Grand Pacific where it shattered since it fell on the shore.
Heading back down the bay, we stopped in Johns Hopkins Inlet to see the Lamplugh Glacier and to pass Jaw Point where, on cue, everyone’s jaw dropped as Johns Hopkins Glacier came into view. Coming out we encountered our sixth and seventh bears of the day, a perfectly color-matched mother and two year old, walking along the beach, feeding in the bushes and, finally, finding a shady spot for a nap. We left them curled up side by side and continued on down to the mouth of Glacier Bay and the conclusion of our very beary day.
