Early this morning we set of on a cruise around Resurrection bay. We were on a small boat (run by our lodge) that only carried about 12 people. It seemed like a good idea when I booked it but the weather wasn't kind to us and prevented us heading out to the exposed coastline of Kenai Fjords National Park. The cruise is advertised to run from 7am to 6pm. We were back on dry land by 1pm. What was worse, they gouged us big time for the privilege.
On the positive side, the time we were on the cruise, we saw a heap of cool wildlife and scenery. The weather just made it difficult to head out to the exposed coastline or take nice photos.
Our first animals were otters. we'd probably been under way for 5 minutes before we saw out first one. These two in picture were huddling together to keep warm and I guess being mammals, for comfort. I'm guessing that these two are a mother and an offspring.
During the first part of the cruise, we saw lots of otters. This one was very co-operative. Otters don't have any fur on they're paws or nose and do actually get cold despite living in the icy water all their lives. It explains why you tend to see them laying on their backs with their paws in the air and why this one had his front paws in his mouth.
There's some really beautiful scenery in Resurrection Bay including some steep cliffs and a bunch of waterfalls. The pair above is called Twin Falls. Imagine how pretty this would be without the horrible weather.
ome of the cool scenery even had wildlife on it. This pinnacle was home to a pair of bald eagles. Look for the two white heads on the top peak.
These three mountain goats were cowering on the cliff under a ledge trying to keep out of the rain. This photo isn't that great thanks to the long range, the crappy weather and the rocking boat.
These Harbour Seals were in a cove about as far out of the bay that we could go. They were quite skittish and it meant that we couldn't get that close to them.
You may have noticed by now the brilliant green colour of the water in the photos. The ocean is so rich up there with the cold water welling up from the deep just off the coast. The algae and everything up the food chain thrives and give the water the vibrant colour.
They're technically not Seagulls but they are of the gull family. They're called Kittywakes. This was a rookery at the south east entrance to Resurrection Bay. The white rock in picture is covered in the nesting birds and the air was thick with them like swarm of midges. There were 1000s of the little blighters. Oh and they stink like rotting fish! As do most seabirds.
Among the 1000s of stinky gulls but higher up on the rocks were nesting tufted puffins. These guys are kind of odd. They fly kind of awkward, but they can dive & swim nearly as well as penguins. By the way, there aren't any penguins this side of the equator. We also saw the larger horned Puffins.
Right next door to the stinky fish beaks were a family of Steller Sea Lions. These guys are pretty big for Sea Lions, particularly the bulls. There's only one bull in each rookery and you don't have to look to hard to find him in this photo. They can weigh up to 1.1 tonnes. Steller Sea Lions are endangered and this particular family has a live video feed back to the Alaska Sea Life Centre so the biologists (and visitors) can study them 24-7.
In case you were wondering, the difference between a Sea Lion and a Seal is one can walk on land (Sea Lion) and one has to flop (Seal). It's all about the Sea Lion being able to use its legs for more than swimming. Simple hey? I only found out for sure when I was in Alaska.
The weather became progressively worse until getting out of the heated cabin of the boat to see wildlife far away through driving rain and icy wind simply wasn't worth the hassle. So it was back to shore and a hot shower.
Alaska Sea Life Centre
Seward is home to the Alaska Sea Life Centre. The main purpose is to rehabilitate injured wildlife, but the general public can visit with the entry fees going toward funding the work. Just about every local marine animal that can be kept in captivity was represented with the exception of the Sea Otter. They had Harbour Seals, Steller Sea Lion bull (above), Tufted Puffins, Horned Puffins, Common Murres, King Eider Ducks, and a bunch of fish, sharks and rays in a series of tanks. It was pretty well done considering how small the facility was. Incidentally, the common Murre is about as close to a penguin as you can find this side of the equator. They can swim and dive nearly as well, but they can still fly.... just. They're even more hopeless in the air than the puffins.
Harbour Seal
Eider Duck
Common Murre
Horned Puffin
Tufted Puffin.
It was nice to see some of the animals up close without being battered by the wind and rain.
