Whale Watching in Auke Bay

Once we arrived at the docks of Auke Bay, we boarded our boat run by Allen Marine Tours. The crew was great and knowledgeable and there were salmon samples to try and snacks and drinks for purchase. I opted for the obvious and tried an Alaskan beer, Summer Ale variety, along the way. Tasty.

It wasn't long before we had our first sighting. A mother and calf surfacing just ahead.



We hung close to the pair for a while and everyone yelled with excitement once the mother's fluke cleared the water. What most folks didn't know was that this happens when they dive, meaning they will be out of sight for quite a while as they feed.



Unexpectedly, as the pair fed, what appeared to be a large male surfaced behind the boat and gave up some nice views before dropping beneath the waves.



Venturing farther in search of more whales, a small pod surfaced near the shoreline. Seems like another calf was in this group. Note the smaller fluke in between the two larger humps.



Flying past the ship was the one shot I have of another Lifer. A Mew Gull.



This pod was very active at the surface. We are told that it is not swallow here. The drop-off goes over 100 feet just off shore!



Soon, up with the fluke and they were gone.



The captain got a radio call that another pod was located farther up the bay to he increased speed and we spent about 15-20 minutes making our way toward the action. Finally, I could spot the spouts from the pod and pointed. I gotta a "Good job!" for helping out.



The boat edged closer to the pod and then everyone was surprised when the whales surfaced en masse in an excellent display of bubble net feeding! A great description of this behavior can be read here.



Not too much later, they did it again! You never know exactly where they will come up so I could only manage a brief shot. This one is more cropped to show the gaping mouth of a feeding adult.



The boat followed the pod for a while longer. They continued to surface and spout as the sun began to drop lower in the sky.



Knowing that the tour was about to end, we continue to watch and admire these giants of the ocean. Just as we were turning about to head to the docks the pod rose again! Too bad we couldn't stay any longer. It is an amazing sight.



A very exciting day! Now, back to the ship and on to Skagway.

Out to Open Water

Leaving the earlier straits just out of Vancouver we awake the next morning to open waters and the promise of new discoveries. Here is a map of the start of our day and the ports we are headed towards.



Birds scatter across the surface of the water as the ship plows ahead. Most of the early sighting were Rhinoceros auklets.



Traveling alone or in small groups they would bolt up from the surface. It was a chore to get use to holding this rented monster of a lens and getting acquainted with its functions so the early shots were not the best. However, shooting photos of tiny, skittering birds from 6 stories up is not all that easy!



Larger birds appeared as we headed farther into open water. A few Short-tailed Shearwater but most were Sooty Shearwater.



Still looking for a good view but almost all were taking off directly away from this floating building. Light was getting better, at least.



Finally, a bird that strikes a pose!



Not only birds skipping across the water. A few mammals were out there skimming the surface. So fast that they looked like small eruptions. A pod of Dall Porpoise approached the vessel and this was as far as they came out of the water.



As we strolled the observation deck at the tail-end of the ship, someone gave out a yell. Our first Humpbacked Whale sighting! The animal surfaced a few times, rolled over and dove beneath the waves.



As we began to reach the open water earlier, I spotted one more bird far off in the distance. Once home, I processed the photos and could make out that this was a Red-throated Loon. I got a slightly better photo of one in Winter plumage 5 years ago but it is still nice to add a new bird for this trip.



All this excitement. Time to head up to the Crow's Nest and enjoy the Drink of the Day. Don't even remember the name of this one. They were all themes and several would end up this shade of blue representing the upcoming Glaciers.



This post is long enough for now. Time to sort more photos.