Towel Animals

One of the fun things on the cruise was coming back to the room and finding a set of towels folded into animal shapes on the bed after the crew made up the room while we were out. Here are most of our animals!

First up, the one that let us know we were in for many to follow, a Stingray. We were a bit confused and if it hadn't been for the eyes set on top we might have thought it was just a forgotten towel on the bed.



Next, an elephant! Nice.



The third day we were greeted by an animal I could not figure out. Just looked a bit, um, graphic. Once I mentioned that, Carolyn opted to skip the photo. So, Day 4. The sea lion.



Who can't say, "Aw!" to coming back to a little puppy waiting on the bed after a long day?



The final night we arrived in the room we did not see a towel animal and were a bit disappointed. So we settled in and headed to the balcony. Next to the desk we saw it. A monkey!

Back Through the Inside Passage

Last day of traveling on the Zuiderdam leads us back through the Inside Passage. The rain finally caught us but we could still enjoy watching the scenery from the lower decks.



Since we are back in open waters we watch for sea birds after meeting up with our shipmates, Bill and Chris. They were birders from the UK and we spent quite some time watching the birds and glaciers together.

Most of the birds braving the rain and winds were Sooty Shearwaters.



They sometimes congregated in large flocks in search of food.



Sometimes a single bird would head in to join the group.



At last look at this Pacific wander. Nice to have them along for the trip.



Other birds began to fly by. I was glad to get a pretty good shot of Rhinoceros Auklets skimming the waves. I got a shot in the near dark 5 years ago at Ocean Shores but without help I couldn't have ID'd it. This shot leaves no doubt.



Although an on-board guide told us that we shouldn't get our hopes up to see a Tufted Puffin on the trip, those of us watching carefully saw many. The first were spotted while eating breakfast and then we had more today.



Cute even when in flight in low light.



I saw a Common Murre earlier on the trip, I couldn't get a shot. Fortunately another showed up bobbing in the waves and was spooked into flight as the ship approached.



Back off the water and across the waves.



Thanks to the keen eyes of Bill, a new Lifer made the list. A Fork-tailed Storm Petrel flying right by the Murre!



Apparently fairly common around these parts, this small bird would have definitely escaped my detection. Thanks for the extra help, Bill! Happy travels. Nice hanging out with you two.



We enter the calmer waters heading back to port overnight but not before seeing a nice lighthouse along the way.



A fabulous first cruising experience. However, there are still two more days in Washington for a family reunion and more opportunities to find birds before we head home. Next up: Port Orchard and Bainbridge Island!

Ketchikan

Ketchikan is a slightly larger town than our earlier stops and more obviously tourist-y. However, we were headed straight out to a stop around the coast to visit the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary.



The port is always busy with locals coming back to dock as other boats take tourists our on excursions while others head out by sea plane. The planes seemed to be taking off and landing continuously.



During our bus trip to the sanctuary we had Bald Eagles overhead from port to destination. The rainforest was beautiful and full of interesting plants. Once inside the canopy, the birds began to appear along the trail. I heard the guide behind us pointing out a sapsucker to her group so I tried for a shot. The bird flew toward our group and I could easily tell it was actually a Hairy Woodpecker.



When I caught up to our group they were bunched up at a turn and staring at the trees. Seemed they were watching a Bald Eagle right near the trail.



The eagle was cool and all but several of us started to wonder more about the shapes just below it. Turned out to be a mother Black Bear and two cubs resting in the branches! I could only get a clear view of one of the cubs.



We soon exited the forest out onto a boardwalk along the creek. It moves out across a beautiful marsh and I soon started hearing a slightly familiar song. Sure enough, up on a branch was a very loud Song Sparrow.



Swallows cruised the grasses and Bald Eagles were flying every where, including this 3rd year bird.



It was soon followed by a nice adult, all of them heading toward the bear tree.



Another part of the sanctuary experience, for some, is a series of zip lines that are strung all through the forest. The eagles seem to take the zipper in stride.



We exit the boardwalk and up to the reindeer pen where guests can feed the animals. Right after that we head into a rehab area and get looks at an injured eagle.



Nearby, a handler presented an injured Great-horned Owl for everyone to learn about.



Finally, we were passed through a shed where a carver was working on a totem pole and told of his experience about his art and then back to wait for the bus. We asked to be let off before the ship so we could explore Creek Street for a bit. We bought some gifts and on the way in we had a very brief visit from a Pine Siskin along the creek.



A fairly short walk back to the ship allowed some more photo ops, including a pose in front of "Thundering Wings" situated between the roadway and the water.



We got back to the ship and officially left Alaskan soil. I hope someday we can return to see more of this fantastic state. Maybe farther into the interior or the other islands. The weather turned out to be excellent for most of our trip. For now, we have a day of travel back to Vancouver.

Sea Lions at South Marble Island

I had almost forgotten that we were suppose to have one more viewing opportunity on the way out of Glacier Bay. We were to pass by the South Marble Islands where Sea Lions congregate in large numbers. We made it around to the port side just in time to see them.



The next island held just as many mammals and a ton of birds, some seemed to be on nests along the rock face.



Here is a cropped version of the above photo for more Sea Lion goodness.



One of the furthest islands was completely full.



Finally, here is a shot showing a large male surrounded by his harem. The Sea Lions were feeding all around the islands and it was a joy to see such a concentration of life on these tiny rocks in the waterway.



On to Ketchikan.

Glacier Bay Gulls

My biggest regret about the Glacier Bay shots was that I forgot to set my ISO back from the end of the Skagway trip since I was shooting in very dark conditions. This left me with a lot of noisy images. Fortunately it didn't matter too much for the glaciers but played havoc with my bird shots.

Oh, well. At least I got some ID shots to keep. Like more Black-legged Kittiwakes than I even remember taking shots of. To start off, a Kittiwake heads toward the Margerie Glacier area.



Yet another glides by. Such a cute little gull.



Finally, a shot of their namesake black legs! The other ID is that their wing tips seem to be dipped in ink.



They kept swinging by, I kept shooting.



I like this one showing the red at the base of the bill.



Didn't even notice this one until recently but one of the resting birds could be a Winter plumaged bird.



There were also a few Glaucous-winged Gulls hovering around. Glaucous meaning "bluish-grey or green". They are very common on the Pacific Coast.



Is this a Glaucous-winged? Not sure yet. I do not know all of my gulls and especially all of their 'cycles'. It takes years for gulls to reach full breeding plumage and the differences are very different. I will have to do more research.



Case in point. I have NO idea what species this bird actually is. Update to follow. Hopefully.



Before the ship left Margerie Glacier there was a couple of Glaucous-winged Gulls playing around with one another.



Tomorrow we arrive at Ketchikan and I should be more familiar with the land birds there.

Glacier Bay-Margerie Glacier, Pt. 2

Part 2!

I love this ice cave opening at the edge of the glacier. So nice and ominous.



For scale, the cave can be seen along with another sight-seeing boat off to starboard.



As I was taking that shot, we heard huge crack and spun around to see a large chunk falling into the water.



One of the interesting things to watch was when the claving would take place and then watch the Kittiwakes zoom in to search for any morsels broken loose or stirred up after the ice hits the water.



More car-sized ice slides off of the terminus and causes a splash.



A larger fall from higher up was much more dramatic!



We knew that more ice would fall and remembered that our room was now facing the glacier so we hurried up to the balcony to check out that view. Here, Carolyn uses the Flip to record some calving.



On the way up to the room we missed a big calving but we were rewarded with the biggest event of our stop before heading away.



I have a bunch of sequence shots of these calvings but they will have to wait for the planned family DVD.



The stop did not disappoint at all. The sounds of that cracking ice will be with me forever. Eerie and beautiful. Could sit there forever.

Next up: Birds! Promise.