This morning started near an old cannery in Sithoh Bay here in Southeast Alaska. Kayaks were paddled around salmon streams looking for the sockeye salmon that frequent these streams to spawn. Hikes lead to a meadow where signs of the presence of coastal brown bears were found. Zodiac tours scouted for wildlife along the coast of the bay. Divers descended into the waters to discover all the life below the kayakers’ boats. Crab pots surrounded the dive site, and the divers encountered the dungeness crabs that had not yet been caught. Lots of fried egg and lion’s mane jellies were also seen by both the divers and the kayakers – all friendly encounters though!
The afternoon had us meandering through Chatham Strait, where a Dall’s porpoise came to say hello and bowride, showing off its contrasting black and white color pattern to the guests who braved the rain to see this beautiful cetacean. In the distance, we thought we saw a whale blow, but as we approached, it was a huge waterfall. Pointing the bow of National Geographic Quest at Kasnyku Waterfall, one of our natural history staff led us in an optical illusion that made the trees look like they were growing incredibly fast! And lastly, as we viewed the waterfall, a special guest arrived. Dr. Andy Szabo of the Alaska Whale Foundation boarded the vessel to tell us about his amazing research on the cooperative bubblenet feeding behavior of humpback whales here in Southeast Alaska, a spectacle we were able to witness three times this week! Many guests had taken photos of the flukes of the bubblenetting whales which will be submitted to Dr. Szabo as part of a new citizen science project through Lindblad Expeditions.
