Point Adolphus and Icy Strait, southeast Alaska I saw a wolf eel on a wall today. And when he left his spot he went phhhssssshhhhtt straight down. Howard I saw 3 orange peel nudibranchs in a row that were the size of footballs. My computer showed 42 degrees but Captain Mike doesn’t believe me (I figure 44 degrees […]
Read MoreLocation: Pt. Adolphus, Icy Strait, southeast Alaska. Pt. Adolphus is located across from the entrance to Glacier Bay. It is current swept with lots of upwellings, loaded with nutrients and it’s a fabulous place to watch humpback whales, sealions, bald eagles, great flocks of seagulls and even the odd grizzly bear on the beach. Sometimes the trickiest part of visiting […]
Read MoreBreaching humpback whales, sea otters and stellar sealions. I loved the sea otter, the sea otter was sooo gorgeous.. he was scratching here there and everywhere, front legs, back legs, face and nose!!! – Dobby Humpback whales breaching, tail lobbing and generally hanging out for ages, a grizzly bear, sea otters, bald eagles, sea lions and a Fab dive […]
Read MorePoint Adolphus is one of the most productive feeding grounds in southeast Alaska and the humpback whale sightings are usually quite awesome. Today was no exception, starting off with a pod of orcas cruising along on the surface 15 miles east of Adolphus and then loads of humpbacks right at the point.
Read MoreOur poor guests – some folks were on the port side of the ship watching the bears (which got especially interesting when the grizzlies spotted something further down the beach and got up on their hind legs to get a better view) while other guests were on the starboard side watching the fantastic humpback whale action. And some poor guests were running back and forth to both sides of the boat trying to watch everything at once!!
Read MoreAnyways, we saw one young adult today who defied any description of humpback whale behaviour that I have ever observed. Bob (which is what we named this guy) was hanging out with stellar sea lions instead of other humpback whales. Not only was Bob hanging out and interacting with 10-20 sea lions at a time, but he also seemed to be mimicking their behaviour. Twisting and turning on the surface and throwing himself from side to side. Bob was even doing barrel rolls and swimming along on his back. Even more oddly, Bob approached the Nautilus Explorer a couple of times with his head out of the water – just like a sea lion. All I can say is that never before have I seen a humpback whale that so clearly wanted to be a sea lion.
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