Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Southeast Alaska
One of the key elements of wildlife photography – or an expedition – is being in the right place at the right time. Today, was one of those days where everything clicked.
It started long before sunrise. At first light, the National Geographic Sea Bird was drifting quietly, close to shore, where a carcass of a humpback whale had washed up this spring. An early wake up call prepared us for what was to follow, bears and more bears.
At first they looked like dark rocks, but soon we realized there was not one but three bears eating along the rocky shore. Then four. Next five. Soon it was six, and finally seven. But the highlight would happen just before breakfast, when a pair of siblings began to spar in the shallows.
Next up is Johns Hopkins Glacier and a series of major calving events. As motor drives hummed, the white thunder echoed across the fjord. As waves from the huge splash rocked the boat, sharp eyes spotted harbor seals on the ice and bald eagles along the glacier face.
It was just after lunch when mountain goats were spotted along the shoreline at Gloomy Knob. A mother with kid tiptoed across the gray marble cliff, then climbed on top of a precarious boulder. Amazingly, the kid followed mom without hesitation.
The final act was a close approach to view a Steller’s sea lion haul out at the South Marble Islands. It’s a chorus of grunts and growls, with mist rising from the amazing collection of biomass. The dark gray sky enhanced the moody scene. As we retreated inside for dinner, the ship sailed for Bartlett Cove.
Today we experienced Glacier Bay in all its wildness.
