Annapolis, July 10

Wally, the walrus and I, arrived home safely on July 5th, after flying for a little over a day. It is nice to be home in the warm sunshine and I am looking forward to enjoying Annapolis for the next few weeks before heading off to Belize with ECO Journeys. I wanted to attach three parting images ­ two of the Clipper Odyssey and one of the expedition staff. Our pose in the zodiac mocks the engine trouble we had during the expedition. I hope you all enjoyed keeping up with my adventures as much as I enjoyed having them - Thanks for reading!


Expedition Staff Left to Right. Row 1: Ingrid, Karen Row 2: Stefan, Noreen, Mason Row 3: Kara, Me, Wayne Row 4: Cheli, Chris
Photo Credit: Carlene Miller


Clipper Odyssey at Kiska Island
Photo Credit: Stefan Kredel


Loading into the zodiacs
Photo Credit: Mason Florence

Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island, July 3

Today when we woke up we were at St. Lawrence Island, off of the village of Gambell. We were supposed to visit Gambell, however, the conditions did not permit us to land. After phoning the neighboring village of Savoonga, we decided to reposition and hope that the landing was feasible for the afternoon. The people of Savoonga are wonderful - I got to meet them last year on the same cruise. At a moments notice, they put together a cultural performance and set up arts and crafts for sale. The visit was great and the sun came out just for our visit. However, by the end of the visit, the wind had picked up, which made for an interesting zodiac landing and getting the passengers off of the shore. I assisted Cheli at the landing and was in the water at times up to my waist holding the zodiac. Cheli took the brunt of it, often taking waves on her back over her head, just to keep the zodiacs in position and keep the passengers from getting the wave in the face. She is an amazing expedition leader. Once back on the ship, I worked to finish the end of trip slide show for the passengers. Things have been really hectic the last few days since I have not only been working on the slide show, but also have been trying to get all those loose ends tied up.

Tomorrow I start my journey back to Annapolis.

Hall Island, July 2

This afternoon we visited Hall Island for our last zodiac cruise of the trip. Hall Island is just spectacular no matter what the weather conditions, but we were lucky enough to be there in the sun. The cliffs are just massive, jutting out from the sea and covered with birds. The best part of Hall Island is that there are these caves and arches that you can drive the zodiac through. It is so much fun. The conditions were a little swelly, so going through the caves was like surfing. The cruise was mainly to see more nesting seabirds like the murres, puffins and gulls. Along the way, Cheli, Noreen and Carlene came out in a zodiac and served everyone ice cream and kahula. I've attached two views from the cruise.

St. Matthew Island, July 2

Today we had a great expedition day, starting with St. Matthew Island in the morning. When Cheli landed on the beach she discovered a complete skeleton of a walrus. By the time I arrived on shore, the skull was entirely exposed, complete with both tusks and all teeth, bar four. According to the 'beachcombers clause' in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, it is legal to keep the walrus bones and tusks as long as they are registered. This skull is incredible! I've attached a photo of Ingrid with the skull. Cheli plans on having it used for education, which is great. We left the rest of the skeleton on the beach with the exception of the penis bone, which is just huge. Walrus penis bones (oosik) can be 62 centimeters long.


Walrus with Ingrid

St. Paul Island, July 1

Today we visited St. Paul Island in the Pribilof Islands. Some of you that are fans of the Discovery program, The Deadliest Catch, may find the name familiar. Some of the crab boats featured in that program come to St. Paul to off load their catch. However, in the summer, the island centers more on birding and fur seal breeding. The day was foggy and overcast (again), but we still managed to have a great time. I initially drove zodiac shuttles and then went with one of the groups around the island to see the birds and the fur seals. Well, I should clarify what I mean by shuttles...this trip we have been having many problems with our zodiacs. Often, they don't start, and when they do, they often die midway through the operation. I have been lucky so far, but today I spent the beginning of my day floating around in two zodiacs with the mechanic choosing the lesser of the evils. I chose no reverse over air in my fuel line. In the end, I drove one shuttle, and the zodiac remained healthy the rest of the day. I must reiterate that I have been one of the lucky ones with regards to zodiacs breaking down on me - Stefan has probably had the worst luck of all, getting the brunt of the engine trouble.

Anyway, on St. Paul we first saw a cultural performance by some very adorable kids. The adorable kids were the best part of the performance, as they giggled almost through the entire thing. It was cute, but sad to see how difficult it is to keep the native cultures alive out here as time marches forward and old ways of living are exchanged for satellite TV and other modern conveniences.

After that, we visited the fur seal rookery and some cliffs that were teeming with birds. I visited this island last year under clear skies, but it was still amazing to see all of the wildlife. The fur seal rookeries were a bit emptier than last year, due to the fact that the females are still arriving at the beaches. The bird cliffs had thousands of murres, puffins and auklets - always an incredible sight. I have attached two photos, one of a fur seal and another of a thick billed murre.

Fur Seal


Thick Billed Murre

Blog Thank You

Since this expedition is soon coming to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank Jess and Mike Pachler for all of their hard work on the oceanlori website and on this blog. Believe it or not (ha ha) I was not very organized before I left and Jess and Mike were left with most of the work to get this trip's blog set up and published. In addition, they host the site free of charge and did all of the website design, which is such a huge help since I am majorly technologically disadvantaged when it comes to this sort of thing. I'm not sure I could pull this all off without them. Thanks especially to Jess, who speedily posts my entries, even on the weekends. I know my Grandparents appreciate it.

Chagulak Island, June 30

Today's expedition to Chagulak Island was another great zodiac cruise. I had to write the log for the passengers today, so I have decided for my entry today that I will just copy and paste it into my blog. The only thing I'd like to add (which will make more sense once you read about the thousands of birds we saw) is that I got pooped on during the zodiac cruise. I don't think the "American" birds liked my new "Russia" hat. I have attached a photo of Mason, Kara and I in our new Russian hats. The whole staff purchased these hats when we were in Petropavlosk. As you can see, there are three varieties representing the old, the new, and the spy.


Kara, Mason and I in our Russian hats
Photo credit: Wayne Brown

**

We awoke to foggy skies and a light mist of rain, but that did not deter us from our stop at Chagulak Island, the last of the Aleutian Islands we will visit on our expedition. As we made our way towards Chagulak, Dion Hobcroft assumed his position on the pool deck as "chum-master" once again, attracting Northern Fulmars, Laysan Albatross, and Black-Footed Albatross to the ship. The Northern Fulmars enjoyed gliding on the wind updrafts produced by the ship and seemed to almost guide us into our anchorage at Chagulak Island.


Northern Fulmar soaring next to the ship

Through the fog, we could just make out the outline of Chagulak. This dramatic, steep sided volcanic island has a diameter of just 1.5 miles, yet rises to 3,750 feet in elevation. We enthusiastically piled into the zodiacs, dressed in our warm and wet weather gear for a zodiac cruise into the mist. Upon entering the water, we were immediately surrounded by thousands of Northern Fulmars. They swirled around the zodiacs and floated by so close that you could see the detail of their tube noses and every fleck of grey on their wings. As we approached the island, it became clear that the cliffs were alive with thousands of black-legged kittiwakes and thick billed murres, nesting on the cliff faces. There were also tufted puffins, parakeet auklets, red faced cormorants, common murres, and even some red legged kittiwakes and crested auklets. Everywhere you looked there were birds; it was almost difficult to focus on just one. In addition, the sounds were incredible. We could easily hear the kittiwake calls, reminding us how they were given their name. Many of us decided to keep our cameras dry in our bags and just enjoy the show!


The bird cliffs at Chagulak Island

Adding to the fun were a few groups of Steller sea lions hauled out on the rocks. Most were sub-adult males, but there were a few big bull males in the mix. Male Steller sea lions can grow to approximately 1,600 pounds. The sea lions were curious about the zodiacs, popping their heads up out of the water to check us out.

After a delicious lunch and an even more delicious ice cream social, Kara entertained us with tales of Flippers and Fur. Her presentation taught us all about the Pinnipeds of the Bering Sea, including the most common seals and sea lions that we will encounter along our journey. Near the conclusion of Kara's lecture, just as she was beginning to talk about sea otters, an announcement was made over the PA that we had a short-tailed Albatross following the ship. Deciding that it was better to see wildlife in the wild rather than in photos, Kara ended her lecture and encouraged everyone to go outside to look at the rare Albatross sighting. In the end, there was no Albatross to see but we are lucky to have a flexible Captain that will turn the ship around just in case.

Ingrid gave the next presentation of the afternoon called Orca-the Top Predator in the Ocean. Ingrid's passion for the Orca is impressive and we were all captivated with descriptions of her encounters with these amazing mammals and the research that she is doing.

For recap, the staff opened the floor to any unanswered questions that people had. The questions ranged from sea otters, to sea lions, to bird behavior, to pollution. In addition, Chris shared his discoveries from dissecting the eagle pellet that he found on Kiska Island. It was amazing to see all of the bones of the birds and fish the eagle had been feeding on.