Homer

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Before we knew it the sunrise woke us. In Homer we were off to explore Kachemak Bay and search for wildlife. On the pier kittiwakes circled overhead while on the pilings, momma sat on the nests protecting their eggs or their young chicks.



We boarded a boat and headed out. The weather was cloudy with periods of bright sunshine. We intended to find birds and we did. We saw horned puffins and tufted puffins, black oystercatchers and pelagic cormorants, murres both common and thick-billed. As an added bonus we saw whales, lots of humpbacks. We spotted a group of two or three and watched until they dove down to feed and off in the distance we spotted another group. We approached and watched until they went under and then saw another one and so it went. Our birding cruise became a whale spotting event, and all the while on bay waters as still as glass. That made spotting whale blows easy. We cruised among the islands past fishing camps and elaborate cabins. One rookery where kitty waits breed is now the hunting ground of bald eagles. We saw a pair circling the rocks, looking for a lone chick or sickly elder. We have been so lucky on our wildlife expeditions.



Whale tale. The humpbacks spend their summer feeding the rich Alaskan waters. And do they feed! This is a 24/7 activity for the months they are hear. They will put on three times their body weight and prepare for the migration to southern waters in Hawaii or Baja. The females will give birth to their calf and life off their own fat as the food supply in tropical waters is scarce. When the calf is old enough, Momma and the pod will head north to feast in Alaskan waters.

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