Pavlof (Paul's) Harbor
It was a classic and typical Southeast Alaska day: forest, waterfalls, salmon, banana slugs, whales, and rain - one of many factors that bestows lushness, beauty and character on this area. We entered Freshwater Bay this morning, a finger that juts into the east side of Chichagof Island, on the west edge of Chatham Strait. We anchored by the entrance to Pavlof (Paul's) Harbor, once the site of a cannery powered by a small hydroelectric generator. The state of Alaska has set aside land here that we wished to explore by foot. Walking up to the base of a roaring waterfall, we watched pink (humpback) salmon as they instinctively made their way amongst rocks and rushing water in an attempt to ascend either directly over the falls or by way of a fish ladder that had been erected to aid their upstream migration. The mangled remains of salmon along the bank warned us that a brown bear had recently visited the area. Additional signs of the presence of bears had been deposited in the forest.
In groups we cautiously entered the realm of the brown bear, letting them know of our presence so that they would not be surprised. We followed their trails, knowing that at least one was probably not far away. The forest was full of spongy mosses, myriad mushrooms, and banana slugs. We even found a boat-backed ground beetle that feeds on the slugs. We observed many aspects of the forest - primary producers, trees of all sizes, predators, prey, and decomposers.
The Sea Lion was joined by whale researcher Dr. Fred Sharpe, who boarded with his field assistant, Sarah. After lunch and "build your own" ice cream sundaes, we happened upon a group of humpbacks that were cooperatively feeding in Iyoukeen Cove. Five to seven whales dove down one after the other and created a net of bubbles in order to contain and concentrate the small fish on which they feed. The whales then surfaced with mouths wide open in an explosion of body parts. It was quite fascinating to watch, as they came up every couple minutes or so. Humpbacks are baleen whales, which means that instead of teethe, they have fringed keratinous material hanging from the roof of their mouths, which they use to filter out their prey.
The thrill of seeing five or six humpback whales repeatedly lunging together to the surface, in a cooperative feeding strategy, was still fresh on our minds as Bryan began a slide-illustrated talk on the ecology of seabirds. Some of the evolutionary adaptations of birds for life in a windy, salty, treeless environment are truly amazing. Examples include a supraorbital gland that actively removes excess salt from the blood for excretion in the nasal area; extremely light wing-loading to provide energy-efficient movement over long distances; an ability to find food by smell (i.e. pyrazine, a chemical odor emitted when fish are killed, and dimethyle sulphide (DMS), a chemical generated when phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton); and communal nesting, a strategy that will usually see at least a few young surviving even in years of bad weather and high predation.
This presentation was interrupted by more humpback whales found near Point Augusta. Four or five large animals swam right in front of the bow of our ship! Then we were treated to a full 180º-rainbow arc when rays of sunshine peeked through an opening in the clouds. As we pulled away after this encounter, the spouts of the whales were framed under the colorful refracted spectrum.
Once again we had to continue on and Bryan was able to finish his presentation. By then it was almost time for cocktails, recap and dinner. Our day was complete.
