Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Leaving Glacier Lodge--Watery Wednesday

All too soon it was time to leave Glacier Lodge.
The Weather or Knot was waiting.
We had to walk the plank.  I had put the telephoto lens on the camera hoping for some wildlife shots on the way back to Seward.  The captain seemed to have other ideas.  She was going full out without stopping.  I thought there would be no wildlife sightings.  Wrong!
The captain had heard that some humpback whales were bubble net feeding near Cape Resurrection and she was just as eager to see as the tourists.  We found ourselves right in the middle of about six of the huge creatures.

So close we could see their blowholes.
I thought these two looked a bit like giant frogs.
When the whales bubble net feed they go under a school of herring blowing bubbles to confuse the fish.  Then they come up, mouths agape through the school.  It's an amazing sight.  The gulls seem to want to get some of the leftovers for they were everywhere.
This little fishing boat was much closer than we were.
Much closer!
All too soon it was time to wave goodbye.  What an experience!
Find more watery sites at Watery Wednesday, hosted for us by 2sweetnsaxy.

12 comments:

Gaelyn said...

What a thrill to be so close to the whales. But perhaps not too close. Excellent captures. Thanks to you and the captain.

clairz said...

These are amazing photos, Martha, just amazing!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

I've read about bubble net feeding. The critters are very smart to figure that out. Great pictures.

Anonymous said...

Wow! How exciting to be that close to so many whales! Great photographs!

Anonymous said...

http://riacabralphotography.blogspot.com/
found your blog through watery wednesday.
massively outstanding.
what beautiful photos you have here.

Diane AZ said...

The humpback bubble net feeding looks fascinating. The gulls sure look interested too! I love the last shot. What an awesome experience that must have been.

Linda Reeder said...

What fabulous photos of an amazing experience!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Martha -- that is simply amazing! Every one of your posts on your Alaska adventure has been better than the last! Just beautiful; thanks for sharing your experience with us.

Katney said...

Tremendous! We had great luck with our whalte watching near Juneau last fall, but this is even better.

eileeninmd said...

Awesome photos of the whales. And what a cool experience.Something I have always wanted to see myself.

Paulie said...

What a wonderful whale adventure! Guess you could not stay too mad at the captain for hurrying to get there????!!! lol That last shot is my favorite!

Barb said...

WOW! Going back through your trip, Martha. Can't believe how close you got to the whales. How exciting. That last shot is spectacular. Hello Nat'l Geographic!