Capturing the Moment

www.daimartamarack.com   It has been a year since I have seen bubble net feeding in Alaska. But this show took us all by surprise. Last week we barely saw any humpback whales at all. We had a few far off tails from whales on the move. So when I spotted a group of several blows all together I made sure we altered course to give the guests a better look. Turns out it was a good thing that we turned because right after everyone walked out to the bow to see them we saw the circle of bubbles forming.   What followed next was awe-inspiring. The entire group of whales erupted from the center of the bubble ring, mouths wide open, tiny fish jumping everywhere trying to get away. This was bubble net feeding, and it was happening right in front of us. Not a bad start for day 1 of the cruise.    We stayed with the whales as they continued to bubble net feed 11 more times. I was also able to deploy our hydrophone so we could hear the bubble net feeding as well. The ...

www.daimartamarack.com   This summer I have switched up boats in the UnCruise fleet from a 74 person vessel to a 21 passenger vessel. The smaller group size means a lot more personal encounters and even more flexibility. Take this week's whale extravaganza for example. While cruising through Chatham Strait we saw six or seven whale blows right next to each other before all diving down in unison. Shortly after the humpback whales simultaneously bursts up through the surface with mouths wide open through a ring of bubbles that they blew to trap all of their prey. This is called bubble net feeding and is amazing to witness. But with only 17 passengers this week we could take things to a whole new level. Feeding Humpback Whale   I made the announcement for people to head to the back, grab their lifejackets, and prepare to board the small boats. We have two rigid inflatable boats that can take 12 passengers each. We loaded these, along with everyone's camera, binoculars...

Whale Pics at www.daimarsphotos.com   I had seen bubble net feeding humpback whales before, but never like this. I was leading a skiff tour in one of our small 12 person zodiacs when I spotted multiple whale blows out in the distance. I had planned on staying near the Sitkoh bay, where the Safari Quest was anchored, but the possibility of seeing whales from almost water-level was too much of a draw. I checked in with the guests who non surprisingly all wanted to go out for a closer look. Luckily it was a rare flat calm day in Chatham Strait so out we went. This shot and more for sale here .   I knew we were getting close, but I didn't know how close until I saw the ring of bubbles. We stopped the boat just in time to witness half a dozen whales burst through the surface of the water with mouths wide open . We found ourselves looking up at the whales as they towered above the skiff. They were still about 200 yards away but it felt like we were right next to them. ...

   One of the greatest spectacles in nature is watching animals work together to hunt. I have seen a pack of 13 lionesses taking turns to wear down a huge bull cape buffalo, and I've seen orca making an easy meal out of a speedy dall's porpoise, but something gets me every time I witness humpback whales bubble net feeding here in Alaska.    I had heard reports of a couple separate groups of bubble net feeders working southeast Alaska but until last night I had been unable to locate them. When I saw 4 or 5 whale blows very close together I had high hopes, and it paid off. We took the Safari Quest in for a closer look and sure enough, 7 whales erupted from the water in a tight formation as the surrounding birds flew in to grab the fish spilling out of the huge mouths of the whales.   We stayed with the whales for around an hour before having to motor on south but the entire encounter summed up the essence of traveling through Alaska. Hear we had these a...

The Five Fingers Lighthouse Bubble Net Feeding Humpback Whales   The summer season is starting to fade here in Southeast Alaska. The days are getting shorter and a cool, crisp, nip can be felt on the air. However some vestiges of summer can still be seen, such as the vast groupings of Humpback Whales in Frederick Sound. The food source must still be plentiful because we are seeing large groups of humpbacks using all kinds of feeding strategies to get their fill. The group we had onboard this week brought some nature luck with them as they got to witness the holy grail of whale watching here in Alaska, humpback whales bubble net feeding.  Synchronized Diving tipped us off to come in for a closer look   The cooperative teamwork of humpbacks to corral their prey using coordinated movements was first seen here in Southeast Alaska. However we had not seen it on the Wilderness Explorer all season. I was starting to wonder if we would see it with only four ...

Bubble Net Feeding Humpback Whales under an Alaskan Lighthouse (3 of 4) (1 of 4)   I used to think the holy grail of whale watching was seeing a breach. Now I've changed my mind. Here in Alaska, during the heart of the summer feeding season, humpback whales perform an awe-inspiring act called bubble net feeding. It is a cooperative group of whales working together to corral small fish like herring into a tight school by blowing a huge ring of bubbles around them. Then all the whale swim right up through the bubble net with mouths wide open breaking through the surface. Sometimes the herring can be seen leaping out of the open mouth of the whale at the same time unwary gulls are also trying to escape the expansive maw. (2 of 4) (4 of 4)   It was this behavior that took me out to Point Retreat, just north of Juneau with my buddy Ben and a boat full of whale watchers. We got more than we bargained for with one group of nine whales repeatedly breaching ...

First view of a brown bear patiently fishing   We have had a few bear sightings this summer but nothing too outstanding. Usually the bear sighting are through binoculars from the bow of the big ship. Not today. Pavlof stream seemed like the perfect bear spot when I visited earlier this summer. A short trail winds its way up along the bank of a river, past a 15ft cascading waterfall, into the huge Lake Pavlof. This trail in itself is worth the visit to Pavlof. The lake is surrounded by towering snow capped mountains and is the only place in Southeast Alaska that you can commonly see the rare Trumpeter Swan.    This trip to Pavlof would prove my earlier theories correct. The first group ashore radioed back to the ship saying they couldn't make it past the waterfall because six bears were ambling around and fishing in the river! I don't think anyone was upset that we couldn't make it to the lake. It was about as good a bear show as you can get. We added more trips asho...

Pink Hues over South Baranof Close Encounters    It turns out that late July is a pretty good time to be in Southeast Alaska for humpback whale action. July and August mark the culmination of migrating humpbacks to the feeding grounds. The bait fish and krill are here in abundance which means so are the humpbacks. Lunge Feeding Humpbacks   After having spent many whale seasons in Hawaii, where these whales concentrate on calving and breeding instead of eating, it is wonderful to be on the flip side seeing all the different feeding behaviors. We had synchronized lunge feeding whales right next to the ship as well as a couple instances of bubble net feeding.    Guests realized how amazing an encounter these feeding behaviors were when the entire crew flooded out to see them with cameras in hand. I never knew the lunge feeding could happen so cooperatively, with two whales coming up side by side at exactly the same moment, with mouth agape and ...