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Trip Report: Marine Wildlife of Alaska - May 2022
Trip Report: Marine Wildlife of Alaska - May 2022
by Ben Blankenship
Every summer for the past four years, as May rolls into June, I’ve watched the snow-capped Chugach Mountains rise up from below as my plane lands at Anchorage International Airport. The months of May through July have become some of my most cherished times of year because this is when I get to go to Alaska.
Known for its extreme winter weather, its incomparable array of megafauna, and for being one of the last great frontiers left on our planet, Alaska is a place of incomparable beauty and unforgettable adventure. As winter releases its icy grasp on America’s northernmost state, wildflower blooms explode from the mountainsides and wildlife abounds all around you. Moose sightings can be hard to avoid, and bald eagles are as common as ravens in the lower 48. Great pods of humpback whales complete their northerly migration from the tropics to feed along Alaska’s fertile coastlines. And the salmon return to spawn, sparking wildlife spectacles across the state as bears, orca, wolves, and eagles gorge themselves on fish flesh.
And it would be at sea, in the realm of the orca, humpback, and salmon, where I’d be guiding an amazing group of photographers and wildlife lovers through the icy waterways of Kenai Fjords National Park in search of breaching orca, lunging humpback whales, and the mind-boggling array of bird species that roost along Alaska’s rocky coastline. Along with our steadfast captains Stan and Brooke, we would spend four days exploring the park’s deepwater fjords, carved over millions of years by crawling glaciers, aboard the 42-foot Stellar Explorer.
Our trip was based out of the lovely Alaskan town of Seward, which sits at the head of Resurrection Bay. Seward is a rarity in Alaska, being a small town with a walkable downtown, an array of great restaurants, and all the charm that you can find in towns like Jackson, Wyoming in the lower 48. From here, each morning, we boarded the Stellar Explorer and took to the high seas to see and photograph one of the greatest densities of humpbacks and orcas found anywhere in the world.
Our trip was based out of the lovely Alaskan town of Seward, which sits at the head of Resurrection Bay. Seward is a rarity in Alaska, being a small town with a walkable downtown, an array of great restaurants, and all the charm that you can find in towns like Jackson, Wyoming in the lower 48. From here, each morning, we boarded the Stellar Explorer and took to the high seas to see and photograph one of the greatest densities of humpbacks and orcas found anywhere in the world.
On the first morning of our first day, only five minutes after slipping outside the protected waters of the marina, we encountered our first humpback, a lone whale the locals had taken to calling Larry the Lunger. Named for his incessant lunge feeding on schools of herring just outside the marina, Larry would become a daily sighting, each time we embarked from or returned to the Seward marina.
For that first day, we stayed inside Resurrection Bay. But this would work out well, as it allowed us our first encounter with one of Resurrection Bay’s resident pods of killer whales.
For that first day, we stayed inside Resurrection Bay. But this would work out well, as it allowed us our first encounter with one of Resurrection Bay’s resident pods of killer whales.
These resident orcas do migrate to some degree but are differentiated from their transient counterparts by the fact that they only eat fish, whereas transient orcas hunt marine mammals, such as sea lions, seals, otters, and other whale species. During the summer months for the resident orcas, it is primarily salmon that they hunt. And in winter, they dive deep to eat halibut, sole, and cod. But during summer, when the bay becomes choked with salmon as they undergo their metamorphosis that will allow them to survive in freshwater rivers and streams, the orca are spoiled for choice. With a bounty of fish, the orca often spends more time socializing, with behaviors that include tail slapping, spy hopping, and breaching from time to time. Though our first day’s interactions didn’t include much of this behavior, we would be rewarded with an incredible display on our fourth and final day, which I will get back to in a moment.
One of my favorite aspects of this trip is that it is one of the best places to get beautiful shots of birds in flight, including bald eagles, common murres, and the crowd favorite, puffins! Two species of puffin nest on the rocky ledges and islands along Alaska’s southeast coast, the horned puffin and the tufted puffin. Which of these puffins is the cuter of the two is a topic of hot debate, as team tufted and team horned vehemently express how each bird fits on their cuteness scale. But what one way in which these two puffin species are nearly identical is how difficult it can be to capture them in flight.
With bodies about the same size and shape of a football (American) and short little wings, the only way these birds stay aloft is with sheer speed and furious wing flapping. Whenever the boat would approach some rocks where they were roosting, it felt like being in a swarm of little dive bombers, as the puffins zipped overhead and in all directions. But, with quick reflexes and an even quicker shutter speed and autofocus system, and a lot of persistence, we were able to land a few really nice images of these little guys in action.
For days two and three, we made longer runs out into some of the deepwater fjords for which the park is named to see the calving faces of two enormous glaciers, Holgate Glacier and Aialik Glacier. In front of these enormous ice sheets, the temperature turns cold, and a fierce wind rips off the glaciers’ faces. Ice floes litter the glacial inlets, and harbor seals use the icebergs for haulouts to bask upon in the summer weather.
For days two and three, we made longer runs out into some of the deepwater fjords for which the park is named to see the calving faces of two enormous glaciers, Holgate Glacier and Aialik Glacier. In front of these enormous ice sheets, the temperature turns cold, and a fierce wind rips off the glaciers’ faces. Ice floes litter the glacial inlets, and harbor seals use the icebergs for haulouts to bask upon in the summer weather.
As the final day of our tour rolled around, I felt we had already been so fortunate to see as much as we had and to have had the amazing sunny conditions that permeated the entire trip.
We’d photographed lunging humpbacks, flying puffins and eagles, rowdy sea lions, adorable harbor seals, and even cuter sea otters. So, I informed Captain Stan that we wanted to spend the bulk of our day looking for orcas, hoping to get some great action shots of the killer whales in action. And so off we went in search of excited orca. It was about 45 minutes outside the harbor that we came across our first group of killers. They were fishing along a small island. As we sat there, watching the orcas approach, we began to see big black fins popping up all around us. It appeared to us that the king salmon had just shown up in bulk, and the word had gotten out. There were dozens of orcas, all around us, fishing, breaching, porpoising, and generally putting on one hell of a show all around us. We spent the next few hours slowly cruising alongside the killer whales, bouncing from one pod to the next, as they fished for kings and celebrated each catch with tail slaps and breaches. It was the perfect finale to an amazing four days at sea.
Over the span of those four days, I took almost 300 gigs of images on my Canon R5, and I know the clients probably took even more. It was a fast-paced and dynamic shooting experience, with whales, birds, and sea mammals popping up everywhere at any time. And with such a great and easy-going group of clients, it was a trip that was a total joy to run.
Over the span of those four days, I took almost 300 gigs of images on my Canon R5, and I know the clients probably took even more. It was a fast-paced and dynamic shooting experience, with whales, birds, and sea mammals popping up everywhere at any time. And with such a great and easy-going group of clients, it was a trip that was a total joy to run.
For anyone as obsessed with whales and puffins as I am, this trip is hard to beat. It is a humbling and mystifying experience to be in the middle of an ecosystem as diverse and immense as there is along Alaska’s coastline in summer, a place where giant whales bump shoulders as they feed in the rich waters.
It is a trip I look forward to each summer. It is a trip where whale sightings are all but guaranteed, but each trip completely unique, because you never know what incredible behaviors you might see from these super intelligent animals.
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AUTHOR
AUTHOR
Ben Blankenship was born in Nashville, Tennessee. As a young man, he studied ceramics and fine arts. In college, he pursued filmmaking, writing, and photography. After graduation, he worked for nearly a decade in broadcast television as a video editor, photographer, and cinematographer. Over the last several years, he has transitioned into working full-time as a photojournalist and travel photographer. He has worked abroad in Costa Rica, Belize, and Uganda. His photographic passions include wildlife, conservation, travel, events, and documenting social and political events around the world. His work has been published in the New York Times, The Oregonian Newspaper, and by Photographers Without Borders. He currently splits his time between living in Costa Rica and Tennessee. See his most recent work on his website here: www.ben-blankenship.com
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BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS
"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
- Russ Nordstrand, Backcountry Journeys Founder & Director
- Russ Nordstrand, Backcountry Journeys Founder & Director
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All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLCs - Copyright 2024
BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS
"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Journeys Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLC - Copyright 2024
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Download our Trip Catalog for detailed information on our many destinations for photography tours, workshops, and safaris.