SOUTHEAST ALASKA WHERE MOUNTAINS AND SEA FORM DRAMATIC LANDSCAPES

PART 4 Frederick Sound: Prince of Wales and Kupreanof Islands east to Petersburg and the Stikine River to Ketchikan and Misty Fjords

LeConte Bay north of the Stikine river and east of Petersburg

Misty Fjords and Rudyard Bay

I began my odyssey in Southeast Alaska working with a soil science team mapping soils

with topographical maps for the US Forest Service, South Tongass National Forest in

1967. Based in Ketchikan, I was very fortunate to have covered Prince of Whales,

Kupreanof, Mitkof, southern Admiralty Island and the mainland of Cleveland Peninsula

north with the team. We slept on the 55-foot boat the Chugach, and utilized either

helicopters or float planes chartered from Todd Air and Temsco. My memory of flying

was both incredible, but at times scary. I recall the late Temsco helicopter pilot Ken

Eichner flying us just over the tree tops on the way to drop us off on a mountain top. We

would descend for a full day transect of digging soil pits, classifying them and comparing

to the topographical maps to tree forest species. Ken was such a friendly guy, and would

be carrying on a conversation with me in the front in helicopter bubble next to him, stick

between his knees, rolling a cigarette with his paper and tobacco, not looking ahead of

him but at me. I was a bit nervous, and did a lot of praying flying with ken.

I was completely captivated by SE Alaska, and was amazed to see such a profundity of

wildlife, from ducks and geese, songbirds, and wildlife including black bear on the

islands, and both black bear and brown bear on the mainland near the Unuk River. And

the migration of humpback whales and orca passing through the straits. I was also

shocked at the extensive logging going on in Prince of Wales Island, only to find out later

that the Japanese concessionaire was given old growth trees in exchange for their

building logging roads. We lost out greatly in that situation.

In later years in the early 1980’s I visited Petersburg often through my work as a

naturalist for Lindblad-National Geographic Explorer, then called Special Expeditions.

We engaged with the Norwegian festivals, explored the Stikine River flats, Le Conte Bay,

and Misty Fjords. I have explored several times by boat through Frederick Sound, and

here is a segment of one of my exploration’s.

JOURNAL JULY 2007

We are heading first to Cape Fanshaw and Frederick Sound for humpback whales,

hoping to find bubble net feeding. Calm weather on the way to mid Frederick Sound,

heading towards a group of whale’s bubble net feeding off the shelf on northern

Kupreanof Island. Now at low tide herring were schooling up at the base of a sub tidal

ridge. Then I spotted the pod of humpback whales bubble net feeding and lunge feeding

after herring. So amazing and within a half mile, we monitored for several hours

orchestrated by a songster whale and a bubble netter that begin the feeding behavior of

7-10 whales cooperating. They would gather and blow, then all would display flukes at

different intervals as they dove, then within 30 seconds they would erupt out of the sea

together, mouths open, baleen shown, then close their mouths forcing water out of the

baleen, while the tongue move herring into their small throat the size of a cantaloupe.

After straining out water from their mouths on the surface, I watched them lie on their

sides and slap their pectorals on the water, then raise them again, acting as if in content.

I learned that humpback whale cooperative feeding occurred in Chatham strait off

Tenake inlet in August, Icy Straits, and Frederick Sound when there were sufficient

schools of herring during certain tides and locations, and Sumner Strait near Eye Opener

Rock.

They continued to feed for over an hour. Each time the humpbacks coordinated their

movements under water with lyrical sounds, then as they surfaced flash their pectoral

fins to disorient and corral their prey inside a curtain of bubbles, trapping schools of

herring in a tight circle. The whales then lunge upward from the sea, their massive

mouths agape, and swallow huge quantities of fish in a closely choreographed

presentation. Hundreds of herring jumped frantically, attempting to escape this

humpback feeding frenzy. Although hardly unheard of, it’s rare to see bubble-net

feeding so closely; but the whales have fasted for months during their long migration

east and north from their calving grounds in the warm waters of Hawaii and Baja,

Mexico.

Humpback Whales are a species of baleen whale that feed during the abundant

summers of plankton bloom and herring in SE Alaska. At forty-five feet in length their

pectoral fins measure one third of their body length. The Latin name for humpback,

Megaptera novaeangliae (big winged New Englander) denotes not only the size of their

fins but also a place where they were almost hunted to extinction. Of the 1000

humpbacks thought to inhabit Southeast we were observing less than a dozen of them

known to participate in the unique behavior known as bubble netting. We also saw

Stellar Sea Lions feeding off the herring at the edged of the bubble net and lunge

feeding area.

I met the Alaskan Whale Foundation crew and boat anchored near us near the Brothers

islands. Sean Hanser was working on his PhD of the ecology and behavior of whale

singers, and Andy Szabo had been with the foundation for some time doing research.

Iearned:

1. Bubble netting was a unique method of humpback whale feeding. Both males

and females are singers, of which they had documented only 5 callers in

Frederick Sound. i.e Viking notch. Cooperative feeding callers or singers

orchestrate and bring in other whales, while one whale starts a bubble screen as

the pitch of the singer increases. The singer drives the whales down from the

surface, then as they emerge, they display their white pectorals to scare/keep

the fish into the ball inside the bubble net. They all surface within this net to

feed.

2. Bubble net whales have a lower reproductive rate than krill feeders

3. Cooperative feeders are a group mix with other individuals.

There are also bubble net feeding behavior exhibited in whales off Tenake Inlet, but

they are a smaller, concentrated group. Sean shared about Kelp Bay in Chatham Strait

where one evening they entered the bay late afternoon, and they could hear

humpbacks feeding on krill through the night.

Humpback whales bubble net , cooperative feedin on pacific herring, Frederick Sound

Moored on a quiet bay, I listened to Stellers sea lions feeding on salmon and on herring

this evening. Shear faces of intertidal action create great food upwellings. Saw Dall’s

porpoise, harbor porpoise, Steller sea lions and humpback whales all feeding together.

Killer whales often interact with humpbacks, but the latter is always aware of the killer

whale locations.

Clear morning! Low tide, calm, glassy water, pigeon guillemots perched on the beach of

brown fucus, comical in their bright orange feet. Listened to an eagle all morning. Saw

many species of algae, sea cucumbers, chitons, and bright orange sea anemones. Earlier

in the morning I had watched a kingfisher hovering above the water, then dive and

caught a fish in the water, and heard him call again. Pigeon guillemots settled on the

rocks and called.

I took out a kayak, and paddled around broken rocks that were not only covered with

algae barnacles and mussels below the mean tide level, but above were stunted Sitka

spruce and western hemlock conifers of differing shapes and forms. The steep rock walls

were covered with moss and old rotted stumps, where I saw many pigeon guillemot

nesting burrows. They are such a comical bird with orange feet. The water is so clear,

and we could see 25 feet to the bottom with kelp yielding to the current. The tide

change was gaining momentum and beginning to sound like a river. I continued around

the island, with a curious sea lion following us, and headed back to the boat, ready to

stretch.

The following day another beautiful calm morning, and clear day! Pulled up anchor and

ran over to the sea lion rookery. Sound of mixed roars, belches, grunts, and bleating like

lambs that came from the young. Stood on the bow thanking the Lord for the

opportunity to be here, to enjoy the blue skies and glass-like seas. We proceeded

northeast towards Pybus Bay on the south end of Admiralty Island, and wondered at the

steep, glaciated peaks of south Baranof Island in the distance. We entered the virgin

forested slope of Pybus Bay, then turned in to a small inlet called Donkey Bay and

anchored in a lovely cove surrounded by forests and intricate small bays. A stream

emerged from the forest and emptied its tannic stained water into a sea of beach grass

salt flats. Snow covered peaks rose above the forest to the west, revealing emerald

green alpine meadows, snowfields and waterfalls. This was the SE Alaska I knew, and I

was overwhelmed with the beauty of this place.

Spotted a brown bear along the beach with her summer cub. We motored the skiff over

to the beach, then walked over to the stream outlet and climbed a small grass covered

knoll that overlooked the stream outlet in a grass meadow. We waited silently for a few

minutes, and sure enough, she came out of the forest with her cubs and walked towards

us and the stream outlet. The cub trailed until she stopped at a shallow pool, dove in

and with her mouth caught a pink salmon twisting in her jaws. Huge claws pinned its

head as she bit into the rich red back

muscles, then waded to the edge of the

grass, and stripped the skin off the fish

before tossing it to her cub. She then

jumped in again and caught a second fish

and stripped it too of skin and began to eat

it. The cub had the fish almost completely

eaten, then carried it in its mouth towards

the mother.

The sow then caught our scent, and backed away from the stream into the grass. She

stood on her hind legs several times trying to find out where we were, then finally saw

us and moved off towards the forest slowly. Her cub followed, and again we were so

amazed to see them so close. The moments remembered were the quietness of the bay

in the early morning and late evening, the echoing calls of bald eagles, ravens or gulls,

and the sound of wind and water.

Drew up anchor after breakfast and headed east across Frederick sound into the

Brothers Islands, then five fingers towards the mainland. Tried anchoring off an old

cannery site near Cape Fanshaw, but moved south to Farrugut Bay because of the

pending winds and storm coming tonight. We encountered a brilliant evening light as

we followed the rocky coastline and old growth forests. The mountain ice fields were

turning color of orange yellow and mauve. Alaska yellow cedar were naked and bare in

this forest, dying off from some disease and drought. Beautiful views of the Le Conte Ice

fields to the east. The water is so blue, and the mountains and foothills green with ice

fields in the distance continuing to turn color. We finally anchored off the head of the

bay in a place where we could look out at the mountains, and the Farrugut River and

tidal flats.

Thomas Bay under heavy overcast skies threatening rain. We pulled into the south arm

where the Cascade River emptied, and a cove where the Catalyst crew had seen moose

on a previous trip. Anchored off the large stream, and walked the trail along the beach

along an old growth forest of Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock, with a few Alaskan

yellow cedars. Everything covered in rich carpets of moss, and we walked towards the

falls, a large waterfall that deafened the sounds around us with roaring water. Didn’t

see any sword fern in the under story here, but instead maidenhair fern in wet areas

with skunk cabbage and devil’s club, and in drier areas wood fern, bunchberry dogwood,

twisted stalk, huckleberry and deer fern on deep carpets of moss. Trees were not as

large as in Kupreonof Island. A trail led up to a higher point where we could view the

awesome waterfall, and the canyon above that reminded me of Vancouver Island Juan

de Fuca trail and the suspension bridge. It was raining, and clouds hung in the valley off

the peaks.

The captain shared a bear story of a man he met named Vernon who had once hunted

bear as a guide, but now worked for Alaska Fish and Game darting and radio collaring

bears. The team used a drug called cernlan, with a street name of ‘angel dust’ that can

make humans aggressive. He had just darted a certain sow brown bear, did their workup

of blood samples, pre-molar tooth extraction, placed a $6,000 radio collar, and then

took off upstream to let the drug wear off and she would go. They continued upstream

to find other bears to dart and record, but found none. Returning to the same area

where they darted the bear, they found her waiting, and one angry bear that was not

happy about the ordeal she was put through. Must have reacted like Rodney King on

PCV. Vernon said he was charged, and fell backwards into a thicket of alder that was

bent down several feet above the ground, carrying his rifle to his chest as he became

wedged under the alder, with only his feet sticking up in the air. He talked to the angry

bear saying ‘sorry, I’m here to help you.’ But the bear came down on him. He didn’t

want to shoot the bear, but she grabbed his foot wither her teeth and started mauling

his foot. Still didn’t want to shoot and ruin a $6000 radio collar, but finally had to. Good

story, and I shared a few of my own.

I spent the night reflecting, and thankful for such an incredible two weeks, exploring

from Tracy Arm south to our exit in Petersburg. Throughout all my years of exploring se

Alaska, I still carry this great wonder of the mountains, the sea and fjords that were full

of life, the myriads of saltwater passageway into the heart of the mountains. I had seen

so much, and will return again.

KUPREANOF AND MITKOF ISLANDS

Muskegs on Mitkof Island near Petersburg

Top: Kalmia spp, Labrador tea, monkshook, skunk cabbage, shooting star, sita spruce, saw-whet owl

water ouzel, harlequin ducks; below Swainsons thrush, Stellers jay, rufous hummingbird nest

Rufous hummingbird, red throated Loon

Sitka blacktailed deer,

.

Alaska coastal range near Farrugut Bay LeConte Bay

LeConte Glacier

Stikine flats and the Stikine River

MISTY FJORDS SCENIC WILD AREA

Misty Fhords Wild area, Rudyard Bay and Walker Cove

Misty Fjords, bottom: lake ella, right Rudyard Bay

USFS 1967

Ketchikan 1967, whale pass with two friends with the USFS, northern Prince of Wales island

1967 with Temsco Pilot Ken Eicher and myself, Below: me with soil scientist dale Paulson, rich billings USFS

Skipper of the chugach, the boat we slept on for the summer mapping soils for USFS Tongass National

Forest

Tongass national forest 1967

LINBLAD NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER 1983-84

Author Ted Walker and I as itinerary naturalist on Lindblad trips in SE Alaska

1985 Reid Inlet

with passengers at

Glacier Bay

National Park. I

was privileged to

interpret the

ecology and

natural history of

Glacier Bay

National Park, as

an author of my

then published

book in 1975

‘Glacier Bay Old

Ice New Land