We woke up early this morning at the northernmost point of Glacier Bay National Park. The Margerie Glacier gave us a fantastic pre-breakfast show with two big calving events and some large rolling icebergs. After breakfast we cruised south through the park watching for wildlife along the way. At Gloomy Knob we were treated to three orcas. We were able to identify the pod as Bigg’s (transient) orcas, meaning they hunt mammals like sea lions. Just after the orcas swam away we spotted six mountain goats, including two kids. We even witnessed a rare goat behavior: going all the way down to the tide line to look for some salty snacks. Just past Gloomy Knob we found three brown bears along the coastline. One of them allowed us to watch as it searched the intertidal zone for food. It was able to flip very large rocks with seemingly no effort.
After lunch we continued our cruise south. As we neared South Marble Island we came upon a group of sea otters. A few of them had pups, and one mother swam close enough to let us see how cute they are. At Marble Island we saw a variety of birds, including some we had been hoping for: tufted puffins and black oystercatchers. We also saw huge sea lions arguing over the best places to sleep on the rocks. After an amazing day at Glacier Bay we will continue heading south tonight.
