New England Seabirds | Wandering Birder | Wandering North America | Alaska 2/4 Prince William Sound Valdez Stellar's Sea Lions I took the Stan Stephens glacier cruise on Prince William Sound out of the port of Valdez. This was an expensive trip $120 that included a nice lunch and a cup of soup on the way home. The boat is brand new(2005) and very comfortable. There is a large enclosed lower deck and upper deck with outdoor uncovered seating on the back of the upper deck and in the bow. Since it was rather chilly most passengers stayed inside for most of the cruise. There were only 25 passengers on my trip on a boat that can hold 150. Wildlife I saw: Common Murres,Tufted Puffins, Horned Puffins, Pelagic Cormorants, Bald Eagles, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Bald Eagles, Belted Kingfisher, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Arctic Tern.Unfortunately the captain maintains control of the microphone and is not good at giving directions. He does not use the clock system nor is he diligent at pointing out birds. Most of the time he would announce that something was on the right or left side,other times the only directions were "over there" or "there it is". Experienced pelagic birders will not have much trouble. You will probably end up as I did showing the rest of the passengers where the animals are. We saw more than 100 Sea Otters on this trip some in rafts of 25 or more animals.Sea Otters were badly hurt by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, but seem to be making a recovery. Incidentally the oil from the Exxon Valdez actually floated away from Valdez so that the area we visited was not impacted. We also saw Humpback Whales, Stellar Sea Lion, and Harbor Seals. I spotted a Black Bear walking on the beach, but by the time the captain believed me and swung the boat around it had disappeared into the woods so that only the people standing near me were able to see it. Highlight of the trip is a visit to the face of two tidewater glaciers. The Columbis Glacier is retreating. The ship drifted through braze ice and small chunks of ice not large enough to be even bergie bits. The Mears Glacier is still advancing despite global warming and we spent time watching chunks of ice break off the face. A tide water glacier groans, thunders and at times we heard what sounded like gunshots. There was also a group of Salmon Sharks around the boat at one time. This was the first time I had seen this species. Orcas At Last We saw three Orcas on this trip. Here a Mother with calf . Close by although not seeming to be associated with the mother and calf was this larger male Orca The day before this trip saw a pod of 7 Orcas. The next day this same trip did not see any so this was a lucky shot for me. Later I saw 3 more Orcas on a boat trip from Homer, Alaska. While birding various roads outside Valdez I had Townsend's Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, Pine Siskins, Orange-crowned Warbler, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Fox Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Varied Thrush, Common Merganser, Spotted Sandpiper.. I found a small, paved road that ran about 1/2 mile between the main highway and the stream that was very birdy. I parked at the far end and birded all the way back to the road before returning to the truck. On reaching the truck I was very surprised to find a Black Bear behind me. He gave me a disgusted look and continued on his way. On the way out of Valdez, I stopped at Blueberry Lake which is relatively high in the mountain. There were Mew Gulls, Barrow's Goldeneye, White-crowned Sparrow, Wilson's Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper. I also saw Hoary Marmots here. At Thompson Pass: Golden-crowned Sparrow, Gray-cheeked Thrush. On the Nebesna Road into Wrangnell - St. Elias which travels through spruce muskeg I had : Bohemian Waxwing, Which-crowned Sparrow, Lesser Yellowleg, Olive-sided Flycatcher, White-winged Crossbills, Hermit Thrush, Swainson's Thrush. On a guided trip down the road to McCarthy/ Kennicot Mining Town there was a pair of Pacific Loons as well as various ducks including Common Merganser, Bufflehead, White-winged Scoter, Barrow's Goldeneye, Lesser Scaup. Arctic Terns were common in many locations.

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