Alaska Cruise: Day 4 – Sitka

Day 4 of our cruise saw us docking in Sitka Harbor, where again Holland America Cruise Line offered around twenty land tours to those so inclined.  These ranged from whale watch tours to tours that explore the clash of the Russian and Tlingit cultures in the early 1800s.

 Our ship, the MS Westerdam at anchor in Sitka harbor

This port was somewhat different from the one in Juneau where our ship pulled right up to a wharf and we just walked down the gangplank.  In Sitka there was no handy dandy gangplank.  The shore was reached via ship’s tender (small boats that took passengers from the cruise ship to the wharf). 

 One of the tender boats ferrying passengers from ship to shore

While many of our shipboard companions had decided to avail themselves of the many tours that were offered, we had decided that we would like to just wander and explore this small town on foot and eventually work our way to the Sitka National Historic Park.   

We began poking in and out of the quaint little shops along Sitka’s main street.  Unlike Juneau, which had quite a few large “touristy” type souvenir shops, many of the shops in Sitka seemed to have a better selection of locally handcrafted merchandise.  One of our favorites was the Sitka Rose Gallery, which featured handcrafted art and other quality merchandise housed in a quaint little historic building.

 This quaint little historic building houses the Sitka Rose Gallery

Another favorite was a shop that specialized in colorful kites and other unusual items.

This shop carried the most marvelous selection of kites, as well as other unusual items

As the day wore on and our stomachs began to tell us that it was time for lunch we discovered an outdoor sidewalk café whose specialty was Alaskan King Crab Legs.  Unfortunately, we didn’t discover this place until every table was full and the waiting line for tables was long.  We debated going somewhere else for lunch, but decided that there was just something wrong about not having Alaskan King Crab Legs in Alaska.  However, we didn’t want to spend our limited time in Sitka standing in line, so we decided to have our crab legs in their indoor restaurant.  Were we ever glad we made this decision.  These had to be the best crab legs we’ve ever had!

Yummm!

After our crab legs feast we decided to walk on to find the Sitka National Historic Park.  Along the way we passed the local salmon hatchery and of course my husband, a fanatic fisherman, had to take the hatchery tour. 

Hatchery activity

While he was absorbed in salmon eggs, fingerlings, and hatchery techniques I wandered up the road and bought some home made jellies and jams from two local teenage girls, and took some photos of Mt. Edgecumb—a volcano that looms in the background of many photos of Sitka.  A volcano exploration by raft and 4X4 was one of the tours offered here and in retrospect it probably would have been well worth taking—but you can’t do everything in just one day. 

Mt. Edgecumb--a dormant volcano that is an ever present reminder that this is a land of fire and ice

After the hatchery tour ended we continued on our way toward the park.  As we rounded a bend we noted that the tide was out and that there were a number of tide pools along the shore.  Now we had a dilemma—did we have the time to explore the tide pools and still make it to the park in time to tour its museum before our rendezvous with the last tender to the ship?  Alas, we decided to forego the tide pools and trek on to the park museum—so many things to see and so little time! 

Low tide affords the opportunity to explore the many tidepools left behind

Upon reaching our destination we spent quite some time exploring the museum’s exhibits, which explore the native Tlingit culture and the Russian-Tlingit conflict in the early19^th century.  The Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, housed in this building, featured native artisans demonstrating their crafts such as wood carving, basket making, weaving, silversmithing, etc.  The artisans were eager to answer any questions. 

The walking path took us past colorful totem poles such as this one

A one mile walking path behind the building took us through a forest and along the shore of Sitka Sound, past beautifully carved  native totem poles.  From the footbridge over Indian River we had a good view of spawning salmon as we wound our way back to the dock area.  There we rested our tired feet and waited for our Tender back to the ship while resting next to a huge native whaling canoe.

Can you imagine harpooning a whale out of a vessel such as this canoe?

We would have liked to have had more time to investigate this picturesque little town—maybe next time.

For more information about this year’s WBS Alaska Cruise Click Here.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

Alaska Cruise: Day 3 - Juneau

As the World Bird Sanctuary prepares to lead a group of travelers on another Alaska Cruise this September, travel along with us as I give you a glimpse into the highlights of our 2009 trip.  

Dock area shops - Red Dog Saloon in the background

After cruising all night, day 3 found us about to cruse into our first port of call—Juneau, the capitol of the State of Alaska.

Upon signing up for the cruise we had been given a website and a password whereby we could preview many aspects of the trip—one of which was a list of the many land tours available at each port.  This would give us the opportunity of deciding ahead of time which tours we would like to do, and we could sign up from home—no last minute decisions.  There were thirty-two tours offered for the port of Juneau alone.

Dockside tramway ride to the top of Mt. Roberts - one of the many land tour options

Tour choices ranged from Alaska Salmon Bakes to whale watches, helicopter flightseeing, gold panning, fly-out fly fishing trips, beach walks, bus tours, sea kayaking, rain forest canopy and zipline adventures, and a multitude of others.  The choices were mind-boggling.  Thank goodness we could go through the list ahead of time.

Since there were several other things we wanted to see in our next two ports of call, we had decided that we would sign up for a Whale Watching Quest in Juneau. Others in our travel group opted for some of the other tours. 

The Old Witch Totem, located in the Civic Center Building, accessible by foot, but a bit of a walk

Our tour didn’t leave until 12:30 pm, so we set off to explore the city of Juneau on foot.  We spent the morning searching for The Old Witch Totem Pole.  According to an acquaintance who had lived in Juneau for many years this was the best preserved authentic totem pole in the state of Alaska.  However, unlike many of the other totems it was not on the usual tourist itinerary, but in the Civic Center office building. 

This totem had some amazing detail

This totem was a true work of art and it was hard to believe that it had been carved by people who had only the crudest of tools. 

We were intrigued by some of the colorful buildings

On the way back to the dock area we explored the quaint shops along the way and photographed the colorful buildings that lined the streets—and of course purchased our share of souvenirs for kids and grandkids back home.

The Alaska Fishermen's Building

Our shuttle driver for our tour was very informative and as we drove to the harbor she showed us the points of interest and gave us background and history on many of the local landmarks.  She even stopped the bus and let us get off the to photograph a beautiful scenic area that was ablaze with Fireweed.

The Fireweed in full bloom with Mendenhall Glacier in the background

We boarded the tour boat promptly at 12:30 and set out to find whales.  A park ranger was on board to answer questions and to interpret some of the behaviors we would see.

There was comfortable seating in the boat, but this was the best spot to get photos

Along the way we spotted a colony of sea lions basking on a rocky land spit.  At first all we saw was a rocky shoreline, and then suddenly we realized that some of those “rocks” were actually sea lions.  Mother nature’s camouflage is amazing!  

There are nine or more Sea Lions in this photo--can you spot them?

The fur of these marine mammals blends into the rocks so perfectly that they’re almost invisible until you’re right on top of them.

This Sea Lion blended right in with these mossy rocks

We motored along and rounded the tip of an island and suddenly, there they were—ORCAS! (Otherwise known as Killer Whales).  This was a small pod of four Orcas—including at least 1—possibly 2—youngsters.  It was hard to get a fix on the exact number since they would surface only briefly and then dive—only to surface again in a totally different direction.  

This pod of Orcas cavorted around our boat for at least 30 minutes

I have to say that of all the animals that I have photographed in the wild these were probably the most difficult to capture on film.  You never knew where they were going to surface, plus they travel at the speed of light!

My husband was lucky enough to catch this shot of an Orca breaching

After watching and photographing this pod of Orcas for quite some time the captain of our tour boat decided it was time to move to another location where a pod of Humpback Whales had been spotted that morning.  After a short ride we found them.  They were hunting the waters right in front of a glacier ice field.

This time I was the one lucky enough to get the shot

As we watched, the Humpbacks began bubble net feeding, and the ranger began describing to us what was going on beneath the surface.  The entire pod of Humpbacks dove to a great depth and then they began to circle a school of prey fish.  As they circled, the lead whale began to “sing” (we could hear this on an underwater microphone that was lowered off the side of our boat).  The “singing” and bubbles emitted from the whales’ blowhole acted as a kind of net that pushed the prey to the surface as the whales circled the school of fish.  

The gulls let us know where the Humpbacks would surface

We were told that when the “singing” stopped we should watch the gulls that were circling overhead as they would pinpoint the location where the prey and the whales would break the surface.  Sure enough, the singing stopped and the gulls began to circle overhead.  

This was an incredible sight!

Suddenly whales and small baitfish exploded from the water in an incredible feeding frenzy!  The huge behemoths would dive and then jump half their body length out of the water with mouths gaping to scoop up the frenzied baitfish.  This went on for perhaps ten minutes and then it was over--all was quiet except for the calls of the gulls, who were greedily feasting on the leftovers from the carnage.  This happened twice while we were watching. 

Soon it was time to head back to port, and as we traveled back to our respective ships all of us who had boarded the tour boat as strangers began swapping names and email addresses, promising to share photos (if any turned out).  To this day I still swap emails with a couple of the strangers that we met as part of our whale watching experience.

There are plenty of shops here to satisfy the cravings of any shopaholic

We returned to the docks with just enough time to make a couple of last minute purchases at one of the stores that fronts the wharf before it was time to board ship.

For more information or to make your reservation to join this year’s cruise Click Here. 

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

Alaska Cruise: Day 2 – Glacier Bay

As the World Bird Sanctuary prepares to lead a group of travelers on another Alaska Cruise this September I propose to give you a peek into the highlights you might expect to find when you travel along with us.  This is what we experienced on our 2009 cruise.

We awoke the morning of Day 2 to find that we were about to enter beautiful Glacier Bay.

Entering Glacier Bay 

My husband, who is a real early bird, was already out of the cabin and up on deck.  My first challenge of the day was to find him so that we could enjoy breakfast together while watching the magnificent scenery slide by.  (A note to the wise—you’ll do plenty of walking on one of these huge ships, so bring comfortable walking shoes.)

As we were eating breakfast an announcement over the public address system let us know that the Park Ranger would soon be boarding the ship for our all day excursion through Glacier Bay.

The park service launch preparing to board the Ranger for the day

The ranger would be available to give talks and answer questions about the huge glaciers that composed the shoreline, such as “Why is glacier ice blue?”  ….and the answer is: Glacial ice is a different color than regular ice. It is so blue because the dense ice of the glacier absorbs every other color of the spectrum except blue--so blue is what we see!

  Why is glacier ice so incredibly blue?

We finished breakfast and hurried to the top deck to watch as the Park Ranger’s boat docked alongside our huge cruise liner and transferred him to our keeping

for the day.

Cruising the glaciers gave us the opportunity for some incredible scenic photos

Throughout the day we cruised the edges of the glaciers, watching as the glacier calved its icebergs into the sea.  The first indication of a calving iceberg was a deafening CRACK!—at which every person on the upper deck would race to whichever side of the ship was nearest to the cracking sound (it’s a miracle that the ship didn’t list to that side). 

  Waiting for the glacier to release an iceberg from its grip

Then it was a waiting game until the next CRACK and you could begin to see plumes of ice flying from the area which was releasing the berg.  After a few more CRACKS a huge chunk of ice would suddenly begin sliding into the sea.  I’ve never heard so many camera shutters clicking in my life! 

Photos don't do justice to a calving iceberg

Occasionally there would be a whale sighted by the crew and an announcement would be made over the PA system (another mad dash to that side of the ship).  In addition to the icebergs and whales, we also spotted occasional sea otters and Puffins on this day.  However, I would caution anyone who wants to take photos of the wildlife from the ship, that a long lens is a “must have”—at the very least--a 300mm lens for a DSLR (preferably longer).

 This photo of a Sea Otter was taken with a 400 mm lens (an effective 600 mm) and then cropped severely to bring it in close

A word about cameras here--remember, most digital SLRs have approximately a 1.5 lens conversion factor—in other words a 300 mm lens on a digital DSLR would be equivalent to a 450 mm lens on a film camera.  If shooting with a small digicam Click Here for a formula to figure how much optical zoom is needed to equal the mm lens measurements used with a DSLR camera.

Have you ever been afraid to nap?  After spending a full morning in the brisk glacier-chilled air watching icebergs calve, rushing from one side of the top deck to the other, and watching for the occasional whale sighting, I was more than ready for an afternoon nap.  But I had a dilemma—if I went downstairs to my cabin to nap I might miss something!  I finally resolved my dilemma by grabbing a deck chair and camping out on the top deck—in the hope that any huge rush to one side of the deck or the other would wake me if anything exciting was sighted.

 After a full day on deck I was ready for a nap

By the time we sailed out of Glacier Bay I was almost thankful, since that meant that I could retire to our cabin and get ready for dinner and a show without missing something.

This year’s cruise visits Sawyer Arm and Mendenhall Glacier which I’m told are just as impressive as Glacier Bay. 

To find out how to sign up for the World Bird Sanctuary’s September 9-16 Alaska Cruise Click Here. 

Our next blog visits our first port of call—Juneau.

Submitted by Gay Schroer World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

Alaska Cruise: Embarkation Day & Day 1 At Sea

As the vacation season approaches many of us find ourselves perusing the travel brochures in search of a travel destination that meshes with our particular interests and lifestyles.  Look no further—the World Bird Sanctuary has just the trip for you!

 This year's ship--the beautiful Holland America Lines MS Oosterdam

In September 2012 Walter Crawford, Executive Director of WBS, will lead a small group to Alaska via one of Holland America’s beautiful cruise ships—the MS Oosterdam.  In 2009 my husband and I accompanied Walter and a small group of travelers on a similar Alaska trip.  I would like to share with you some of the memorable sights and activities from that trip.

 Walter Crawford, Executive Director of WBS, giving a welcoming talk to our small group aboard ship

My husband and I chose to fly from St. Louis, Missouri, to Seattle, Washington a few days ahead of departure so that we could explore the state of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula on our own.  This was well worth the time and will perhaps be a good subject for a separate blog—just suffice it to say that for any who have the time this makes for a fabulous pre-cruise adventure.

At about 3 pm on departure day we boarded the beautiful Holland America MS Westerdam (sister ship of this year’s MS Oosterdam) and were directed to our stateroom where our luggage was delivered to us within a short time.  (No struggling with luggage—they brought it to us!)  We were immediately free to explore the ship, which would be our floating home for the next six days.

 Having dinner in the Grand Dining Room with fellow WBS cruise members

The remainder of the evening was spent exploring and getting our bearings, as well as acquainting ourselves with the Grand Dining Room and meeting our fellow travelers.

Day 1:  At Sea

For those who have never cruised before, a cruise ship is like a floating city and when we were not up on deck we spent this day finding our way around the ship and exploring its many options

The beautiful indoor pool with its moveable roof closed 

View of the indoor pool with its roof retracted

There were two swimming pools (one indoor and one outdoor). 

 View of the outdoor pool

Tucked strategically here and there were small bars serving food and libations.

  One of the many small bars strategically located near the pool

For more serious meals there were huge buffet restaurants--open at most any hour, an intimate upscale small restaurant with a gourmet menu, the ship’s Grand Dining Room, several small lunch bars, and probably other eateries that we never discovered—all designed to fit whichever dining style you prefer.

 One of the many watermelon carvings at the Grand Buffet

For those whose idea of entertainment is shopping, one deck housed a floating version of a shopping mall whose shops ranged from inexpensive souveniers to couturier clothing and diamond necklaces.  Upon unpacking I found that I had packed my lightweight jacket, but mailed it on ahead to Kodiak Island for our post-cruise adventure.  Fortunately, one of the on-board shops had just what I needed, and surprisingly the prices were comparable to those I would find at home.

 The beautiful on board theater where shows were presented nightly

There was a full size theater with professional entertainment nightly--each night presenting a different show.  Speaking of shows—one of the most fun and entertaining shows was the one presented on the last night of our cruise in the grand dining room by the dining room wait-staff.  Everyone took part—including the cooks!  This was in addition to the show regularly presented in the theater.

 The beautiful crystal chandelier which adorns central grand staircase

Other amenities included a sauna and exercise room, library, electronic media room, piano bars and cabarets with musical entertainment nightly as well as dancing for those so inclined.  Of course, there are the beauty salons, massage parlors, casinos, and bingo parlors.  I’m sure I have probably missed a variety of other activities—but hey, you can only do so much in one week. 

For me, the only day I was willing to forsake the top deck and its magnificent scenery long enough to enjoy many of the above activities was Day 1 when we were at sea sailing to our first port.  I’m an “outside” person—but “inside” or “outside” there was something for everyone.

Sail along with me for the next few blogs as we visit Glacier Bay, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan and Victoria, British Columbia

So….if you are contemplating a fabulous vacation at a reasonable price for this year Click Here  for specific details.  We’ll be setting sail from September 9-16, 2012 on the trip of a lifetime.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

"Bat"urday and Community Recycling

You're invited to celebrate bats with us at "Bat"urday, on April 7th, 2012!  In an effort to help save bird and bat habitat, we will have a FREE Community Recycling Depot at "Bat"urday!

Batty & Scar, our Straw-colored Fruit Bats, will be there to greet visitors 

Bats are interesting and misunderstood creatures.  Learn more about the environmental and economic importance of these animals, the threats they face, and what you can do to help bats survive.

Join us for interesting day of bat presentations, where you'll meet our resident Straw-colored Fruit Bats, watch our bat trainer give them enrichment, and participate in bat-related fun kids "bat"-activities.  We will also be giving out bat houseplans so that you can go home and build your very own bat house!

Keep it out of the landfill and help us save bat and bird habitat! 

Bring your items to the Community Recycling Depot at WBS.

 Donations from our wish list would be appreciated - a donation box for wishlist items (e.g. latex gloves; trash bags; etc.) or cash will be at the recycling depot.  Click here for a full list of eligible wishlist items.

 Get a coupon for 10% off anything in our gift shop, valid on April 7th 2012 only.  One coupon per recycler. 

Items you can bring for recycling include:

Equipment:

 Computers

 Network

 Medical and Lab

 Telecommunications

 AV Equipment

 Electronic Operated

 Battery Operated Items

Accessories:

 LCD Displays (No Fee)

 LCD Display-laptops

 CD, CDRW, and DVD Drives

 Hard Drives

 Disk Drives

 Zip Drives

 Scanners

 Printers

 Speakers

 Battery back-ups

 Batteries

Miscellaneous:

 Adding & Answer Machines

 Phones (Cell, Cord/Cordless)

 Pagers

 Pocket PCs

 Cartridges

 PC and Digital Cameras

 Batteries

 Power Cords

 Cables and Wire

 Appliances

 ALL SCRAP METAL

Sponsored in part by:

"Bat"urday & Community Recycling Depot

Date: Saturday, April 7th, 2012

Time: 9am - 2pm

Place: World Bird Sanctuary, 125 Bald Eagle Ridge Road, Valley Park, MO 63088

Admission: Admission and Parking is FREE!

Bring your unwanted recyclables and bring your camera!  It's going to be a great "Bat"urday!

Not Just Another Acorn In A Tree

Meet Acorn—one of our most popular education ambassadors here at the World Bird Sanctuary.

Acorn - our 17 year old red phase Eastern Screech Owl

Acorn is an Eastern Screech Owl who came to WBS as an orphaned chick through our Wildlife Hospital 17 years ago.  She has been in our education department ever since then.   The lifespan of an Eastern Screech Owl ranges from 7-10 years in the wild and longer in captivity. 

Acorn is a wonderful little bird with a lot of spirit.  Almost every time I pick her up in the morning she vocalizes to me.  Even though her vocalizations are quite endearing and cute, they belie the ferocity of these adorable little creatures in the wild.  Ounce for ounce they are one of the fiercest predators in the avian world. They can be very territorial and aggressive when it comes to breeding season.  They have been known to dive bomb larger animals like dogs or cats and even people when they are close to their nest!  These small animals are very fearless! 

Screech owls can weigh between five to nine ounces, which is very small.  Their diet consists of small mammals such as mice, birds, and even large insects when they are abundant during the summer.

Here is Acorn in her miniature sized jump box

Eastern screech owls have two color phases--a red phase and a grey phase.  Acorn is a red phase and above you can see her in her little jump box in our weathering area at the Nature Center.  A jump box is a man-made perch that gives shelter from wind and rain and security from the view of some of our larger birds (Screech Owls’ small size also makes them prey).  Some of the larger birds have jump boxes too, but theirs are bigger. 

This is Twig, another one of our Eastern screech owls.  He is a grey color phase

On the exhibit line past our wildlife hospital we have some eagles that are on jump boxes also.  A weathering area is an outdoor display area that our birds go to during the day to experience the full gamut of weather elements, such as sunlight, wind, rain, temperature, and sounds and sights from other things in the environment.

There are over 200 species of owls in the world.  They range from the smallest, which is an Elf Owl that can fit through a hole the size of a quarter, to the largest species which is the Eurasian Eagle Owl that has a wingspan of 5-7 feet!  Screech owls are the 12^th smallest species of owl.  We do not have any Elf owls at WBS, but we do have several Eurasian Eagle owls. 

Eastern screech owls are found only in North America, and range between southern Mexico and east of the Rocky Mountains.  They tend to live mostly in wooded regions around rural areas and residential areas.  You can sometimes find them in your own backyard! Their population is doing well, but individuals will often become a victim to vehicle collisions because of their proximity to humans. 

Twig's grey coloring makes him difficult to spot against the bark of an oak tree

Eastern Screech Owls nest in tree cavities, old woodpecker holes, and man-made nest boxes .  We have nest box plans at the World Bird Sanctuary if you would be interested in making a home for these amazing little bundles of feathers. 

Screech Owls are a great animal to keep around if you have a rodent problem!  They have been seen visiting backyard bird feeders at night to capture mice in search of bird seed that has fallen from the feeders.  Also, while they are there they have been known to take baths in the birdbaths too!  I would love to see to that! 

Acorn is available for adoption in our Adopt a Bird program. To adopt Acorn click here to go to the Adopt a Bird page on our website—or to find out more information, call 636-861-3225.  All adoption donations are tax deductible. 

I invite you to come and visit Acorn at our Nature Center and find out what all the cuteness is about!

Submitted by Lisbeth Hodges, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist