24 Sep 2016

Wildlife Extravaganza on Commander Islands

We are coming to the end of this expedition and tomorrow we will arrive in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. It has been a simply amazing expedition. There are simply no words to describe it.  The highlights have been numerous, our notebooks are full of amazing observations, and the memory cards in our cameras are overflowing with stunning photos.  

We have recently enjoyed two days at the Commander Islands with three very different activities.  We visited the NW Cape Fur seal rookery, where we had great views of fur seals, Stella Sealions, Sea Otters and Artic Foxes.  That same afternoon we visited the small village of Nikoi’skoye on Bering Island, where there was the opportunity to visit the local museum or take an excursion out into the tundra and this group actually saw a Snowy Owl.  Some chose to simply wander through and around the village soaking up the friendliness of the local people and their way of life.  The following morning we enjoyed a zodiac cruise along the south coast of Bering Island.

Today we finished up the expedition with a visit to Zhupanova River with not a cloud in the sky and barely a breath of wind.  It was unbelievably beautiful. Complementing the landscape and the weather was a number of the magnificent Steller Sea Eagles, one of which posed for photographs against a backdrop of snow covered volcanos.  Expeditioners spent time photographing this bird which is the largest sea eagle in the world.

Today is also the penultimate day of this year’s Russian Far East season, it has simply been incredible.  We have all been rewarded thousand times over with observations and experiences that could not be scripted. Each experience surpassed the previous one and when we thought it simply couldn’t get better it did. We will all go our various ways homeward bound tomorrow but this 2016 season will remain in our hearts as one of the best seasons EVER.