27 Jun 2016

Arctic Foxes, Sea Otters and Humpback Whales

We are cruising northwards this morning and are scheduled to arrive at Karaginskiy Island shortly after lunch for an afternoon of birding in some fascinating wetland areas.

The last two days were full of activity at Commander Islands.  We were able to make all our scheduled landings and zodiac cruises, although weather and sea conditions prevented a landing at the North West Cape seal colony.  We took the opportunity to go whale watching since we couldn’t land at the seal colony and were rewarded with some great views of a number humpback whales.  Commander Islands lie on the north side of the tectonic plate boundary which at this point features a very deep trench, an ideal place for cetaceans.

We made an early morning visit to Commander Bay to visit the site of Vitus Bering’s Grave and memorial. He died here in 1741.  From there we cruised to nearby Medney Island and made a landing and zodiac cruise along some of the most spectacular coastline found anywhere in the North Pacific there were numerous highlights including Arctic Foxes and Sea Otters.