11 Sep 2018

Wildlife galore at Commander Islands

Our time at the Commander Islands started with an early morning landing on Medny Island. Most of us explored the hills surrounding the bay to enjoy the view and coastline of this magnificent island. Endemic bird species such as the Grey-crowned Rosy-Finch and Pechora Pipit were even spotted. We returned to explore the coastline further by zodiac after breakfast – during our 2 hour excursion we saw hundreds of puffins (horned and tufted) as well as thousands of cormorants (pelagic and red-faced) and northern fulmars. We also managed to get good sightings of sea otters, seals and Northern fur seals – what a wildlife afternoon! The smiles couldn’t be wiped from our faces as we returned back to the Spirit of Enderby for lunch.

For the second part of the afternoon, we landed at Komandor Bay, the site where Vitus Bering and his crew from the ship St Peter landed in November 1741. One month later, Bering had passed away and was buried here with other crew members who didn’t survive. It was a very special moment to be here 277 years after their story ended. We just made it back onboard as daylight started to fade. After such a busy, wildlife-packed day we will all sleep well tonight!