A spectacular display of humpback whales bubble-net feeding was the finale of the day. A group of whales were working together to maximize their feeding efficiency. This behavior seems to be a learned trait that is beneficial to all involved. The animals spouted, dove, then constructed a ring of bubbles that chased the prey to the middle of the circle. Under controlled conditions, scientists have proven that bubbles are frightening to fish, and they will swim away from them. If surrounded by bubbles, they swim to the center. The whales off our bow came crashing up from beneath, with mouths wide open to gather as much prey as they could. Some came shooting out of the water, the whole length of their pleated mouths exposed. The gulls and 100 plus Bald Eagles in the immediate area were taking advantage of the situation to grab some easy tidbits of food.
Earlier in the day we kayaked and/or explored the tideflats of Saginaw Bay. The flats were different from the tidepools we saw a couple days ago. There were definitely more varieties and quantities of crabs and small fish. Bristol took a plankton tow and we enjoyed a view under the stereoscope of a new set of aquatic life unobserved in our previous samples. The hikers also had the opportunity to see some new plant species. The different plants were present because the substrate rocks were limestone, mudstone and sandstone, in contrast to the igneous rock we have seen thus far on the trip. The Nooka Rose, Red-Osier Dogwood, and Columbine were especially prominent. The long branches of the Sitka alder actually reached out from the bank 50 to 60 feet onto the beach, and their roots can be in salt water at very high tides. Sea Plantain (Plantago maritima) and Seawort (Salicornia virginia) grew in abundance on the outcroppings that had enough peat type soil to support them. The Seawort is not only edible, but palatable as well (the staff almost ate all of the recap material). During the late afternoon we had the opportunity to listen to a talk about the flowers and plant communities of southeast Alaska, many of which were already recognizable from our excursions on shore these past few days.
