Rock Sandpiper

This was taken on Attu Island, the westernmost island in the Aleutians. The bird was very cooperative. It stood still while I took off my backpack, changed camera lenses, mounted my camera on a monopod, aimed, and focused. Then I moved and took another photo. This bird must have been very close to its nest.

Steller's Sea Eagle

The most spectacular bird we saw on the Bering Sea trip was Steller's Sea Eagle. This is an enormous bird with a huge yellow-orange beak. I would guess that it weighs about twice as much as a bald eagle although the wing span is not much larger.

This photo is not as sharp as I would like by a long shot. Photographing a bird in flight is difficult. Photographing a bird from a small rubber boat that is pitching and rocking because the excited passengers are moving around is even more challenging. I like the overall composition though.

We are back

We are back. Our trip started at Anchorage, Alaska. We flew to Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula, and embarked on a small cruise ship. (There were less than 100 passengers.) After going ashore at several sites on the Kamchatka Peninsula, we visited the westernmost Aleutian Islands, crossed the Bering Sea stopping at the Pribiloffs, and then disembarked at Nome, Alaska.

The photo, show our ship at Attu Island - the most westerly part of the United States. There is a small Coast Guard station on Attu now, manned by one or two dozen personnel. During WWII Attu was attacked and captured by the Japanese. Then it was retaken by the US at great cost in casualties. There are bits and pieces of military junk around, but it is mostly a very wild and deserted place.

On this trip we saw whales (including a blue whale) , seals, otters, foxes, bears, and birds... tens of thousands of birds. The birder group on the trip saw 140 different species of birds of which I saw 110. (I am still a beginning birder.)

Traveling on a small cruise ship is like attending a small college. By the time you are through, you know most of the passengers and all the staff on the ship.