Bubble Net Feeding Humpbacks

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Kenai Fjords, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Humpback whales bubble net feeding, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

Humpback whales bubble net feeding, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.

I’m back from my Kenai Fjords National Park photo tour.  The bad news, we had pretty bad weather – well, really bad – it rained the whole time and clouds and fog obstructed what is normally an amazing view.  Cold and wet seems to be the theme for this summer in Alaska.  I have dreaded a trip like this and knew along the coast it was just a matter of time.

But, fortunately we still had a great trip!  We saw numerous humpback whales including one that repeatedly breached.  The highlight was seeing this group of humpback whales bubble net feed, more on that later.  We also saw orcas, sea otters, sea lions, Dall’s porpoise swimming with the boat and great glacier activity.  We had some of the most cooperative puffin I have seen out there and were able to get close to them perching and flying.  And fortunately my group had a wonderful attitude about the weather which is really the key to a successful trip in Alaska.  The right attitude is the key to a lot of things I think.

So what is bubble net feeding?  It is an amazing behavior in which the whales dive deep under an area with small fish.  In a cooperative dance, the swim their way to the surface in a circle while blowing out a string of bubbles.  As these bubbles rise to the surface, it confuses the fish who swim to the center of the circle of bubbles.  At this point the whales rise up from the surface in the middle of the circle with mouths wide open filling them with fish!  In many of my photos you can see numerous fish jumping at of the whales gaping mouths as gulls dive in for a free meal.  In this photo you can’t see any fish – but it also didn’t have any bright, white distracting gulls so I thought I would share it first.

I have seen this behavior in Southeast Alaska.  It was believed this was the only place it took place, but in recent years this group has been seen feeding this way around here.  Last year I think they were only in the area for a couple of weeks.  This year they have been around off and on much longer.  Some people have speculated that these whales may be transplants from Southeast, I don’t know if anyone really knows.

Chugach Camping

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel 5 Comments

Camping in the Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

Camping in the Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

In the morning I head out on my three day photo tour into Kenai Fjords National Park.  I’m really excited – some bubble feeding humpbacks moved back into the bay, and I have heard from numerous people over the last couple of days who say they have been putting on some show!  Hopefully Tuesday I will have something to share from it.

I have a couple of overnight backpacking trips planned this summer into the nearby mountains.  Unfortunately a very snowy winter,  and cold, wet summer has left these locations running very late for snow melt and wildflowers.  Hopefully they will be ready next week and the weather will cooperate.

In the mean time, here is one from a photo shoot earlier this week.

Sled Dog Ride

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Chugach, Photos, Travel Leave a Comment

Riding on a dog sled, Punch Bowl Glacier, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

Riding on a dog sled, Punch Bowl Glacier, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.

Dog sledding in the summer – crazy!  This was earlier this month near Girdwood.  I think you can see another team off in the distance.

Chocloate Lilies

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Lake Clark, Photos, Travel 5 Comments

Chocolate lilies, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

Chocolate lilies, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

I was amazed at the thick fields of Chocolate Lilies I found during my recent bear photo tour – I have never seen anything close to it!

Now I must admit, the rest of the group did not share my enthusiasm for this wildflower – especially in light of the other bountiful subject matter, namely wonderful brown bears!  So I received a fair amount of well deserved ribbing.  🙂  But I did manage to break away for a couple of minutes to grab a few images of these interesting wildflowers.

Brown Bears Mating

Ron NiebruggeAlaska, Lake Clark, Photos, Travel 6 Comments

Brown bears mating, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

Brown bears mating, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

We were able to see some unique behaviors during my bear trip a few weeks ago.  I have seen mating behavior in the past in Denali from over a mile away!

These two were interrupted by a much larger, scarred up boar.  There were some intense moments as the two males interacted – we were really thinking we were going to see the creation of new scars as these two battled, I didn’t hold a lot of hope for this pretty boy we nick named Casanova.  But, once things settled down, the big boar finally left and these two resumed their cub making activities.