Birds II

Birds II

In Mcartney Passage I saw the first Horned Puffin of the trip.

 We continue to see lots of Tufted Puffins close to shore.

 On the crossing to Kodiak we saw about 10 Black-footed Albatrosses and about 50 Northern Fulmars. The new bird was Fork-tailed Storm-petrels.

I am pretty sure I saw a Mottled Petrel but failed to get a picture so I will leave it off the list.

Close to shore near Kodiak we saw a large group of Sooty Shearwaters sitting on the water.

Kodiak Harbour was full of Oystercatchers and Surfbirds and Black Turnstones. Nasty picture attached.

Later across the bay, near Suki’s parent’s house we saw loads of TUPU. I suspect there were about a thousand in the area. As we hoisted anchor and headed to sea I ignored what I thought was a line of about 250 Surf Scoters. In fact they were all Tufted Puffins and I missed a great photo opportunity.

While we were there we also spotted what I thought were the first eiders of the trip. I noticed the white backs as they flew away and little else.

Heading further South on Kodiak Island we saw thousands of Sooty Shearwaters mostly sitting on the water. As we rounded the Southern tip we saw thousands more heading in long lines out to sea. Of course there are probably other species of Shearwater mixed up with them but as yet I haven’t been able to nail anything down.

Pelagic Bird Identification

On the high seas with the boat rolling and tossing about, I find it next to impossible to identify new species. For birds that I have become familiar with, it is not a problem. If I see anything that looks unfamiliar, I reach for the Canon with the long lens, I wedge myself somewhere and start shooting. Later from looking at the screen on the camera or later on the computer I can usually make a definitive identification.  If all fails I can consult with a savvy, pelagic birder, when I return in two and a half months.

Enthusiasm for pelagic birding seems to be inversely proportional to the height and nastiness of the seas.

Oh yeah, while I am apologizing for the poor birding effort, I may as well apologize for the poor pictures. I am torn between birding, photographing, navigating, sailing and keeping the boat shipshape. I fear I am not doing a good job of either.

Some Specs on the SV Lindy

Built in 1944, in England as a small supply vessel ( MFB Scottish Design )

Now  a gaff-rigged cutter/ ketch

Displacement                    130 tons

Length on Deck                 75 ft

Length Overall                   89 ft

Beam                                    20 ft

Draft                                        9 ft

Sails

Still working on the sail areas, but can say that the mainsail is 1200 sq ft

Engine

Cat 3409 500 HP runs at 90 HP

1750 gal Diesel

Water 1250 gallons

24 volt DC

120 volt AC

Anchor 380 lb Forfiord with 430 ft ¾ stud chain

                 80 lb CQR

Hydraulic Windlass

Kite Aerial Photos

Linda wants me to post these right away so here goes. By the way we are in Kodiak. Have no idea when I will be able to catch up on this blog.

Map / Our Trip So Far

So far we have knocked off about 410 nautical miles. The crossing from Icy Bay to Seward was about 30 hours.

Birds

The highlights so far are the Black-legged Kittiwake colony on Cenotaph Island, Lituya Bay and some Aleutian Terns seen offshore of Icy Bay.
Crossing from Icy Bay a third of the way to Kayak Island we saw a big group of pelagics including eight Black-footed Albatrosses and 18 Northern Fulmars.
Here are some photos.

2014-07-04

After a massive shopping trip to Costco we were finally ready to go.

Here is the crew. ( Ken, Suki, Linda, Bill, Boris )

We left Juneau in  pretty soggy weather. We pulled into Funter Bay at about 2200 hr.

2014-07-05

In the morning the weather had cleared and we practiced rigging the boat despite an appalling dearth of wind.

Later we headed down Icy Strait, Cross Sound and around Cape Spencer to our anchorage at Murphy Cove near Graves Harbour.

2014-07-06

The next day we headed out. Everyone agrees that we could have spent more time assessing the weather and preparing the boat a little better. At one point the seas were 15 feet and chaotic. That corresponded with our towed inflatable breaking loose. At the debriefing later the consensus was that I should not have hopped into the dinghy to reattach the rope. After the fact it was decided we should have just let it go rather than risk a crew member’s safety. But then I would not experienced a bath, a wild ride and a stretched arm socket.

After a corkscrewing wait outside Lituya Bay, we finally got into the calm bliss of Lituya Bay. We spent some time looking at the bird rookery at Cenotaph Island and then set the crab and shrimp pots. Later Linda and Suki and I motored to the Island to hide a geocache.

2014-07-07

The next day we caught the slack tide and headed out to sea.

 We arrived at Icy Bay at 0430 hr the next day.

2014-07-08

After that the long slog across to Kayak Island and to Seward on the Kenai Penninsula. We Left at 0930 hr Tuesday and arrived Wednesday night. A gale is predicted for Thursday. We will be happy to be parked at the dock in Seward while that plays out.