Follow along as one of our Seabrook Island Birders members travels to Alaska to see birds not commonly seen on the East Coast, and so much more!
Eight years ago my husband and I went to Alaska on a 7 night cruise, roundtrip from Seattle. It was beautiful, but the time constraints didn’t allow us to see as much of this great state as we wanted. We decided to put it back on the travel list, with a goal of going further inland the next time we visited Alaska.
We like to cruise – you unpack one time and carry your hotel room with you. We like the choices – very active or very relaxing; live shows or the casino after dinner; casual restaurants or chef’s table; quiet, relaxing days or shore excursions at every port. And with so many cruising options now, you can travel on a budget or in a five-star suite, complete with a Baby Grand piano and your own butler. You can select a cruise line that focuses on fun, family vacations, or off-the-grid, adventure-seeking expeditions. We enjoy a combination of all the above.
This year we decided it was time to revisit Alaska and booked a cruise/tour combo for twelve days. On this trip we opted to sail out of Vancouver, BC, and gave ourselves an extra day to enjoy the city before we sailed. We came here a few years ago for a conference and fell in love with the area.
Day one was our travel day. Thanks to a number of airline delays our travel from SC took 16 hours. With the three-hour time-difference we were tired and hungry once we got to our hotel. Not a problem, they had late night room service so our immediate game plan was to order a bite to eat and get some rest. Let me just say this – we were hungry and it was a good cheeseburger. And it ought to be. For one cheeseburger, which we split, fries and a couple of Diet Cokes, the bill came to $100 CAD. That converts to approx. $75 USD. For a cheeseburger. You make interesting choices when it’s late, and you’re tired and hungry.
The sun rose early in Vancouver – 5:10am to be exact. Not wanting to miss anything I jumped up, looked out the window and saw dozens of large gulls circling over the harbor. These gulls were larger than our Laughing Gulls, and after a quick reference with my Sibley’s Guide and Merlin, I figured out I was looking at Glaucous Gulls. We can get them on Seabrook Island in winter but they’re not common. And Glaucous Gulls are definitely larger. Not as bold as our Laughing Gulls, I didn’t see any trying to steal food at the harbor side restaurants, but they were everywhere!
After breakfast we went for a long walk along the waterfront. Vancouver Harbor is a combination of high-rises, hotels and restaurants, with a great bike trail and walking area along the water’s edge. Remnants of the 2010 Olympics are everywhere. Canada Place, with its distinctive sails, is the heart of the tourist area and includes the Cruise Terminal. The Olympic cauldron still stands and is a popular selfie stop.
Our walk took us past busy Sea Plane docks, beautiful green spaces very popular with dog owners, restaurants, shops, and a very nice marina. Along the way I heard White-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Black-Capped Chickadees, and the occasional American Robin. Down by the the water, sitting on docks and the harbor wall, were Double-crested Cormorants. And a smaller Cormorant I didn’t recognize. Once again, Merlin and Sibley’s to the rescue. These were Pelagic Cormorants, 25” to 30” in height, with a habitat ranging from the Bering Sea south to northern Baja California.
And crows!! American Crows were everywhere, almost as plentiful as the Glaucous Gulls. These birds are so accustomed to people that they’ll hop right next to you to grab a crumb off the ground. We were definitely in their territory.
Since it’s nesting season I was also happy to see the methods they used to protect active nests. We saw signs around the busy convention center, cruise terminal and harbor front, alerting pedestrians to their presence.
As the day came to an end, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the marina and decided we’d had enough walking for one day. A total of 19,407 steps, or 7.65 miles, it was a good day. Gorgeous weather, new birds for my life list, and excellent seafood. What a great start to our vacation.
To be continued!
Submitted by Gina Sanders
SIB 