Heavy morning fog. The ship drops anchor about 10:30 AM. With breakfast over we hear sounds of Zodiacs being lowered into the water, adventure time once the fog lifts.
Tyuleniy (Russian for 'seal') Island was somewhere out there, a very small island, 700 meters in length.
Tyuleniy (Russian for 'seal') Island was somewhere out there, a very small island, 700 meters in length.
At 11:30 AM we land on this tiny island to view the wildlife that gathers here during the Summer, yes it was Summer despite a lot of snow and ice still around......400 Steller sea lions and thousands of northern fur seals are waiting for us.
Sea lions and fur seals.
Visitors coming..........a good scratch and
brush up........
....then time to snooze yet again.
Slaty-backed Kittiwakes by the thousands were nesting on the cliffs along with thousands more
Guillemots (resembling penguins but are a species of the Auk family), and Cormorants.
The small dilapidated, and now unused, research station was also
used in the hunting of northern fur seals by the native Ainu people, then the Japanese and Russians.
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Love these photos, Mary. All the life on that little island - birds, seals, etc. The weathered boards of the research station are quite pretty. It all looks very desolate, though. The flotsam and jetsam picture is very pretty with the different colored rocks.
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying your photos of the trip. It is quite interesting to see the stark contrast between the prosperity of our country (long live capitalism, LOL) and Russian.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know how you gave the direction to the three top kittiwakes Mary! A perfect photo. Those fur seals look SO relaxed :o)
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see the dilapidated buildings, they have their own beauty - but especially as they're no longer used for hunting.
Great images, the flotsam and jetsam mosaic is beautiful :o)
Thank you for sharing and brightening my day :o)
Lots of love
Rose H
xx
Wow... I'm speachless. I love every single photo. What an amazing trip you are on. I'm so glad I get to see these shots!!
ReplyDeleteWell Mar - now i know what you were beding down taking pics of all the time!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI must say you have seen many penguins, seals, wild life that many of us will only see in pictures. What a treasure these wonderful trips have been.
ReplyDelete