All About Wildlife

Yesterday, Wendy and I took to the seas – in 14 foot kayaks. It was overcast, drizzling and peaceful. As we coasted out of St. Paul’s Harbor, we saw several bald eagles poised on nearby trees, keeping their eyes on the fishing boats pulling in and out. Yes, our national bird is a scavenger. Paddling around Near Island, Woody Island and Long Island (almost 20 miles!), we saw scores of tufted puffins with their orange clown beaks, furry headed sea otters popping up randomly to check us out, the smooth grey backs of 2 humpback whales, a Stellar sea lion bull the size of a Kodiak bear, harlequin ducks, red-breasted mergansers, black oystercatchers with orangey-red pointy bills, harbor seals and their pups eyeing us warily, krill and starfish, Pelagic cormorants, boomerang-winged kites, Pigeon Guillemots, Marbled Murrelets……

Today, we had a gorgeous sunny day. We are beginning to see how this is a rarity on the island, with people celebrating it like the first day of summer every time. So we took advantage of the weather and rented a car to burn up the roads around the island. Kodiak is the second largest island in the United States behind the Big Island of Hawaii, but has very few roads, and the farthest point is about 42 miles outside of town. I think the photos speak for themselves!