I have had similar experiences on Caribbean cruises. I noticed that flying fish
would launch themselves out if the ships wake. Then I noticed that masked and
brown boobies would soar on the ship's pressure wave about 6 feet off of the
bow of the ship. This would let them see down both sides of the ship. When they
saw a fish they would turn completely upside down in a dive and chase the fish.
So fun to watch. I have also seen tropic birds from the ship. If you go on a
cruise be sure to take your optics.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 29, 2015, at 11:35 PM, Michael Todd <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Friends,
I wholeheartedly second what Kevin has said. I had hoped to do one of the CA
to AK cruises this year, but didn't work out. I did a repositioning cruise
from San Diego to Vancouver last spring, and it was fantastic. This was on a
mid-size Holland America ship, and we didn't get a room with a balcony,
instead we just spent the whole day (every day) out on deck. Kevin's version
would be more comfortable I'm sure, as it was cool the whole trip.
These cruises are a great way to get far enough out to have a good chance at
those birds that really require a grueling run to try and get to on one day
trips off the west coast, in particular the Pterodroma trifecta of
Cook's/Murphy'/Hawaiian. I've done this both ways, and both have their
merits, but leisurely watching the petrels thru your scope is a nice option
to bouncing around on a smaller boat. Photo ops/views were at least as good
as I got in the traditional method.
Cruise ship birding is definitely something I see happening again in my
future!
Good Birding!!
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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On Monday, June 29, 2015 9:49 PM, kbreault <kbreault@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Trip Report: Birding by Cruise to Alaska
As a graduation present for my daughter and one of her friends, I decided
that a non-birding part of our recent Northwest/Alaska trip would be a cruise
from Vancouver, BC to Alaska. Of course, in birding preparation is the
critical element and I tried to do everything possible to increase birding
opportunities on the ship, even if it turned out that the birding was not
good. So I got a balcony cabin on the port (left, facing forward), which is
the ocean side on trips north to AK. I also made sure my cabin was as close
to the bow as possible, and that it was not too high up. Having a scope is
also very useful. The stable platform of a large ship easily allows scopes
(anything more than about 25-30x will generally not be useful depending on
wave movement). But despite the preparation I was not optimistic. My
understanding was that birding would be poor (I had heard that you can’t see
a thing on cruise ships, birds don’t get close to large ships, that cruise
ships don’t go in areas that are productive of birds, etc.), and that was
certainly okay with me as this was the non-birding part of the larger trip.
My goal was simply to pick up a handful of state/province birds and leave the
serious birding to when we landed in Alaska. And I could not have been more
wrong!
At the beginning of the voyage I was not happy with the large size of the
ship (a “midsize” vessel among cruise ships), but it turned out that smaller
ships (“expedition” ships) take an even more inner “Inside Passage” route
that begins near Klemtu and continues to Porcher Island in British Columbia.
That means less pelagic birding than if you sail the Queen Charlotte Sound
(Cape Scott to Cape St. James) as did my ship. So to begin, the birding was
fairly slow going in BC waters and in the Inside Passage in AK (in AK the
Inside Passage goes from Fox Point north to Skagway and then west to Glacier
Bay and Cape Spencer), but once in Queen Charlotte Sound and Hecate Strait
the birding was pretty productive with lots of the usual stuff including many
Sooty Shearwaters. (The very common Sooty was my first pelagic bird for the
trip but it was first seen being harassed by gulls from my hotel room in
Vancouver!) Much more productive was the sailing after Glacier Bay, and by
far the best birding was after Yakutat Bay (Hubbard Glacier) in the Gulf of
Alaska. The captain had warned me that seas in the Gulf were likely to be
7’-9’ but it turned out the seas were rarely above 2’. And since ice and fog
kept us out of much of Yakutat Bay (and so we were not able to see Hubbard
Glacier), the captain slowed the ship a bit for the trip in the Gulf. Great
conditions for birding--if birds were present.
And the birding was great! All told, many species, many hundreds of
individuals, including albatrosses, Fulmars, petrels, storm-petrels, loons,
cormorants, ducks, gulls, terns, jaegers, alcids (including the two puffins
my wife and daughter wanted to see), and an unusual assortment of land birds
that shared some of the ride—notably a Peregrine Falcon that landed on the
balcony directly above mine, a resting Gray-cheeked Thrush, and a very
anxious and “cheewing” (calling) Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch that we may have
picked up on the Inside Passage. The birds, including the albatrosses, were
often very close to the ship (as little as 15-20 meters—although many alcids
and ducks were even closer and may have been quite surprised by the leviathan
in their midst). Many of the birds also gave great views as they seemed to
want to fly along with the ship. One, a Short-tailed Shearwater, was no more
than ten feet from my balcony rail for an extended amount of time. The only
thing I could compare it to was the behavior of some gulls, or seeing pelagic
birds at the American Museum of Natural History in New York when I was
young—a museum view of a very alive pelagic! Now, I have not birded off
Monterey or similar places in CA, so I don’t know how that would compare but
it might be difficult to top this trip. And note that in the past on pelagic
trips I have often been wet, too cold or too hot, and sometimes sick from
motion sickness. None of that on this trip. And when I did get cold I could
just close my sliding balcony door and watch from the comfort of my cabin.
Another important upside was that unlike the typical pelagic trip where you
may have 6-8 hours of good birding on a day trip, I estimate that I birded
for about 45-50 hours, and I could have done more. Note that at this time of
year the Gulf of Alaska has 20 or so hours of daylight. In addition, rather
than rushing around for my next birding destination, or calculating the
amount of time I had left at my current location versus the time I could
spend at the next location versus the likelihood of picking up the remaining
birds I still needed (much of this, I admit, is the insanity of Total
Ticking), I could comfortably rest on the ship knowing that an ever changing
set of birds were easily available. All I had to do was look out. In fact, as
I write this I realize that this was the only Total Ticking trip in which I
felt I could relax. (Of course, my wife calls my Total Ticking trips
“vacations,” but typically I work much harder on them than I do on my regular
job!) But the feeling on this trip was disconcerting at first. I found myself
thinking: “How can I not be looking at the water?” It was similar to the kind
of feeling you have when as a novice birder you are disappointed you don’t
have the opportunity to spend time on every bird that vocalizes or flies by.
Finally, one important downside to birding on a cruise ship is that you are
less likely to hear birds at a distance—the ship does not stop for wildlife.
And while you will get more views of the upper parts of birds, in general
that will not significantly increase your ability to identify them. For that,
preparation again is the important thing. Or rather, that and having numerous
chances to view the birds as was possible on this trip.
Of course, cruising is not for everyone. Cruises can be very expensive
especially if you want the kind of accommodations that are best suited for
birding. It is true that you can cruise with the Queen Mary or most ships
without spending an arm and a leg if you can accept the lowest level of
accommodation, but at least for me seeing the water from your cabin is
important (important for birding, but important too for the entire
experience). Many cruise ships in the U.S. also have a kind of Las Vegas
sensibility that can be off-putting for some. The casino (thankfully, the
only place on the ship where you were allowed to smoke), the auctions
involving the worst art you are ever likely to see, the overpriced and
tackiest jewelry, and the ubiquitous food were rather unusual for us.
However, the quality of food was surprisingly good with fine vegetarian and
Indian fare among the choices. (By far the largest minority group on the ship
was South Asians.) There were also several very good specialty and upscale
restaurants on the ship. Perhaps the most curious food on this Alaskan trip
was that all the salmon came from the Atlantic Ocean. The non-birders with us
loved the hot tubs, the very close views of the (2) glaciers in Glacier Bay,
the nature lectures by the park rangers at Glacier Bay National Park
(somewhat on the sentimental side I thought), and the excursions—especially
whale watching, kayaking, and helicopter trips to a glacier. And the birding
wasn’t that bad on some of these excursions. On the trip to see Humpback
Whales I had 23 species of water birds (and three breaching whales). We also
saw other marine mammals on the trip: Steller Seal Lions, Harbor Seals,
Killer Whales, Dall Porpoises, Pacific White-Dolphins, and Sea Otters.
So, I did not think I would ever say this but I am now convinced: at some
times and on some routes, a trip on a cruise ship might be a great way to
bird. Trips out of south Florida and San Diego or Los Angeles might be worth
exploring. I have heard there is one with an excursion at Catalina Island. I
need that jay! Given the sheer number of birds in the Gulf of Alaska, this
might be a good trip for beginners to intermediate level birders, as they
would likely leave the ship with a significantly greater appreciation for and
understanding of pelagic birds. Of course, having a mentor with a beginner is
the best bet. For the competitive birder, Total Tickers and the like, it is
not clear to me that this cruise is a necessary part of the itinerary.
Indeed, only one bird, Mottled Petrel, on my checklist of the area came close
to indicating that northern Bay of Alaska should be a target destination, and
the bird can be seen in the outer Aleutians.
One last thought. My professional interest is in epidemiology and the last
thing you want is to spend all that money only to get sick on a cruise ship.
Some basic rules are worth repeating. Don’t leave home without enough of your
regular medications for the trip. Don’t get on board if you are sick, think
you are getting sick or have a chronic illness that may cause you to get sick
on the ship. Medical help will be limited and you may be many hours away from
the help you need. Use wipes that contain hydrogen peroxide to clean your
room thoroughly at the beginning of the trip and when needed or if illness
breaks out on board. Use hand sanitizers and wash your hands often every day.
Use sunscreen liberally. Bring antihistamine medication (e.g., Zyrtec) even
if you do not have known allergies. Bring medicine for motion sickness that
you have tried before you sail. The expression is: view the ship like a city.
My ship had 3,000 people on it including about a third who were ship
employees, so be aware of your surroundings and be appropriately careful. And
of course, if you drink to excess you may find yourself in it (hoping that
another birder will see you bobbing along with the alcids).
With regard to my non-birding but duly graduated and gainfully employed (yes,
yes, yes!) daughter, we left her and her friend shortly after the cruise and
set out for a more usual birding trip in Alaska. Thus, I thought TN birders
might be interested in this somewhat unusual way of getting there. Let me
know if you have any questions. I also put together a checklist of birds of
northern Gulf of Alaska in May if anyone is interested. As always, good
birding and good totaling!
Kevin Breault
Brentwood, TN
