Along with our longer forest hike and a photography walk this morning, we enjoyed beach explorations and kayaking in the bay. There were clams shooting streams of water, crabs walking around the sand, barnacles clinging to small rocks, and a pair of common loons and a sea otter floating about in the water. After lunch, we explored around the Keku Islands, looked for wildlife, and admired the scenery from expedition landing crafts. It rained much of the day, which made for a very authentic temperate rainforest experience and a great test of our gear!
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 14 Aug 2022
Kuiu Island, Alaska, 8/14/2022, National Geographic Sea Bird
- Aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird
- Alaska
Bryan Holliday, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Bryan comes from Illinois, where he was visited by an American Robin at the age of four. This remarkable encounter began his lifelong interest in birds, which led him to study at the University of Illinois, where he earned his B.S. in Ecology and as...
Read MoreShare Report
Alaska Escape: LeConte Bay, Wrangell and Misty Fjords
VIEW ITINERARYRelated Reports
5/29/2025
Read
National Geographic Sea Bird
Endicott Arm
Dawes Glacier, located at the head of Endicott Arm in Southeast Alaska, is an active tidewater glacier in the remote Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness Area. Reaching the glacier requires a 30-mile journey through a narrow fjord lined with sheer rock walls rising over 3,000 feet. These cliffs are veined with waterfalls and often blanketed in mist. Throughout the fjord, remnants of the glacier float in the form of icebergs. The glacier feeds cold, silty meltwater into the fjord, giving the water a distinctive milky-green hue and supporting a rich marine food web. Harbor seals were hauled out on ice floes near the glacier. Gulls and Arctic terns were actively feeding, likely drawn by the small fish and plankton concentrated by the glacial outflow. The glacier calved several times, hurling large chunks of ice across the water’s surface, sending the birds fleeing. The sound of the ice hitting the water echoed off the steep rock walls that rise thousands of feet on either side.
5/27/2025
Read
National Geographic Sea Bird
Dawes Glacier in Endicott Arm
We could not have asked for a better way to end the expedition. Our last day was amazing! Visiting Dawes Glacier in Endicott Arm was a highlight with its crystal-blue ice and resting harbor seals floating by on the ice. In the evening, we even got to see a couple of humpback whales off the bow of the ship. We ended the day by watching images of the beautiful moments created on our expedition during the famed guest photo slideshow.