Wings over Alaska

Welcome to my first blog post from Alaska. Having arrived in Seward just over a week ago and starting to get settled in at home and at work. Now my Blog Title, Raven Spirit talk is even more suitable for my writings. Their shiny black wings are ever present in and around town. From the local garbage dump to atop the light poles, my Sisters and brothers are here with me. Eagerly speaking their awesome Raven Talk. From loud kwonks to small sounds as though they just swallowed a gallon of sea salt. I adore them and I intend to write about them quite a bit.

My first week as been extremely gratifying, outside the slight cold I have, seeing wildlife daily and looking out at the tall snowy peaks has brought a smile across my face. I felt at home from the start when my shiny winged Sistah's were everywhere... notice I call them Sistah's as though they are all female... sometimes they just seem that way... busily chattering as though they are all gossiping about someone. In addition their larger winged Relatives of the predator variety are frequently in the area as well. Yes, My Sister Eagle is here too. I have seen them daily and I never tire of their beautiful white heads. Well, with the exception of the youngsters who have been around quite a bit lately.... They are still dark headed and their awkward movements and clumsy takeoffs are still a joy to observe. Bless all the winged spirits around me, they bring me so much inner freedom and joy.

One of the great benefits of my job is to be able to go out on the boat trips. Right now we are running spring Gray Whale Watch tours, and last Friday and Saturday I went out on them. Both days were great, although the snow fell the entire trip on Friday. We also got to experience a lot of motion on the ocean, yet the captain certainly had a knack for steering us in a positive direction and for the most part staying out of the high waves... We had many sightings including Mountain Goat all along the mountains cliffs that drop down to the ocean... that was exciting! I love them, and it is getting close to Kidding season, so soon there will be cute little Kid Goats hanging out with their Nanny Mom's. We also had Dall Porpoise groups both days, and they are so much fun. They are very social little Cetaceans, and adore bow riding the boat. Often referred to as Speed Demons... too fast to get any sort of photo.... as we got closer to the Gulf of Alaska, which if you steer a straight course, you will eventually end up in Antarctica.... we stopped at a cove to observe La Familia Stellar Sea Lion... snoozing away on their haul outs.... thousands of Seabirds, which included Black Legged Kittiwakes who are Gull like birds... Pigeon Guillemots, Thick Billed Murres who are probably the closet bird to a Penguin that we have...plenty of gulls, mostly Glaucous winged and of course resident Bald Eagles. Two great trips in a row, and believe me I am excited for more.

Well I think that is pretty good for my first entry. I am going to attempt to keep this blog up... keep your fingers crossed and look forward to more.