Elkhorn Slough Revisited

The final two nights of our summer travels were spent in Moss Landing, California, so that we could enjoy another wildlife cruise on the Elkhorn Slough.  As with our previous visit in 2011, there was a wealth of wildlife to be seen.

The tour boat skipper said that this boat had been sitting there for about one month.

Lots of sea otters hanging around the slough

Just a few sea lions.

Great Blue Heron

Arctic Terns in flight

Snowy Egret

Marbled Godwit

Long-billed Curlew

Harbor seal hauled out on the bank

A "squadron" of pelicans

A favorite tern hangout

More sea otters

Some otter "foreplay"

A "bad feather day"

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron in flight

Snowy Egret fishing

American Avocet

A large sea otter pup nursing

Size comparison; Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron

A lot of harbor seals resting on a mud bar

Pelican fly-by

Cormorant with lunch

Another harbor seal

A couple of rather rare birds

Pelagic Cormorant

Sea otter enjoying a large clam

Farmers' Market

On our way home, we stopped for a couple of days to visit Barbara's sister and family in the Portland, Oregon area.  While we were visiting, we took in a farmers' market in the Portland suburb of Gresham.  It was a warm and sunny day.  Below are several images I took of the products being sold.

Hyder, Alaska

Our route south took us down the Cassiar Highway.  Near the southern end of this highway, a spur road runs west to the towns of Stewart on the Canadian side of the border and the isolated US town of Hyder just across the border.

Just north of Hyder, a small tributary of the Salmon River, called Fish Creek, is world famous for summertime bear viewing.  Because of the rich salmon spawning area along Fish Creek, black bears, brown bears and occasionally other predators (like wolves) come to feed on this rich source of protein.  The US Forest Service manages a viewing platform built along Fish Creek.   Because we visited late in the season, the action had really quieted down.  We did see a number of black bears that were coming to feed on the salmon that had died after spawning.   The bears have grown used to the presence of people on the platform and did not pay much attention to us.

Fish Creek and the viewing platform.

Black bear sow

and her cub

Mom with dinner

"Does this fur coat make my butt look big?"

"Aww Mom, not salmon AGAIN!"

"Eat up! I can smell winter coming."

"I'll hide down here in the bushes."

Great Blue Heron in a lovely setting

"Mmmm, I like the skin!"

"This moss smells interesting."

"Mom walked up here so easily!"

"Now, what was she checking out?"

"I'm sure I heard a noise in there!"

"Where are the berries for dessert?"

"Maybe over here."

"Trying out my new forest camouflage."

"Dang! the live ones are hard to catch."

"Why are itches always hard to reach?"