Cruising the San Juan Islands

Day 1 – Port Townsend

We picked up our guests just before lunch and headed for Port Townsend. There are four guests, Captain PJ and me the 1st Officer/Deck Hand/Naturalist.

Port Townsend is a beautiful town and they were holding the Rhododendron Festival while we were there. This town has many of its original buildings which have been restored and made into modern stores. We will stay overnight here, eat breakfast at the Otter Crossing Café and then make our way to Roche Harbor. Wildlife Highlights: White-sided Dolphin, Pigeon Guillemot, Common Loon, Surf Scoter, White-crowned Sparrow.

Day 2 – Roche Harbor

This seaside village was established in 1886 and is 80 miles north of Seattle on San Juan Island. The main industry was lime quarries and two of the kilns have been restored for viewing. Throughout the day we were treated to Carillon bells playing from the church steeple. Every evening at 8:30 pm. is a flag ceremony put on by Roche Harbor employees. The RH flag is taken down first followed by Washington State, Canada, Britain and the US Flag with the anthems for each being played over the intercom system, When all of the flags are down a cannon is shot to the 1812 overture followed by the honking from ships in the harbor. What a wonderful place to spend time. Wildlife Highlights: Rhinoceros Auklet, Brown Pelican, Marbled Murrelet, Pelagic Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Rufous Hummingbird, Black-tailed Deer and Chickaree.

Day 3 – Spieden Island / Friday Harbor

We navigated around Spieden Island this morning in search of the Ungulates. This island was a past big game hunting opportunity for the rich spending $5-6,000 a time to hunt there. Many animals were brought over from other parts of the world for the sport. Eventually the business went broke and the owner sold the island to other interests. It was assumed the animals would disappear but in reality they procreated and flourished. The island is now owned by the gentleman who owns Oakley sunglasses and he has a game managers to oversee the wildlife. The three species are Fallow deer (from Europe), Moufflan sheep (from Asia) and Sika Deer (from Japan).

We docked in Friday Harbor for the day to shop and explore. The Whale Museum is a must see; it is the country’s only museum devoted exclusively to the study of whales. Downtown is quaint with many local artisans and restaurants to satisfy everyone. We returned to Roche Harbor for the evening. Wildlife Highlights: Harbor Seal, Dall’s Porpoise, McGillivray’s Warbler and Sea Otter.

Day 4 – Rosario Resort and Spa

We arrived at Rosario just at sunset, it was beautiful to see. The harbor master directed us to a dock in the harbor and set us up with spa entry cards. The restaurant at the resort actually stayed open just for us when they saw us come in; great customer service! The mansion was built by Robert Moran in 1905 as a retreat from his stress-filled business life. At the age of 46 he was mentally and physically exhausted and his doctors gave him only a few years to live. He turned over the business to his brothers and retired to Orcas Island purchasing over 7,000 acres and built his retirement home named Rosario. He lived to the ripe old age of 86 and they say outlived his doctors. We got a taste of this healthy living while staying here for two nights. The food was delicious; the views incredible and quiet solitude abounded. Wildlife Highlights: Mink, Great Blue Heron.

Day 5 – Rosario Resort and Spa

Today the guests borrowed a car from the harbor master and set out to explore the island. They explored the village of Eastsound and went hiking in Moran State Park getting a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. They cooked a marvelous dinner of steaks, shrimp, pasta and other dishes and we ate on the back deck…it was magnificent. After dinner we all went to the spa to relax in the hot tub and pool before turning in for the night. I hope to someday return to this place to rejuvenate once again. Wildlife Highlights: Barn and Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Black-tailed Deer.

Day 6 – To Seattle via Deception Pass

We started the journey back to Seattle this morning at 3:30 am; it was fun trying to do black lines and fenders in the dark, a good experience for me. We avoided the Juan de Fuca straight due to worsening sea conditions and went through Deception Pass by Whidbey Island for protection. There is not a lot of wildlife to be found but fantastic scenery is everywhere. I will be returning home this evening with a First Officer notch in my belt as well as the deck hand/naturalist experience. Wildlife Highlights: Arctic Tern.

Gold Rush Northbound – Incredible!

Day 1 – Seattle
Went up to Elliott Bay and looked at Skyline before heading through the Ballard locks to Puget Sound. We had a beautiful sunset.

Day 2 – Friday Harbor
We docked for the San Juan Island tours. I went on the Griffin Bay kayak tour and it was wonderful. We saw intertidal zone creatures at low tide including sea anenomes, sun stars, star fish and crab. I ate Sea Lettuce directly off the rocks and it tasted exactly like Nori for sushi….yummy! Bald Eagles were everywhere as well as shore birds in the tidal flats.

Day 3 – Southern BC
Today was an all cruising day; narrow stretches were good for wildlife watching which included Black-tailed deer, Black bear and Gray wolves. This is also a good place to observe British Columbia commerce…logging and fishing operations.

Day 4 – Northern BC
Another day of cruising as we make our way north. The marine mammals are becoming more prominent… Orca, Dall’s Porpoise, White-sided Dolphins, Humpback whales, Steller’s Sea Lions and Harbor Seals.

Day 5 – Ketchikan
We have arrived in Alaska! A lovely town with great tours and outlying nature areas. Explored Creek Street (in the old days this was a red light district and has been converted into nice shops). We made a raid on Ketchi Kandies the best candy in SE Alaska; they sold many boxes of chocolate covered mint oreo cookies…wow!

Day 6 – Petersburg
Petersburg is a small Norwegian fishing village that the large cruise ships can’t get into and it is glorious. The guests went on various tours and I went on the jet boat to Le Conte Glacier. We passed and in some cases, touched icebergs that were as large as semi-trucks with the deep blue color. At one point we were completely encased in slushy icebergs and felt like a lime in a Margarita…this was exhilarating.

Day 7 – Tracy Arm / Frederick Sound
Today was prime whale watching and more Glaciers, with some incredible calving of the Sawyer Glacier. Black Bear on the shoreline, waterfalls and wonderful fjords.

Day 8 – Should have been Sitka but to Auke Bay – Generators out
Tonight just before dinner we had an electrical panel malfunction and both generators went down. No one was injured only a slight inconvenience. The guests took it all in stride and played cards by flash light and went to bed early. We were escorted to Auke Bay by the Coast Guard and became celebrities in the Juneau and Seattle newspapers.

Day 9 – Skagway
The guests boarded a Catamaran and went to Skagway while the ship was being repaired today. They enjoyed shopping, nature hikes and the Yukon Rail Road into Canada. This is Gold Rush country with a wonderful history of the human spirit. A good time was had by all!

Day 10 – Glacier Bay NP
The Spirit of Columbia is completely up and running and we went into Glacier Bay National Park for the day. The scenery can’t be described or captured in a photo…it is vast and magnificent. Wildlife abounds: about 40 species of birds, including the sought after Tufted Puffin, Steller’s Sea Lions, Humpback Whales, Coastal Brown Bear, Mountain Goats, Dall’s Porpoise, Jellyfish and Harbor Seals to name a few. The geology is fascinating with a combination of uplift, glacial movement and volcanic activity all in one place and at times side-by-side. This is a beautiful part of the world that I hope you will be able to see someday.

What's All that Noise?

It's that time of year again when we get woken up by what sounds like a jackhammer on our house. That is the sound of drumming by our most common woodpecker, the Northern Flicker. In spring, this bird needs to let the other Flickers know where his territory is, so he drums on objects at the perimeter of the area. If you take the time to listen for a few minutes you will hear the map and understand that this is his domain, including your house. These birds are partial to objects that produce a lot of noise, metal flashing, vent pipes and gutters. The louder the better, good for the bird bad for us. Not to worry, this behavior only lasts a few weeks and then he and his mate will be busy with a new family. Spring has sprung in Colorado...enjoy!

www.calliebowdish.com flicker photo.

Do not Disturb!

I’m sure all of you have used the “Do Not Disturb” sign on a door at a hotel a time or two but what do you do when on a ship? Well, the following explains, at least with a Cruise West ship, how that works. Enjoy!

Nautical Knock Knot

I would like to tell you about the No Knock Knot. Now the No Knock Knot is not only Nautical, but it’s a notice to the crew not to knock. So, if you’re nodding off, put your No Knock Knot on the knob and we won’t knock. But if you’re not nodding and you leave you’re No Knock Knot on the knob, are you going to get service…? NOT!!! because we’re not knocking. So if you’ve forgotten, and we haven’t knocked, just come up to a crew member and say, “I know I’m not to leave my No Knock Knot on the knob, but I was naughty, and no one knocked and now my nook is not neat.” Our knowledgeable crew will go and neaten your nook nicely. So only use your No Knock Knot when you don’t want anyone to come a knockin’!

Written by David Knotts – go figure – and Sue Rooney, Spirit of Discovery, 1996

Hello from Seattle!

Hello from Seattle!

Training is going really well here in Seattle. The first few days we attended SMART training (Shipboard Manager’s Administration and Refresher Training); encompassing Rules and Regulations, Logistics for our Departments Performance, Budgets, Leadership and Safety. The subjects were a bit dry but our trainers made it enjoyable.

The following week was ELU (Exploration Leader University). This was an opportunity to get to know each other, go over job specific tasks, brainstorm and practice before having guests on board. Again, some of the paperwork and administration tasks were pretty tough to get through but field trips including a trip to the Seattle Aquarium made it fun.

On Monday, the crew of the Endeavour comes in. We will begin vessel specific training for the next three weeks. This is a great time for the crew to get to know each other and bond…we will be like a small family for the Alaska season.

Last night a group of us went to the U2 3D Imax movie; if you get a chance and you like U2, go see it. Another exciting adventure was going to McCormick’s on Lake Union for happy hour, which begins at 10:00pm. This restaurant sits next to the Marina and we could watch the boats and see the lights of Capitol Hill; beautiful. I got a bowl of Mussels for $1.95; can’t do this in Colorado.

Enjoy! Dee

Back to Seattle

Dee headed back to Seattle this week for a month of training with Cruise West. "It was great to see old friends from last season and exciting to meet new ones. I love being back on the water and the ship life."
For the next four weeks she will be studying and testing for certifications in Crowd Control, Crisis Management, Small Craft Rescue, First Aid, CPR and Marine Safety before heading back to the Inside Passage of Alaska in May.

F is for Flap and You can Help

FLAP stands for Fatal Light Awareness Program. This program is drawing attention to hazards posed to birds by brightly lit buildings and other structures. This problem is particularly acute during migration when millions of birds move from nesting areas to overwintering sites.
Birds have been finely tuned by generations of migration to navigate by the moon and stars. The glow produced by brightly lit buildings and cities can disorient migrants. Artificial lights might attract birds into urban areas, where they can become exhausted by flitting about the lights or end up colliding with a building. Millions of birds die in collisions every year. As a result of educational campaigns by caring citizens such as yourself, more cities are adopting measures to reduce or eliminate lighting during peak migration periods.
In many cases, this is just a few weeks each spring and fall. It might result in considerable energy savings for the building owners.
The key, of course, is education. Visit the FLAP website for its easy-to-understand educational materials. Consider sharing these with building managers at local facilities. A letter to the newspaper editor might catch the attention of important landlords in your area.
No one wants to find dead birds on the sidewalk after a big night of migration. The simple act of dousing a light could be the most important action that you take for the birds this year.
Wildbird Magazine, March/April 2008

Don't miss the Lunar Eclipse Tonight

The Total Lunar Eclipse will occur tonight and can be visible from the Pacific, Americas, Europe, and Africa. The next total eclipse will not occur until December 21, 2010! We will see partial eclipses for the next few years but none will be as dramatic as tonight.

What is a Total Lunar Eclipse? Glad you asked; this occurs when the entire Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow and only when the moon is a Full Moon like tonight. These events are amazing to see due to the Moon's vibrant red color during the total phase.

The eclipse will begin at approximately 6:43 pm. MST and end at approximately 10:09 pm MST.

So, grab a lawn chair and a coat and get out to see this wonderful sight; Mother Nature does it again! Enjoy!

For more information visit the following sites:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/lunar.html

http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/LEprimer.html

Annual High Plains Snow Goose Festival is Coming!!!

The Annual High Plains Snow Goose & Birding Festival and Nature Arts and Crafts Fair will be held in Lamar, Colorado February 22rd-24th, 2008.

If you are looking for something fun to do this coming weekend head on down to Lamar for this wonderful sight. Lamar is home to migrating birds stopping in the fields and watering holes of SE Colorado. The species you might see include: Snow Geese, Canada Geese, Ross's Geese and Sandhill Cranes at times numbering in the tens of thousands. There will also be lectures, guided nature hikes and a craft fair.

Even if you aren't a birder there's something for everyone! Check it out!

Registration begins at 5 p.m., at the Lamar Welcome Center. Contact 719-336-4379 http://www.lamarchamber.com/ for reservations.

North to Alaska!!!

For the second season, Dee will be headed to the Inside Passage of Alaska as an Exploration Leader with Cruise West. She is the on-board naturalist and Cruise Director all rolled into one. "Most people who talk to me about Alaska think it is too cold, all ice and polar bears. In reality, the Inside Passage is a temperate rain forest and although cool, around 54F give or take a few degrees, it is a beautiful, lush place." Dee will be aboard the M/V Spirit of Endeavour. This ship is 217 feet in length and accommodates 102 guests maximum. The Endeavour will be taking guests one way from Ketchikan to Juneau or reverse for 9 days and 8 nights. The trip will include Misty Fjords National Monument, Petersberg, Frederick Sound and Tracy Arm, Sitka, Glacier Bay NP, Skagway and Haines. Wildlife that has been seen include: Bald Eagles, Brown Bears, Black Bears, Gray Wolves, Mountain Goats, Humpback Whales, Orca, Tufted and Horned Puffins...just to name a few. If you would like more information please contact GTG.

Great Backyard Bird Count this Weekend!!!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

11th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count
February 15 – 18, 2008
Count for Fun, Count for the Future!

This weekend people all around the nation will be counting birds, including Guides-To-Go. It's easy and fun and you can even do it while eating breakfast. You can count for 15 minutes on one day or 24 hours for 4 days, any observations will be helpful.

The GBBC is sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon, please read on for some exciting news.

What’s new this year?
Check out the GBBC website (http://www.birdcount.org/) for improved features, including:
Ability to submit YouTube bird videos. The best videos will be posted on the GBBC website.
Expanded sparrow identification page.
New bird call identification game for kids.
New FAQ section and narrated GBBC overview.

Win something cool!

When you send in your checklist this year, you will automatically be entered in a prize drawing to win items like binoculars, bird feeders, and a variety of great books! Check out http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/press/news-stories/prize-list-for-2008 for a listing of prizes.

Submit Photos to our Online Gallery and photo contestDuring the count, take digital photos of birds (and bird watchers!) and submit them to the GBBC website. All photos submitted will be entered in the photo contest, and some will be posted in an online gallery. Images will be accepted through March 1.

Your counting counts.

In 2007, GBBC participants made history, breaking records for the number of birds reported and number of checklists submitted. Participants sent in more than 80,000 checklists tallying over 11 million birds of 613 species. Last year, as a result of your counts, we discovered that many bird species had already started their spring migrations in February—earlier than in decades past. Your counts help us build a long-term record of where people are finding birds and how many birds there are. Although your bird counts need to take place from February 15-18, you can submit data as late as March 1, 2008. If you have any questions, please contact us at citizenscience@audubon.org or cornellbirds@cornell.edu.

Remember: the GBBC is fun, free, and helps birds!

If you would like assistance please contact guides-to-go@excite.com and we can help get you started.

Everything in nature has a story to tell...

Learn to listen with Guides-To-Go. We often get asked what it is that we do, so here is a brief explanation. Guides-To-Go or GTG is a business that develops and delivers nature programs and trainings to various entities at their sites. We work throughout the US and can travel Internationally if need be. Some examples are: School science projects, Bird programs, Volunteer Training, Continuing Education and even Birthday Parties to name a few. We are for anyone who wants to learn more about the natural world and to get out in it. If you would like more information send us an email, we would love to hear from you.

Denver Field Ornithologists Bird Hike

The Denver Field Ornithologists, lead by Dee, enjoyed a great morning of birding at South Platte Park. It was a clear, sun-filled morning with temperatures from 30-42F and just a slight breeze.
Following is the list of the birds that were seen: 35 species and 468 individuals. The highlights were 3 Bald Eagles (2 Adults and 1 Immature), 1 Greater-White Fronted Goose, 1 American Pipit and the Northern Mockingbird still at the suet feeder behind Carson Nature Center. Good Birding!! I want to Thank Bill Eden for the beautiful photo of the Mockingbird.

Bald Eagle 3 Red-winged Blackbird 80 European Starling 70
Canada Goose 62 House Finch 10 American Crow 5
Gadwall 6 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 1
Northern Flicker 3 Mallard 108 Green-winged Teal 14
Bufflehead 28 Blue Jay 1 Common Goldeneye 12
American Coot 5 Rock Pigeon 1 Hooded Merganser 5
American Pipit 1 Ring-necked Duck 1 Black-billed Magpie 11
Song Sparrow 1 Downy Woodpecker 4 Black-capped Chickadee 9
American Robin 8 Great Blue Heron 1 Pied-billed Grebe 1
Mourning Dove 4 Ring-billed Gull 2 Greater White-fronted Goose 1
Tree Sparrow 1 Common Merganser 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Belted Kingfisher 2 Northern Mockingbird 1

3 Clicks to Conserve Colorado Wildlands

Thanks to everyone who has cast their vote for Wildlands Restoration Volunteers--over 1400 so far! It's a close race, but we're slightly behind first place. It's so gratifying to watch dozens of votes coming in per minute some of the time. Many people said they forwarded to all their friends or their entire company or posted on their club website or posted it on their myspace page. Wow, what creativity!
Now, imagine 100,000 people or more learning about the five fine organizations in this contest! Remember the concept of six degrees of separation? Are you curious to see just how far this could go?
THE BASICS Patagonia is opening a store in Boulder, Colorado. They set up a contest where you can vote anonymously online for one of five organizations. The organization with the most votes by March 29 wins $5000. Voting requires three clicks and seconds of your time.
Vote at http://www.patagonia.com/boulder or monitor the status of the contest.
IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIESOf course, Wildlands Restoration Volunteers would love to win the $5000 prize and use it to restore public lands in Colorado. HOWEVER, the real potential of this contest is to tell 10,000, or 100,000 or maybe a million people about the exciting work of these five fantastic organizations. That's far more important than the prize!
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers: healing the land, building community—connecting people with nature as we restore and protect our beloved public lands
Eco•cyle: working to build zero waste communities
Thorne Ecological Institute: bringing nature to life for kids
Rock the Earth: connecting music with environmental conservation
Prairie Dog Coalition: protecting imperiled prairie dogs and restoring their ecosystems
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Forward this email (or a summary) to all your friends, family and co-workers.
Invite them to get caught up in the excitement of this contest and tell their friends.
Post this contest on lists, blogs, MySpace, FaceBook, your website, etc…
Maybe even make a funny video about it for YouTube.
The sky is the limit!
You know how the internet is. Things can explode in popularity if enough people get excited about it.
WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT WILDLANDS RESTORATION VOLUNTEERSWildlands Restoration Volunteers organizes over 30 volunteer projects per year in northern Colorado. We restore streams and wetlands, restore wildlife habitat, build or maintain trails, obliterate old roads, restore wildfire damage, restore low land prairie and high alpine tundra, remove invasive weeds, and more. Each year, our work improves and/or protects thousands of acres of wildlife habitat, prevents severe soil erosion from numerous causes, improves water quality in our Colorado streams, helps to prevent wildfires, enhances recreational trails, and so much more.
Since 1999, we have completed a diverse range of over 140 projects involving many thousands of volunteers, who have contributed over $1.7 Million in volunteer time toward the restoration and stewardship of Colorado public lands.
But honestly, the greatest impact of our work reaches beyond the thousands of hours of volunteer labor on the ground. WRV is all about people—building community and connecting people with nature in deeply satisfying ways. WRV provides skills, education, tools, and a vision of hope that catalyzes people to fall in love with places and realize that they can work together to restore and protect those places and make a real difference in the world.
To learn more about our volunteer opportunities, trainings, and see thousands of great photos of our volunteers in action, see our website at www.wlrv.org.
VOTE COUNTINGMany people have been asking us how the votes are counted, thinking someone could just vote over and over. Actually, the voting website remembers that you voted on your computer, so you'll only be counted once no matter how many times you click "vote." If the tally appears to go down, just refresh or re-open your browser and you'll see the correct tally.
THANK YOUto Patagonia for their community-minded generosity in setting up this fun contest and selecting WRV to participate.
Happy voting!
Ed SelfExecutive Director
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers
2515 East Sterling Circle, Suite 201
Boulder, CO 80301
303-543-1411
www.wlrv.org

Mockingbird seen in Littleton Colorado

A few lucky bird watchers have been seeing a Northern Mockingbird along the South Platte River in Littleton. It was reported that it had been spotted at South Platte Park which is located at Mineral and Santa Fe. If you need this bird for your Colorado List....go check it out!