June 24th, 2024 - Kachemak Bay

We were all up early this morning heading to Homer.  Andy and I went to the Homer Hospital for his labs - very nice and efficient.  Then we headed to the docks to meet up with Peg and Larry - Boat Trip today in Kachemak Bay.

"Kachemak Bay is a funnel-shaped fiord 40 miles long and 24 miles wide in the Cook Inlet region of southcentral Alaska. This beautiful collage of ocean, sandy and rocky beaches, spruce forests, rolling hills, and jagged mountains with blue glaciers supports an abundance and diversity of flora and fauna. Most of Kachemak Bay is undeveloped and its lands and water have extensive habitat protection. When Kachemak Bay was designated as a WHSRN site in 1995, the 7,260-acre site comprised of parcels on Homer Spit (Mud Bay and Mariner Park Lagoon, owned and managed by the City of Homer) and areas at the head of the bay (Fox River Flats Critical Habitat Area (CHA) and adjoining parts of Kachemak Bay CHA, owned by the State of Alaska and managed by Alaska Department of Fish and Game). In 2016 several areas were added to the WHSRN site: the Beluga Slough near the city of Homer, the entirety of Kachemak Bay CHA, and Sixty-Foot Rock, a small island owned by USFWS and an important wintering site for Rock Sandpiper and Surfbird.
Kachemak Bay’s 320 miles of shoreline and 30-foot tidal range create the substantial intertidal areas that attract some 36 species of shorebirds. The collection of worms, bivalves, crustaceans, and other organisms in the expansive intertidal mudflats provides rich feeding grounds for an extraordinary number of migrating shorebirds. The most numerous shorebird species is the Western Sandpiper; Dunlin and dowitchers are also prominent."

https://whsrn.org/whsrn_sites/kachemak-bay/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kachemak_Bay

Leaving the harbor, we spotted our first animals - just hanging out:

Mountains:

And Islands:

And Peggy fishing - yes, she did catch a halibut:

Net-fishing boats:

Homes in the middle of nowhere - reachable by boat or floatplane:

Gull Island:

"As many as 20,000 seabirds build nests in the craggy rock faces and cliffs of Gull Island, on the south side of Kachemak Bay about three miles from the Homer Spit. Most years, 8,000 to 10,000 black-legged kittiwakes dominate the rookery, building mud nests perched in clefts and on ledges. 5,000 to 8,000 common murres nest amid the kittiwakes. Other birds seen in smaller numbers include glaucous-winged gulls, pelagic cormorants, red-faced cormorants, puffins and pigeon guillemots. The effect stuns the senses—the air is saturated with the odor of fishy guano and vibrates with the cacophony of crying birds. The sky can fill when a thousand birds take wing at once. Watch for the fuzzy offspring peeking from the nests."

Oh My! The sound, the sites and yes, the smell - how intense!

All of sudden, screeching and liftoff - something set them off:

Puffin:

He was just cruising around the island:

There were MANY of these birds and as we watched they went floating away, in a double line - very interesting to see:

What a treat!

We continued our tour to Halibut Cove:

Check out those homes:

Halibut Cove is a little community within Kachemak Bay State Park.  It has one of the only floating Post Offices in the United States.  It is accessible by boat or floatplane.  Within the little community, there are boardwalks that access businesses and homes.

https://thesaltryrestaurant.com/halibut-cove

https://stillpointlodge.com/news/five-reasons-to-visit-halibut-cove

Another great treat to see:

Oyster Farms:

Heading back:

Peggy's Halibut!

Another great day - Thank you so so much Larry & Peg!