Mine! Mine! Mine! This singular word spoken in rapid succession by the seagulls in the Finding Nemo series of Pixar movies rings true to life in this image of a floating island of seagulls forming due to a feeding frenzy in the icy blue waters of Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. It is a scene that The Wild Images Team has observed and photographed on several occasions. To capture such a photo at such a low profile to the water and in such a state of action requires us to have the mobility and maneuverability that can only be provided by exploring Kenai Fjords in ocean kayaks. Kenai Fjords National Park is a section of the northern Pacific Ocean coastline and surrounding land in Alaska that maintains the Harding Icefield and the Kenai Mountains. The snowy mountains rise straight out of the ocean up to soaring heights among the clouds, as depicted in this beautiful image and also in this gorgeous shoreline photo, both of which were captured by The Wild images Team and are available for sale in our store. The icefield sends numerous outflowing glaciers carving through the coastal mountains, many of which still have their snouts directly contacting the ocean. The glaciers calve continuously into the ocean water during the short warm summer season, so that the water through the fjords is constantly filled with icebergs, such as captured in this stunning reflection photo, and therefore is a very suitable habitable for seals, such as in this very icy natural scene, in this gorgeous composed shot, or in this beautifully dynamic image, and is also a habitat for Dall’s Porpoises, all photographed by The Wild Images Team and found for sale in our store. The glaciers carve canyon rock down into microscopic particles known as glacial till or rock flour, which is deposited into the ocean through calving around the glacier fjords, imparting a milky blue color to the water. The minerals carried into the ocean ecosystem by the rock flour create a prime location for the proliferation of smaller ocean living organisms such as phytoplankton, which in turn bring in other species higher in the food chain, which in turn bring in other species yet even higher in the food chain. So it is very common to find many different types of sea birds that are adapted to a cooler northern climate, such as bald eagles, peregrine falcons, horned puffins, tufted puffins, common murres, thick-billed murres, marbled murrelets, and of course seagulls. These birds feed primarily on ocean life such as small fish, which are found in large groups known as schools that are almost always on the move. In times when the schools move closer to the surface, birds will suddenly swoop into the region, creating a chaotic scene of diving, splashing, flapping, and vocalizing. This particular day seemed very conducive for this behavior, as we encountered a dozen or more scenes just like this above and captured hundreds of images detailing their behavior. As a matter of fact, close inspection of the above photo will show another distant feeding frenzy occurring on the right center, appearing as a flat island of white but actually comprised of hundreds of seagulls, similar to the one shown here in the foreground. For this shot, we silently glided closer in our kayaks, and waited for the right moments to catch some of the birds in action above, as others float together in a large group.One thing that is very apparent while kayaking through glacial fjords is the awesome scale of everything. While the shoreline in the background appears nearby, it is actually an entire mountain that is miles away. The entire landscape is truly awe-inspiring, and the variety of wildlife are absolutely fascinating to watch in such a pristine environment. The Wild Images Team has captured many other images while in Alaska including the terminal moraines of a glacier winding down from the Chugach Mountains, the many splendid colors of the Sheep Mountain chromatic peaks in the Talkeetna Range, as a seal watches over the thick floating ice in Kenai Fjords National Park, as very fast moving seals cut tracks through the ice, as an entertaining seal strikes a pose on Northwestern Lagoon ice, the many miles of Northwestern Glacier reflecting over the turquoise waters, the awe inspiring rumble when a glacier calves of the cliffs in Kenai Fjords National Park, the moment when clouds crown a peak in Kenai Fjords National Park, the long summer days when fireweed enjoys the land of the midnight sun, and as a very playful Dall’s porpoise breaches the ocean surface in Aialik Bay, each of which are available for sale in our store. Blog posts from Alaska document the moment we realized that no bananas on a boat is a very serious rule, as our kayak carrying water taxi Michael A launches from Miller’s Landing, the chaotic scene during a feeding frenzy floating island of seagulls, the majestic bald eagle scanning the coastline from a tree, the expansive view of a colorfully banded rock island reflection, the chaotic jumble of very noticeable blue ice of Northwest Glacier, the reflective view over briefly calm waters of the far northern Pacific Ocean under the Harding Icefield, when The Wild Images Team was photographed at the mouth of a glacier draining tunnel, the intimidating view from the snout of a very large and very steep glacier, and when our Coordinator Christina Orban keeps tradition by kissing the snout of this glacier. The Wild Images Team has also captured many photos during our journey up to Alaska through western and northern Canada including colorful canoes standing at the edge of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, a moment of isolation as a canoe crosses Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, the scene when a grizzly mother is grazing with two cubs, a practically newborn grizzly cub is shorter than the grass, near the Rancheria River where a massive blonde grizzly steps out of the brush, where the remote Liard River wanders through woods and mountains, an action shot when two bison calves are learning to spar, and another action shot as a large bull moose runs through the woods, each of which are available for sale in our store. Blog posts from our journey through Canada document the dark background storm clouds while the grain silos shine in the sunlight of Saskatchewan, the sheer terrain of Cascade Mountain towering over the Bow River valley, the velvet covered antlers of an elk as it passes by in Jasper National Park, the welcome sign declaring you are now entering the world famous Alaska Highway, the very iconic mile 0 signpost found at the start of the Alaska Highway, the desolate road of the Alaska Highway drops down into clouds of the Yukon Territory, the very remote road of the Alaska Highway rounds a mountain within clouds of the Yukon Territory, as the Alaska Highway heads straight towards a giant peak along Kluane Lake, the tall snow-capped peaks along the Alaska Highway west of Whitehorse, the shore lining patterned designs of mudflats from the missing A’ay Chu, as The Wild Images Team Photographer Jeremy Robinson hides in the Signpost Forest, and as The Wild Images Team Coordinator Christina hides in the Signpost Forest.
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