On The Trails: Auke Bay Harbor in February

Sea lions surface near the floats. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

By Mary F. Willson

The weather was dismal on the day I ventured out onto the floats in Auke Bay — rain with a cold wind. But I went there anyway, with a friend, just for something different from my usual haunts. The one advantage was that the crummy weather kept a lot of other folks away, so our critter-watching was not disturbed. There were rumors that lots of forage fish, maybe mostly juvenile herring, were present, so we expected a lot of activity. We had fun, watching some marine creatures "doing their things." 

Right away, we saw a little group of seals moving along close to a rocky shore. When their backs came above the water surface, I noticed that some of them appeared to have a broad blackish stripe down their backs—I’d not noticed that on other occasions. It’s not clear if that was a figment of my imagination or if it was real…could they have come through an oil slick that smoothed down the fur on their sides or can they ruffle up their back fur upon occasion or ??????

Lots of sea lions appeared — sometimes quiet loners, sometimes in big gangs of twenty or more. Puffing and snorting, the group members surfaced at different times as the group moved along. Then the whole gang would disappear, emerging some distance away after a few minutes. I’ve heard two opinions about what they are doing: they are just playing or they are foraging when they encounter a good patch of forage fish. We needed an underwater camera.

A marbled murrelet in winter plumage. (Photo by Bob Armstrong)

Two eagles perched atop tall posts, enduring the buffets of weather. There were the usual opportunistic gulls circling around, hoping for a chance to grab a bite. Small groups of crows congregated briefly, presumably in places that offered something tasty. A couple loons foraged beyond the breakwater and a little bunch of goldeneyes drifted by. Best of all were the marbled murrelets, all in their sporty winter plumage of dark brown/black and white. Most birds show their fancy colors in spring, when it’s time for courtship and pair formation. But murrelets vary that pattern. Oddly, they do their courting and pair formation in either plumage: sometimes in their conspicuous in winter feathering but also in their inconspicuous brown feathering that’s associated with the nesting season. That brown is useful when they are nesting—perhaps especially when nesting on the ground, so the adults are somewhat camouflaged near the nest. But I’d like to know more about how that unusual seasonal pattern came about.

All in all, a fine way to spend some time; nothing extraordinary for a couple of long-time Juneau residents, but a satisfactory change of scene. However, it required some hot drinks afterward!

• Mary F. Willson is a retired professor of ecology. "On The Trails" appears periodically in the Juneau Independent. For a complete archive of Mary Willson’s “On the Trails” essays, go to https://onthetrailsjuneau.wordpress.com.