23 March 2008 Easter Sunday

Wow! Lobsters in the Bering Sea! Who would have known that we would come across a relative to the Maine Lobster on the Healy! And Angus cattle! Actually, it is Easter Sunday, so the Coast Guard opened up the rations and found some steak and lobster for dinner. A great meal was had by all of the science and US Coast Guard crew. This morning started out with a terrific sunrise, actually the sunrise in past couple of days has been nothing short of spectacular. Today was special. There were two sundogs equidistant from the sun. It was near zero degrees Fahrenheit with wind speeds approaching 35 knots. However, there were enough ice crystals in the air to create the sundogs.

We were within 20 miles of St Lawrence Island for most of the day. We were conducting water samples at stations going east to west. Starting from the SE Cape to almost the SW Cape, we were able to place sonobouys in the water to try and locate bowhead whales as well. 

By early evening, we began to proceed south. We found another hotspot with walrus on ice haul outs; groups of up to 10-20 animals were spotted along the way. They were within several hundred meters of the ship. Most of them would dive into the water as we approached; however, a few were photogenic enough and stayed for a few pictures and video.

Tonight finished just as spectacularly as it began. The BBC film crew went out for some helicopter filming. They had an hour and a half of fuel, which was enough to find the Spectacled Eiders in the polynya south of St Lawrence Island. They were able to film 7 or 8 flocks of Spectacled Eiders with the largest one reaching 250,000 birds. Look for it in the Frozen Planet series due in the next couple of years! 

After their return to the ship, we proceeded to go within one mile of the sea ducks. Incredible! First seen at the horizon, the birds filled the sky flying from one lead to the next. As we approached to them within a mile or two, it seemed as if Spectacled Eiders were everywhere. It was a sight to behold and one everyone on board the Healy will never forget.