Hopeful for a successful flight, I woke up early and took advantage of the exercise room at my hotel to get in a short workout. This may well be my last opportunity to run in shorts for a long while! After breakfast, I took another walk around to take in the sights. One doesn't need to go too far here to see some fantastic scenery!
A stand of fireweed
When I arrived at the PenAir counter, the situation seemed more promising today, with the placard marked "on-time" under the sign for the flight to St. Paul. Boarding the plane on-time was an even more positive signal that we'd get out of Anchorage today.The plane is a Saab 340 turbo-prop plane (my friend and colleague Mr. Muffley from Plum Point Middle School was quite interested in what I'd be flying out to St. Paul). The ride in the prop plane is quite loud, in fact the airline attendant passed out earplugs for everyone to use. Everything looked to be a go and off we went. The plane stopped for a quick refueling in Dillingham, AK and then it was on to St. Paul Island.
This is the PenAir plane I took to St. Paul Island
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A bank of clouds hid the Bering Sea from view, but you just KNEW that it was somewhere down there below. Clouds and fog also could make for a sketchy landing. We were instructed by the pilot that we were getting ready for our landing. As we descended, I periodically caught glimpses of the sea, but then we were back in the clouds, sea again, clouds again. The pilot was circling the island apparently waiting for the right conditions to make his final approach. This went on for some time before we finally got low enough to see the island appear suddenly through a small gap in the clouds. Suddenly we saw the runway and then we were down for a smooth landing. A couple of my fellow passengers gave fist pumps at the successful landing! As we taxied to the airport terminal, I learned from the passenger across the aisle that sometimes when they have to circle the island like that, the pilot will make the decision that it's unsafe to land, and then it's back to Anchorage for another day! Now that would be a bummer!
The view of the Bering Sea on the way to St. Paul Island
After unloading from the plane, I was greeted by Chad Nordstrom of the University of British Columbia, a fur seal researcher who was kind enough to make the airport run to pick me up, as my seabird team was out on the cliffs conducting their research. Chad and his team are doing some fascinating work with the Northern Fur Seal, about which I'll write in a future journal entry.
Mr. Harten on the ground on St. Paul Island
After settling in to my house on St. Paul, I went back to the fur seal researcher's quarters, which is a house that they share with the seabird team. I'll be eating meals and meeting with my team at this house, but sleeping in my own place a few houses down the road.While waiting for my team to return from the cliffs, I was asked if I wanted to ride out to the seal rookery with the seal researchers to check on some of the seals that they had outfitted with telemetry devices. Of course, I jumped at the chance. The weather was a bit foggy, but I managed to get one picture of a juvenile fur seal that was hanging out near the road.
A juvenile male Northern Fur Seal
When we returned to the house, I met part of the seabird telemetry crew as well as some other seabird researchers that are working on different aspects of bird biology. I'll provide more detailed introductions to these folks and their projects in future journal entries.It's great to finally be here on St. Paul Island and I can't wait to get to work!Bird species seen:Anchorage; Mew Gull, Herring Gull, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pine SiskinSt. Paul Island: Black-legged Kittiwake, Tufted Puffin, Thick-billed Murre, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch