#cibw

[gmessy30]

7 December, 2022 As the tide turned, three white belugas showed up below Willow St. They were followed by two grey belugas. They went upstream who knows where. Once they had all passed, another white gallumphed by. It is not unheard of for the whales to show up in the river at any time, though it is unusual for December, especially in numbers. I don't know why they've shown up. It could be that there are orcas in their normal winter hunting grounds. It could be that their winter food source disappeared (over a billion crabs went missing near here). Or it could just be nobody has noticed them before. The days are short, with less than two tidal cycles per day, and for them to coincide is rare. There is also ice in the river, and many days for or snow. But I don't know. #cibw20221207 #cibw #delphinapterusleucas #beluga #belugawhale #kenai #kenairiver #kenairiverwhales #alaska #alaskawildlife #alaskaphotography #alaskawildlifephotography (at Kenai River) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl65KZXSrdd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gmessy30]

Visitor About twenty minutes before the tide turned, a beluga other than Saddle came up the river. Didn't see Saddle today. #cibw20221129 #cibw #delphinapterusleucas #beluga #belugawhale #kenai #kenairiver #kenairiverwhales #alaska #alaskawildlife #alaskaphotography #alaskawildlifephotography (at Kenai River) https://www.instagram.com/p/Clk4mmSO8sC/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gmessy30]

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 Saddle! Sitting on the bluff Sunday morning I noticed some unusual ripples down by the cannery. I glassed it but saw nothing. A few hours later, as the tide was going out, I spotted... something. It had fins, whatever it was. The belugas left early, in mid-October. I readied the camera. There! A whale! I pressed and held the shutter, but I only had it set to single. I pressed the record button. Glass in the way, click to manual focus, adjust. There, got it! It was leaving now. I stepped out into the -10⁰C (14⁰F) weather and took some rapid bursts as it left. The tide would turn in about two hours. Upon returning, I was met by another photog. We waited, and at the proscribed time, along came a lone (was she?) beluga. It was our old familiar, Saddle! I got one burst. I was resolved Monday to do better. I arrived after the tide had turned, but, given yesterday's timing, before Saddle was due. She was early. Still, I stepped into the -13.3⁰C (8⁰F) air, raised the preset camera, pressed the shutter, and was greeted by a message saying the memory card was full!!! It wasn't, but possibly faulty nonetheless, so, after swapping it, I got in one burst, which are the first photos. Belugas run at about 35.8⁰C (96.44⁰F), and tend to maintain a 2⁰C skin-water temperature difference. That is her breath trailing behind her. Perhaps, at her advanced age, she was seeking the warmth of the fresh running water, which never gets below freezing, unlike the saltier ocean water. #cibw20221127 #cibw20221128 #cibw #saddle #saddlethebeluga #sonydschx400v #kenai #kenairiver #kenairiverwhales #alaska #alaskawildlife #whale #beluga #belugawhale (at Kenai River) https://www.instagram.com/p/CligRc0uWH0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gmessy30]

2 October, 2022 Happened upon the whales below Kenai Joe's. The water was particularly clear that day, and you can see how they keep their flukes just under the surface while propelling themselves in near-level forward motion. #sonydschx400v #sonydsc #sonycameras #sonycybershot #cibw #beluga #kenairiverwhales #kenairiver #kenairiverestuary #belugawhale #delphinapterusleucas #kenairiver #kenai #kenaialaska #alaska #alaskawildlife #alaskavideography #alaskawildlifevideography (at Kenai River) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClA6MkOOvyq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gmessy30]

Saddle Saddle, a regular in the Kenai, has been through a lot. Last photographed with a calf in 2005, she is probably post-menopausal. She got her name from the dip just in front of her dorsal ridge. There seems to be one just behind her blowhole as well, though that could just be the way her fat folds (see last photo of a more typical adult beluga for comparison). In addition to those injuries/malformations, there is a divot in front of the saddle. Given her apparent old age, that could be an old gunshot wound, harpoon wound, or, less likely, a biopsy scar that may have been infected. She tends not to arch her back as much as the others, and prefers solitary benthic feeding while the others go for the chase when the salmon are running. Sometimes she's the only whale in the river. Sometimes, the larger pod had to send in one or two older whales (meaning white) to retrieve her, though I've seen them accompanied by a juvenile (grey) and, once, with a baby (small, <2 years old). #sonydschx400v #sonycybershot #sonydsc #sonycameras #cibw #beluga #kenairiverwhales #belugawhale #delphinapterusleucas #kenairiver #kenai #kenaialaska #alaska #alaskawildlife #alaskaphotography #alaskawildlifephotography #saddle #saddlethebeluga (at Kenai River) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj1XDR7vD6M/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[worldofserendipity-blog]

12/100 celebrities in b&w