A Very Windy Day

Friday, March 06, 2009
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Today was a day of transition. We left Homer and flew to Anchorage to spend the weekend here for the ceremonial and official start of the 2009 Iditarod. However, before we left Homer we wanted one more chance to spend some time with the eagles. We were pleased to see that the skies had cleared and that there was a good chance of some sunshine for our photos. That pleasure was short lived when we stepped outside to join the Zirkles for breakfast. The wind was howling! By the time we got down on the spit the wind must have been blowing at 30+ mph or better. This was a steady gale, not just gusts of wind.
The bay was churned up and huge waves were slapping the shore . The birds were having trouble making any headway against the winds. Just holding a camera up to take a picture was difficult and setting a camera on a tripod was dangerous. As Steve started feeding the eagles, we noticed there were not very many birds on the ground and those that were in the air were having great difficulty. One bird grabbed a fish, took to the air, and was promptly blown backwards until it ran into another bird. It was almost impossible to focus on an eagle much less get a good picture. We stayed briefly, got a few last photos and returned to the cabin to pack for the flight to Anchorage.
We had to check out of the cabin by about 12 pm, but our flight did not leave until 3:30 pm, so we spent about three hours in the airport waiting to leave. In spite of the wind our flight to Anchorage was uneventful and we were able to get a good view of the spit from the air. After checking into our motel, we met the Zirkles, who had driven back to Anchorage, for dinner. Then it was back to the motel to relax.
Tomorrow we will go from eagles to dogs, as we watch the ceremonial start of the Iditarod, which will go right past the motel.

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