After we left the Astoria-Megler Bridge we turned right and pulled over at the rest area Dismal Nitch. It's called this because Lewis and Clark stayed there during a storm and were stranded for 6 days in the little cove. It's also the last place they camped before seeing the Pacific Ocean.
While we were there we saw a pod of seals. There seemed too many to count. In addition to the pod below, there were smaller groups scattered all across our view.
Each had a unique low voice as they talked to each other and fished. It was amazing to see how long some of them dissappeared from view when diving heading upstream.
Above is a video of the seals, Sorry for the jerky video, in all the excitement I did not think to get out the tripod in time.
The seagulls stayed close beside them, I bet to get some remnants of their fish.
Some seagulls only dipped their beaks in the water, others dunked their heads like the one above, but some even dove like Ospreys into the water.
The seals were beautiful as they swam together, and you could make out their heads and beautiful tails as they dove.
When we arrived they were headed inland up the Columbia River
Then they stopped for a few minutes,
Before heading back out towards the Pacific Ocean.
it seemed like they only fished while heading upstream, when the went with the current they did not stay under the water near as long and moved a lot faster with the current.
What a treat!
2 comments:
What a fantastic experience! Thanks for posting.
You always post the best random views of nature. :)
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