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Want to fit whales, sea otters, eagles, fishing boats
and active volcanoes in the same photograph? This viewpoint on the
bluff overlooking the Homer Spit and Kachemak Bay opens a vast window
on the Lower Cook Inlet.
Tree swallow
Humpback whale
NOTABLE SPECIES
Harbor seal
Humpback whale
Sea otter
Bald eagle
Black-billed magpie
Common raven
Tree swallow
Cliff swallow
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 FIELD NOTES
This wayside on
the hill overlooking the Homer Spit and Kachemak Bay is the best place
to take a postcard snapshot of Augustine Volcano. The panoramic vista
of lower Cook Inlet also offers a chance to scan for congregations of
humpback whales, harbor seals, Steller
sea lions and sea otters from
an almost aerial vantage. On calm days, watch for the white puffs of
whale exhalations, called blows, and the dark figures of otters and
seals. Use binoculars or a spotting scope. Watch for bald eagles
drifting by on thermals and black-billed magpies fluttering in the
trees below. In the spring, track flocks of migrating birds through
binoculars as they wheel across the sky.
HABITAT
The immediate vicinity
features alders and brush typical of steep slopes and disturbed sites.
The general area lies within an upland and somewhat dry spruce-birch
forest. Kachemak Bay, spread out below, includes some of the most
diverse and bountiful ocean habitat in the world.
GEOLOGICAL CONNECTION
Augustine Volcano is an active
volcano, with ten eruptions in the 1900s. Information on Alaska’s
volcanoes, including the latest activity, can be found at
www.avo.alaska.edu.
 VIEWING TIP
In spring and summer,
ravens and eagles play in the updrafts along the cliffs here. It’s a
great place to watch flips and rolls and other avian aerobatics.
HELPFUL HINTS
Be prepared
for wind even on clear days. Stay away from the rim of the bluff.
GETTING THERE
Sterling Highway milepost 169.6.
Watch for the signed wayside on the bay side of the road. Homer lies
about two miles further down the hill.
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