Grizzly bear tours from the lodge travel up Knight Inlet to Glendale Cove and the river estuary. Both spring and summer tours take advantage of the tidal change to move up and down the river. We use an eighteen-foot flat bottom skiff that allows us to move up and down the river in very shallow water. The riverbanks and estuary are covered with a very protein rich sedge grass that the grizzlies graze. They have become accustomed to our presence and provide interesting photos as they observe us.
As we came along the shore on one of the whale watching trips we came upon this black bear stand at the edge of a small channel between two islands. It was not turning rocks and as we waited it went back up the beach into the bush. One of our other boasts was a about ten minutes behind us and when they got to this same point the bear was in the water swimming between islands. As in most wildlife viewing timing in important.
s a guide when I take photos in the boat I try to put things in perspective. For convenience I use a small Pentax OPI waterproof camera. This photo shows a guest taking a picture of a humpback whale fluking in the background. With the camera he was using and the closeness of the whale he has a good photo to take home and show his friends. This brings me to a word of caution I give all the guests in my boat: “Put down the camera and enjoy the experience”. If on your vacation, especially on wildlife tours, if you view everything through the lens of your camera you will miss more than half of the experience.
Grizzly bear watching in the spring is always made interesting because of the reaction of the cubs. Born in January of February the cubs are only five or six months old. When we first see these cubs in the end of May everything is new for them. We are their first interaction with boats and they are wary. Normally on their first encounter they leave the beach (and mother)) for the trees but the mother’s reaction is the teaching tool for the cubs. This is not new for the grizzly mothers so by the third encounter, as in this photo, the cubs still keep an eye on the boats but stay on the beach with mom.
Bald Eagles are frequently sighted in our area. At times they can be seen in large numbers. This is usually where food supplies are high. For example this could be in areas with high concentrations of baitfish or along the rivers in the fall when the salmon are spawning. They are not migratory, but do move around with the food supply. As mentioned earlier when the salmon are spawning we often see many along the rivers, while there will be fewer along the coastline. With little need for camouflage their white head and tail feathers can be spotted easily. The female is slightly larger and her white head extends down a bit farther onto the body, but it is subtle. It takes these birds 4.5 – 5 years to acquire this unique plumage. As juveniles they are a brown colour. With exceptional eyesight and the ability to view 270 degrees they are understandably often seen in high perches and in trees near points and passageways.
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