The humpback whales come to our area for one reason and that is to feed. They feed heavily on krill and small fish such as herring. In this photo you can see that the humpback has done what is called a lunge feed. This is where they come straight up with their mouths open and try and consume as many fish as possible. The small fish you can see jumping are herring.
Thanks to Felix Rome for this great shot of the river at night. Felix stayed up there and helped Rick this summer while working on his photography for university. I think he has a pretty nice office.
https://felixrome.smugmug.com/
I took this video up at the viewing platforms in late August. The viewing was great and there are a ton of pink salmon in the pool. Bears normally do not like to put their ears underwater when looking for salmon. This year, however we saw a huge increase in “diving bears”
This is a video I took at the viewing platforms in Knight Inlet. Normally bears don't like to put their ears underwater, but this year we saw a lot of "diving bears". I guess the fishing technique is catching on
Posted by Grizzly Bear Lodge and Safari on Friday, February 3, 2017
Bald Eagles are a common and always welcome sight in our area. They are an opportunistic feeders and although they don’t migrate they do tend to move around with the food. In the spring we see large numbers of them in Blackfish Sounds feeding on the vast amounts of herring. As the salmon enter the rivers many of these eagles do the same feeding on the carcases of spawned out salmon. Eagles mate for life so when you see two of these birds together they are usually a pair. It is hard to tell male from female in these birds, although the female eagle tends to be larger and has a slightly deeper call.
Of course Grizzly Bears enjoy feeding on salmon. Salmon is not the only seafood that they enjoy, however. At low tide the beaches are covered in protein rich shellfish. This mother and cub are feeding on mussels. The bears chew the mussels shell and all. On a calm, quiet day you can often hear the distinctive “crunching” of shells.
This is another photo taken right from the deck at Sailcone’s Grizzly Bear Lodge. We spend a lot of time out in Knight Inlet and Johnstone Strait looking for bears and whales. After a busy day viewing wildlife it is nice to head back to the lodge and take in the views.
This photo was taken be Felix Rome who helped out Trapper Rick at the river last year. This particular bear is known as Emily and has been around the area for many years having several sets of cubs. It is always rewarding for us to be able to watch the same bears return year after year and to watch them grow up.
Fish and birds aren’t the only ones who feed on herring balls. Humpbacks often do what is called a lunge feed where they come up from underneath the herring ball with their mouth open and try to consume as many fish as possible. Often when we are out whale watching you will see gulls feeding on a herring ball. When the birds lift off the water it usually means one of two things. Either the fish have dispersed or there is a whale coming up for a snack.
Out in Johnstone Strait it is common to get what are called “herring balls.” Basically these are schools of small baitfish that have been pushed to the surface by fish and diving birds such as aucklets and murrelets. The fish appear to boil on the surface and are easy prey for gulls and bald eagles.
Your adventure actually begins even before you arrive at the lodge. All of our guests fly in via floatplane from Campbell River on Vancouver Island. It is a scenic 40 minute flight over countless islands and channels that dot the southern section of the Great Bear Rainforest. The planes land on the water and park at the lodge’s dock. No long lines at customs to deal with here!
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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