We had a visit from two year old grizzly bear twins, just below (ten feet / 3 meters) the viewing stand. They were pretty friendly then one moved off to leave the other alone for a few minutes. It is not uncommon to have the grizzlies of all ages’ come close to the stands while we are watching them.
Morning and early morning at the lodge. First the “morning view” guests see when we call them for breakfast at 7:00 the second the view of a blue heron from the dock when the guides are getting the boats ready before we call the guests. Yes even as a guide I still look for the different photo after ten years (that is the average time the guides have been with the lodge). Clicking one a photo will enlarge for a better view.
“Maybe if I just lie here the fish will swim closer and LUNCH?” Could have been a hot day in late August and a good way to cool down. Do not see many fish in the water near this grizzly bear so the “cool down” is a good option. Bear watching is always interesting as their behaviour varies from day to day.
“Friends and family share don’t they mum?” might be a good caption for this photo. The young grizzly are often not the best at catching fish and rely on their mothers. Note the other grizzly bear eating in the background, the abundance of food in our viewing area means there are not many fights as they takes away from the eating time.
A “resting line”. Orcas travel in small pods and will often join up and synchronize their swimming in that they all surface at the same time. This is accompanied by long slow dives. Sort of like an afternoon nap. Ideal for whale watching as it permits one to prepare for photos as the orca tend to do three or four rolls before a long dive.
In the spring the grizzly bear cubs we are watching in Knight Inlet are like my grandsons, always looking for adventure. They do not stray very far from their mother who is always alert for danger. Danger in the form of male grizzly not the camera caring guests from our lodge who are watching the bears.
Spring in Knight Inlet does bring some large grizzly bears to the lodge’s tour area of the Glendale River estuary. The spring and early summer bears are eating the high protein sedge grass or turning over beach rocks in search for other forms of protein. This is a good-sized grizzly for the spring. Keeping a wary eye on the viewing boats. The tide is rising as told by the high water in the river behind the bear. Note the blue heron in the background always fishing.
A tale of two tails. The marine life in the waters of British Columbia is abundant. On most of the lodge whale watching safari we see orca, humpback whales, sealions, eagles, dolphins, Dall’s porpoise, often black bears and other whale watching boats. The other boats are important as they come from Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island and we come from the mainland BC. We are in constant radio contact and share location when anything of interest is located. In this case a tail slap from an orca and a dive from a humpback whale. Different shape and diffidently a difference in size.
The waters between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia are alive with herring, which are the staple in the food chain. The diving birds and ducks feed on the herring and forces them into “herring balls” which are a tight mass of swirling herring from the size a basketball to the size of a small boat. The duck force them to the surface where the seagulls and eagle dive into to feed. As a guide I try to locate these balls by watching the gulls, then position the boat near the gulls and wait for the humpbacks to come and feed.
Not the same fish and grizzly bear as in yesterday’s post. The leaf is missing from the back and the fish is turned around but a better view of a bear with a mouth full. Every day on the lodge grizzly tour is different, if it weren’t it would become boring for the guides and so far it hasn’t. Even the boat ride up and down Knight Inlet remains interesting always on the look out for black bear, orca, dolphins, eagles and whales.
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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