Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Viewing Blog: Monthly Archives: November 2015

Grizzly Encounter 4 of 4

Grizzly mother

At this point the mother and cub are not more than fifteen to twenty meters (fifty to sixty feet) from the bow of our viewing boat. One does not need a high power lens for a good picture. Back at the lodge in the evening guests share their photos from the days activities and the guest that were in my boat had great photos and memories.

 

 

Grizzly Encounter 3 of 4

Grizzly bear leavingGrizzly encounter

Once the subadult was aware of the mother and cub she became much less interested in food and more concerned about her safety. The mother and cub continued to walk along the beach as it there was not a problem and for her it was not a problem.  Very few grizzlies except for a large dominated male bear will challenge a mother grizzly…

 

 

Grizzly Encounter 2 of 4

Grizzly BearGrizzly bear

On the left the grizzly is a subadult four-year-old female working along the beach rolling rocks and looking for food. On the right a mother and cub that was grazing on the sedge grass until she became aware of the other bear…

 

 

 

Grizzly Encounter 1 of 4

Grizzly Bears

 

The first thing to note in this series of posted photos is that the camera used is a Pentax Optio Wpi 6MP and 3X Optical Zoom. It does not have a lens that makes the grizzlies appear to be sitting on the bow of the boat we are using. We are just off the beach and grizzlies have appeared on the left and right of our location and the hope is that they will meet in the middle…

Bald Eagle Soaring

Bald Eagle

Depending on the time of the season bald eagle may or not be abundant. By late August through October the most of the eagles have moved away from their ocean feeding grounds to the rivers that are full of spawning salmon. Birds of prey find it much easier to feed on dying or dead salmon than to catch live food (herring or small salmon) and they use fewer calories. Fortunately our grizzly bear viewing tours are on such a river so eagles are available for good photos all season.

 

 

Grizzly Bear Cubs 2 of 3

Cubs fighting

The “mouthing” from yesterday’s post turned into a fight that lasted three or four minutes. Does not seem like a long time but the guests got some great photos. Note that the crow is still in the background eating.

 

 

Grizzly Bear Cubs 1 of 3

Grizzly bear cubs

It starts mostly out of boredem as the cubs wait for their mother to catch a salmon. Notice the crow in the background picking up pieces of salmon. That is where the mother grizzly shares the samon with her cubs. Also notice in the lower lefthand cornes of the photo mother’s backside.

 

 

Got it!!

Humpback breaching

Hard to believe that the whale breached twice in a row.  That is often the reason one gets a good photo because you are now prepared. Do not think that a long lens is necessary I use a waterproof Pentax Optio Wpi 6MP with a  3X Optical Zoom. A good lens is better but over the past few years I have seen some great photos taken on Phones and Tablets.

 

 

Trying for?

missed breach

Unfortunately this is an all to common photo from a whale watching trip. Not to say that humpback whales do allot of breaching but rather that it is hard to get a good photo. In this photo it is possible to see a pectoral fin if you look real closely. But the splash is impressive. Tomorrow’s post is much better.