Morning Sun

Bald eagle sunning

It is common to see bald eagle with their wings out in the late morning a result of the early morning fog. The most energy efficient way to dry wings and warm up is to enjoy the sun from a nice perch. There are many mating pairs of eagles along our travel routes so be sure to remind your guides that you want some pictures. It does take time for a good picture with the right background and no branches to block the view.

 

 

Grizzly Bear Kill

Black Bear

The extra day’s stay at Grizzly Bear Lodge involves a trip to visit Trapper Rick. We cross Knight Inlet then travel through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River a total of about forty-five minutes.  This river is located on the BC mainland and then we travel by road to Rick’s cabin. Several years ago the short hike to the cabin meant passing the location of a fresh grizzly kill.  In this case it was a black bear that was not fast enough at climbing a tree. After about a month the carcass was picked clean and Rick had the skeleton on display at his cabin. A day with Rick may include any or all of the following: short hikes, fishing for salmon, watching salmon spawn (in season), watching grizzlies fishing (again in season), and enjoying Rick’s stories of trapping and living with grizzly bears.

 

Salmon Everywhere 2 of 2

Grizzly catching salmonThe abundance of salmon does not always mean “food”.  Not all fishers are created equal. Some grizzlies have the technique and are able to catch salmon with little effort while others need more time. The plus being that there are sufficient salmon that even the poor fishers are able to catch enough to fatten for hibernation and after all that is what matters on the “technique”.

 

Salmon Everywhere 1 of 2

Fish EverywhereThe reason we have excellent grizzly bear viewing is the abundance of salmon.  We travel up Knight Inlet to the area of the Glendale River, which is known for its salmon that come to spawn in the fall. In the spring and early summer we view the resident grizzly bears that eat the sedge grass in the spring and roll rock for the protein found beneath. And always they are waiting for the arrival of the salmon in August. Once the salmon arrive grizzlies come from the surrounding area to enjoy the abundance of food.

 

Curious visitors

Sea lions visitingPicnic lunches on your day with the whales and other abundant marine life are most often eaten in the boat while drifting. It is sort of like the movie “Feed of Dreams” in that the drifting means that all is quite and most mammals are curious and will come to investigate something that is different.  The different being a boat without a motor running which allows a much closer approach from these Steller sealions.

 

Grizzlies Sharing 2 0f 2

Grizzly Bears Share

 Late fall and another mother grizzly this time with a second year cub. The cub still wanting to share mother’s catch even though it is time for it to be doing it’s own fishing. It will not likely get another year of lessons on how to survive. These bears were not blonde in the spring but were definitely much lighter in colour. The change, we have noticed, seems to occur when their diet changes from grass, roots and berries to salmon.

 

Grizzlies Sharing 1 0f 2

Spring grizzly bears

Early June with a mother and cub on the beach.  The cub is still too small to turn over rocks and is dependent on mother’s milk for nourishment. Both mother and cub are very light coloured tending toward blonde. This colour will change as the season progresses and they have access to salmon. At this age the cub remains close to mother partly in fear of other bears but more to learn how to survive.

 

Curious Harbour Seal

Harbour Seals are a very common sight on all of our trips.  We often take them for granted, because there are so many of them in the area.  They feed on various fish, but herring and salmon make up the bulk of their diet.  Thanks to Felix for the great picture

seal