Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Viewing Blog: Monthly Archives: July 2017

Grizzly Bear Viewing Platforms

This is the Grizzly Bear viewing platform that we use from August 25 until the end of the season.  The maximum number of guests we are allowed to have in the platform is 5 and during our time it will only be guests from our lodge.  People have plenty of space to get some great views and photos of the bears as they look for salmon.  The viewing in this area is well managed, limiting the number of people and the times that we can view.  This allows guests to have great experiences viewing the bears, but also creates low stress levels for the bears as they go about their business.

 

The views at Sailcone pt3

Lunch is served on the whale watching trip.  On a calm day nothing beats tying up to a kelp bed and watching humpbacks while you enjoy your packed lunch.  It looks like there is a humpback incoming

unch with a humpback whale

Black Bear Climbing Skills

Black Bears are often seen in our area and are excellent climbers.  Unlike the Grizzly Bears they have short, sharp claws and can easily climb tress and move over harsh steep terrain.  This bear was spotted on the way up Knight Inlet on a steep rock face overlooking the water.

Bald Eagles Scavenging

bald eagles scavenging

In late August Grizzly Bear Lodge uses viewing platforms on the Glendale River for our grizzly bear watching trips. At this time the salmon are in the rivers and many of the eagles have left the open ocean and feeding on herring to the easier scavenging on salmon remains from a grizzly bear kill. Scavenging is the most energy efficient way for getting meal. It is a matter of sitting in a tree until one is hungry and then moving to the river bank to eat.

Humpback Whale Playing 2 of 2

humpback whale playing

I counted nine breaches during that half hour. Some of the photos were only splashes but some were excellent breaches. As a guide I say “Luck is better than skill” and this was one of those lucky days. But  I had a guest say: “The skill puts you in the right place so the luck can happen.”

humpback whale playing

 

 

Humpback Whale Playing 1 of 2

humpback whale playing

I remember this whale watching tour in August of this year because we followed this humpback whale for at least half an hour as it traveled down Blackfish Sound. It would spend time on the surface slapping its pectoral fin, rolling on its back and then lobtailing as shown in the above photo. After all that it would take a deep dive and we would be treated with tomorrow’s post photo….

Lunch Time Visitation 3 of 3

harbour seal

On days when there is not much tide running (this means we will more or less stay in one place) we do not tie to a kelp bed rather we have a drifting picnic lunch. This was a visitation from a baby harbour seal. It remained close to the boat for most of our picnic popping up around the boat either for protection or out of curiosity.

Lunch Time Visitation 2 of 3

sea lions on the BC coast

On another day in August we had just spent about twenty minutes photographing about seventy-five Steller sea lions at one of their haulouts. We had move along the shore to a kelp bed so we would be up-wind of the noise and more importantly the smell when we had a visit. Again sitting quietly these sea lions were less than three meters (yards) from the boat and were more curious than frightened.

Lunch Time Visitation 1 of 3

unch with a humpback whale

Picnic lunches while whale watching normally are in the boat. The location of the lunches vary from day to day but often involve being tied to a kelp bed. The first photo provides some perspective as to the closeness of the humpback whale while the second shows that the whale was just enjoying a roll in the kelp bed. On this day we were about half way through our lunch as as you can see there not much boat traffic. With our engine turned off it was a very peaceful area and the whale was just doing what whales do when there is no one to disturb it’s natural behaviour.

unch with a humpback whale

Interesting and Tempting?

grizzlies and deer grazing

The sedge grass is about a meter (yard) tall and with the rising water the grizzly bear is likely standing in water up to its belly. Footing along a river bank is quite slippery and more so in water while the deer is one leap from solid footing. But even on dry ground we frequently see grizzlies and black tailed deer feeding side by side. The chance of a grizzly bear catching deer is so low it is not worth wasting the energy trying.