Seeing a bald eagle swim is not a common sight on our wildlife tours maybe once or twice a summer. But this morning we saw three take a salmon to shore. An eagle will catch a fish in their talon that is too heavy for them to carry and they will swim to shore with it so they can eat it. They use a butterfly like swim stroke. In the first photo it is almost to the shore and the second show the eagle lifting the fish further up the shore. In this case its mate came down and took the salmon, as it was to exhausted to fight. The happy ending was that it did get to share the fish once it recovered.
Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Viewing Blog: Monthly Archives: December 2017
Gourmet Dinning
As our website states; “Gourmet level – lots of Dungeness crab, fresh local prawns, salmon, as well as vegetable and meat dishes. At Grizzly Bear Lodge we have always taken pride in providing quality home cooked meals for our visiting guests. Local sea food and meat dishes, along with home made breads and desserts. After a full day of wildlife viewing we all sit down together to enjoy a meal and discuss the days adventures.” The adventure discussion often lasts long after the meal as the guides share the table and try to keep to the rule: “What happens in the boat stays in the boat unless mentioned by the guest.”
Spring dining for a grizzly bear
Until the salmon arrive in the river in late August the grizzly bears of Knight Inlet find their food on the beach. This bear was scrapping mussels and barnacles from the rocks to obtain the protein necessary to keep it alive. These are eaten “in the shell” and with our motor turned off we can hear the crunching as well as the scrapping of claws. This look was “you are in my comfort zone” so we slowly backed off a few meters.
Rest stop on whale watching safari
This is the entrance to Telegraph Cove, which is located on Vancouver Island. It is two and half-hours north of Campbell River by car over a good paved road. Tour days from the lodge often last eight hours so it is good to have a “civilized” bathroom to use and Telegraph Cove serves that purpose. Also provides a short break from being on the water and possibly a hot coffee, latte or hot chocolate.
Waiting for dinner to be served
Once the salmon have arrived and after August 24th (per Government Regulations) we move up the Glendale River to the viewing platform to view grizzlies waiting for salmon. These two grizzlies (look carefully) were very good at catching salmon as one caught and moved off it eat its fish the other waited for a salmon to come within reach.
Its a Tough Office
Beautiful morning, with a boat fishing on Johnstone Strait. This area is frequented by the Northern Resident Killer whales in the summer, who are after the same thing as this fisherman (salmon). On a day like this its hard to beat it.
Humpback After a Lunge Feed
This Humpback Whale has just come up from under a school of baitfish and hopefully got a mouthful of fish. The photo captures the moment that the whale has closed his mouth and forced a burst of water out through his baleen.
Black Bear On the Bluff
We always keep our eyes open for Black Bears cruising the beaches at low tide. Sometimes it also pays to look up. Black Bears are much sleeker then Grizzlies and have short claws, which makes them excellent climbers. In the late summer there are often salal berries growing on the rocky outcroppings, which the bears enjoy.
