All posts by Lodge Guide

Arrival at the Glendale River-1 of 3

Estuary Tour

On your spring and early summer tour day with the grizzly bears we are in the boat and leaving the lodge by 8:00. It is and hour and fifteen minute boat ride up Knight Inlet to the Glendale River. On the trip up the Inlet I look for black bears, eagles, dolphins while the guest enjoy the scenery. Upon arrive we get into a sixteen foot skiff which we use to travel in the shallow waters of the river estuary. This morning has a low tide and we are waiting for the tide to rise so we can move up the river. And NO the guest are not alone at this point the guides are in the water pulling the boat up the river that is why the motor is raised.  Notice the grizzlies close enough for a long lens. More tomorrow.

Two Grizzlies Grazing on Sedge Grass

Estuary Grizzly Bears

Spring in Knight Inlet does bring some large grizzly bears to the lodge’s tour area in 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. These are good-sized grizzlies for the spring.  They are keeping a wary eye on the viewing boats.  This is a low tide, which means the guests are in a sixteen-foot skiff and we are working our way up river and providing opportunities for good photos and memories.

Orcas / Killer Whales 3 of 3

Killer Whale / Orca

Although we do see some orca in Knight Inlet we spend more time in BC’s coastal waters off Eastern Vancouver Island in an area around Telegraph Cove and Black Fish Sound.  (Black Fish being another name for Orca.) Orca being members of the dolphin family are curious and will often approach boats if they are sitting quietly as shown by the photos in the previous days posting.

Grizzly Bears – A nursing mom

Grizzly Bear Mother

The spring and early summer Grizzly Bear tours from our lodge on Minstrel Island find the bears along the shore of Knight Inlet.  The early spring grizzlies are not as fat as the fall bears and occasionally show sign of the time in the den.  Notice mom’s back and hind leg and the rubbed off fur.  It is also obvious that this is a nursing bear but the cubs learn at an early age to turn rocks and to supplement mom’s milk.  The tour leaves the lodge about 8:00 and we start looking for bears immediately.  Normally black bears for the first half of the boat ride and then grizzly bears once we are closer to the Glendale River estuary which is about 25 kilometers up the Knight Inlet from the lodge.

Pacific Whitesides Dolphins Play

Pacific Whiteside Dolphins

“(Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) The Pacific white sided dolphin is very beautiful. They have a coloring that ranges from light to dark gray. The underside of them though is white. They also have dark black rings that cover both eyes. The beak is very small and often seems out of proportion with the rest of the body. One characteristic that you will notice is that the dorsal fin has a hook on the end of it. They aren’t very large though compared to other types of dolphins. Full grown they will be about 8 feet long. They will weight approximately 300 pounds.” Taken form the website Dolphins-World
The technical write up is interesting but cannot compare to the excitement of a pod of two or three hundred dolphins playing with our boat. They are on all sides of the boat playing in the bow wave as well as sticking their nose within a meter (yard) of the prop.

Grizzly Bear Viewing on the River

Grizzly Bears

As mentioned in yesterday’s post we do use a skiff to view bears on the Glendale River and in the river estuary. This photo is an example of me holding the boat against one side of the river while a mother grizzly bear and her two two-year old cubs walked down the other side. Needless to say the guests obtained some good photos and memories. One guest commented that he was close to the edge of “His comfort zone”. As shown by this picture the bears have NO interest in our presence as long as we do not block their progress down river. The key is to stay back out of the way and allow them free passage.

Bald Eagle Birdbath

Bald Eagle Bathing

This is the first time I have ever seen an eagle taking a bath. Logically I know that birds need to bath to stay clean but it was still a surprise to see an eagle in the river. The photo is not as clear as it should be but in my defense I was wading in the river towing the lodge’s sixteen-foot skiff that we use on our estuary tours. Using the skiff in the river permits close viewing of the grizzly bears as well as other interesting sites.

Good Fishing area for a Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear Eeating Salmon

This is the classic pose for a grizzly bear. The photo was taken from the viewing stands on the Glendale River in Knight Inlet BC. The late summer grizzly viewing, after August 24th, requires a short van ride (fifteen minutes) from a floating dock in the river estuary to the man made spawning channel. The grizzlies of the Knight Inlet area, which is on the southern edge of the Great Bear Rainforest come to this river to feed on the fall, run of spawning salmon. The day tours from our lodge on Minstrel Island use these viewing stands and often view more than a dozen different grizzly bears in the immediate area of the stands as well as grizzlies on the drive to the stands. If one looks closely in the water around the bear there are many salmon on their way to the spawning channel and the main reason the bears stay in this part of the river.