The Lodge

All about Sailcone’s Grizzly Bear Lodge

There’s lots to see and do right here at the lodge. Some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities are right outside your window. The trip here on the float plane is a scenic one with lot’s of great photo opportunities.

Curious black bear cub

black bear alert
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The black bear tour occurs on your first evening in the lodge however black bears are often found on the grizzly bear tours and the whale watching trips. As all tours are by boat we travel along the shore looking for bears and frequently view bears on the beach looking for food. The lower the tide the better the opportunity for good viewing. It is normally the cubs that are concerned with our presence the mother are more likely to accept a boat coming close and the older bears, male or female, without cubs tend to ignore the boats. In this case the cub was taking notice but it did not run off as the mother was not concerned and that is who the cubs learn to ignore our intrusion.

 

 

Black bear with triplets

black bear family on rocks
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Guest first evening in the lodge normally means a local area tour to find black bears. The hour plus boat ride lets guests get comfortable with the boats and guides as well as a chance to see some wildlife such as harbour seals, eagles, black bear and learn a little history of the surrounding area. At certain times of the season the hardest animal to find is the black bear.  This is late July and early August when all the berries are ripe and bears are less likely to come to the beach looking for food.  This photo is in the spring as the cubs are still quite small.  Triplets are not very common for black bears but more so for grizzly bears.

Eagles on tour

eagle waiting
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“Bald eagles are believed to mate for life. A pair constructs an enormous stick nest—one of the bird-world’s biggest—high above the ground and tends to a pair of eggs each year. Immature eagles are dark, and until they are about five years old, they lack the distinctive white markings that make their parents so easy to identify. Young eagles roam great distances. Florida birds have been spotted in Michigan, and California eagles have traveled all the way to Alaska.” A quote from National Geographic.  In our viewing area eagles are common on the whale watching and grizzly bear tours until the salmon have arrived in the rivers in mid-August.  At this time the eagles move to the rivers and are less common on whale watching days bur still enough for good pictures.

 

Spring Black Bear visiting the lodge

black bear at lodge
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Grizzly Bear Lodge is located on Minstrel Island, which is located about 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the mouth of Knight Inlet.  The black bears in the area are good swimmers and move from island to island in the area. It is common to view black bear on Minstrel Island, in this case not too far from the Lodge. In early spring before there is more activity with the guests the bears are more common but as the Lodge becomes busier the bears tend to stay away from the lodge area but are still on the inland.

Black Bear Evening Tour

black bear an beach
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Your first evening at Grizzly Bear Lodge normally involes an hour plus boat ride to find black bears.  This is after you have been shown your rooms, eaten fresh caught crabs or prawns, had a talk about the lodges night light because we are on a generator etc. The black bears are often the hardest wildlife to find as the first requirement is a low tide so there will be a beach and even with a low tide if there are an abundance of berries (black berries, huckle berries, salmon berries, thimble berries, salal berries …) they do not come to the beach.  Often the black bears are viewed on the tours to find whales or while on the trip up Knight Inlet to view the grizzly bears.

My morning perspective

spirder view of lodge
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Some mornings I may have too much time on my hands.  We rise at 6:30 start coffee, finish setting the breakfast table and load our boats with the picnic lunches and check for fuel. The guests are called at 7:00 and we depart before 8:00 for the day’s activities.  Sometime in there I noticed the spider web on the scales used to weight the salmon, in the background the lodge. I think artist license rather than boredom.

Black Bear pose

Black Bear Headless

Fortunately this is not a permanent pose only a common position we often find bears using on our tours.  At low tide bears come to the beach for food and that requires them to turn over rocks to get at the high protein crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. Rocks roll easier down hill so we often have a great view of their backside. This black bear like others will eventually move to another rock and prove more photogenic. The good aspect of this photo is that it shows we are not interrupting their feeding or disturbing their natural habits as the motto we tend to use as guides is “ Leave them as we find them.” Part is we want to be able to come back to the same area another day and not to have the bears run when we approach but the main reason is that it is good stewardship.

Bald eagle feeding

Glen's eagle

 

“Once an eagle spots a fish swimming or floating near the water surface, it approaches its prey in a shallow glide and then snatches the fish out of the water with a quick swipe of its talons. Eagles can open and close their talons at will; although, a hungry eagle can be dragged into the water when refusing to release a heavy fish. Unfortunately, the eagle might drown during the encounter with the fish; eagles are strong swimmers, but if the water is very cold, it may be overcome by hypothermia. If an eagle falls into the water during an aerial fight over food with another eagle or accidentally falls into the water, they are able to take flight from the water surface. Because of the energy expended during hunting, an eagle has to spend a lot of time resting quietly. It’s estimated that only one out of eighteen attempts at attacking its prey is successful. Note: a bald eagle’s lifting power is about 4 pounds.” American Bald Eagle Information at baldeagleinfo.comThis photo was provided by Glen one of the lodge’s guides and was taken near the lodge on Minstrel Island BC.

Black bear evening tour

Black Bear

The first evening at the lodge, if the tide is low enough, there is a local boat tour looking for black bear, bald eagles and other wildlife. The black bears come to the shore for food high in protein and this is made up of crab, clams, barnacles, mussels, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. In this case the bear would use its claws to scrap the barnacles free to the rocks and eat them including the shell.  From the size of this bears belly it is in pretty good shape for the coming winter and the photo date in only July.  Black bears do not have access to the salmon rivers because of the number on grizzlies in the area so they cannot rely on a sudden food source in September to gain hibernation fat and must work hard all spring and summer if they want to survive.

Grizzly Bear Lodge’s front deck sunrise

Sunrise

Early risers get the sunrise at Grizzly Bear Lodge.  The guides are up at 6:30 setting out breakfast, fresh coffee and getting our boats packet with picnic lunches and drinks for the full day ahead. Guests are called by seven and we like to be underway by eight although some guests (depending on how long they have been in British Columbia) are up waiting for the guides. The overcast sky looks ominous however Knight Inlet does attract that low morning cloud but it is gone before noon for the whale watching safaris which travel toward the Johnstone Strait area. For the grizzly bear tour which heads up the inlet is gone by the time you reach Glendale Cove around nine.