I always try to find an interesting location to eat our picnic lunch on a whale watching tour. This day it was with a mother bald eagle that had just caught a small salmon and was sharing her catch with this years offspring. When any animal / bird has food and you are not intrusive they tend to ignore your presence so we enjoyed watching this exchange of food for about thirty minutes.
Grizzly Bear and Wildlife Tour Blog
We offer an exceptional fly-in lodge for Grizzly Bear Watching and Whale Watching in British Columbia.
Learn about What’s happening at the Lodge, view our British Columbia’s Wildlife Report, read our Grizzly Bear Watching Blog and Whale Watching Blog. Learn more about a Day on the River Blog, see Our Tour Guide’s Photos & Blog and Photos from Our Guests.
Great Start to the Day
I end this year’s blog the way I like to start my day at Grizzly Bear Lodge – with a great sunrise.
Whales Close 2 of 2
In this case the boat’s antenna helps to obscure the humpback whale fluking, however the intent of the photo is again to show that on occasion we do get close to that we are viewing. As the guide and picture taker it is often a “shot from the hip” rather than a planned and timed photo. Guest safety is number one priority over a good photo.
Whales Close 1 of 2
It must be another misty August morning in Johnstone Strait with a pod of killer whales on their rounds. The metal bar in the corner to the picture is the mount that holds the radar on my boat and gives an indication of the nearness of the orca. By noon the mist will have “burned off” to gives us another nice after noon to locate humpback whales, Steller seal ions, bald eagles etc. …
Grizzly Family
This is to be a grizzly bear family that is together for it’s third summer. It is one of the cubs that caught the salmon the mother is on the right. Not sure what has her interest as we were sitting in our skiff about forty meters in front of the cub with the salmon. Actually the guests were in the skiff I was sitting on the bow of the boat holding it in place on the river. The grizzlies did turn and cross the river to eat the salmon but also came back to catch several more while we watched from front row seats. The only time we got their attention was when I stood up to move the skiff away from their fishing area and the mother stopped and looked our way. I sat down and she went back to fishing. We are part of the background as long as we play by the rule – Do not move.
Some Grizzly Bears are Patient
Grizzly Bears all seem to have their own fishing style. Often the larger, more mature bears are far more patient opting to let the calories come to them rather then run around burning calories in hopes of maybe catching a salmon. This bear sat for two hours picking off the occasional pink salmon as it swam by. Initially just due to the bears size we assumed it was a male. After a “better look”, however we discovered that this is in fact a very healthy female Grizzly.
Best Guest Blog
This is a great site to visit to get a “guest eye view” of a trip to our lodge.
Click on this link
Also: -if you search “You Tube” using the keyword SAILCONE you can view some videos from and about the lodge.
-and on Facebook at Grizzly Bear Lodge and Safari
To view a map of the lodge’s area and the location of each day’s itinerary”
Look to the left and scroll the sidebars to “Categories” and select “Wildlife Tour Itinerary” It is possible to navigate the map using the arrows in the upper left corner and to zoom using the + or – signs as well as changing to a satellite view in the upper right corner of the map.
It is possible to navigate the map using the arrows in the upper left corner and to zoom using the + or – signs as well as changing to a satellite view in the upper right corner of the map.
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
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.
