Guide Photos

Awesome sights on a daily basis!

Each day our guides see something new, it never gets old for these guys. Check out some of their photos from guiding bear and whale watching excursions.

Wild River Day – 4 of 7

grizzlies by cabin
Click to enlarge then click again

 

photographing grizzlies
Click to enlarge then click again

The bears in the first photo are the ones I mentioned in yesterday’s post. After we moved to the deck the mother grizzly and three two year old cubs came up the bank from the river to just below the deck of the cabin. This photo is one I took from my small camera before they came closer and it was necessary to be more concerned with the bears than getting better pictures. But I can assure you the guest obtained good photos. Once these bears moved down the river to the fishing area and we waited until they settled in to fish we then moved down the river nearer the fish ladder and more photos were taken. All in all an excellent day on the river.

Wild River Day – 3 of 7

relaxing
Click to enlarge then click again

 

bear arrived
Click to enlarge then click again

On completion of the short walk from the boat pool to the cabin the first order of business is to make sure there are no grizzly bears below the bank by the cabin and then we move to the deck. (I mention this important fact because on one of my visit I came within several meters (yards) of a bear). Just past the cabin there are falls on the river and a fish ladder were the grizzly bears come to fish. We normally sit on the cabin deck as it is possible to see the approaches to this fishing area and when bears appear we then leave the deck (picture 2) and follow Rick for a closer view and great pictures.

 

Wild River Day – 2 of 7

river scenery
Click to enlarge then click again

 

beautiful river
Click to enlarge then click again

On the fifteen-minute walk to Rick’s cabin we spend some time on a decommissioned bridge (and that story you will have to hear from Rick) which provides views of the Kakweikan River. The first photo is looking up the river to the boat pool and the second down river to the bend where the cabin is located. Depending on the time of the year salmon will be spawning below the bridge while the bald eagles fly overhead.

Wild River Day – 1 of 7

dolphins playing on tour
Click to enlarge then click again

More photos of a wild river day go to  “Categories” on the side and “River Day”. Also select “Google Map of Itinerary” under “Pages” to locate the icon for “Extra Day”.

On the extra day in camp we take a forty-five minute boat ride across Knight Inlet, through Thompson Sound to the Kakweikan River and spend a day with Trapper Rick.  This river is located on the BC mainland and once there we travel by road to Rick’s cabin. Along the shores through Thompson Sound there are black bears and the occasionally grizzly bear but most of the grizzlies are viewed in the area of the cabin. On the boat ride we frequently come across large pods of pacific white-sided dolphins, which like to play in the bow wave and prop wash of the boat.

 

Whale Watching Safari – 5 of 5

resident orca pod
Click to enlarge then click again

After leaving the sea lions and entering Blackfish Sound the orca we saw earlier in the day appeared this time in the sunshine. Blackfish Sound is an appropriate name for this area as that is the name used by the locals and the only name I knew growing up for what are now called killer whales and orca. Names the result of advertising for tourism. The name is not really important what is important is the majestic appearance of these mammals and the thrill obtained with the first sighting on a tour.

Whale Watching Safari – 4 of 5

stetter sea lions
Click to enlarge then click again

 

bald eagle
Click to enlarge then click again

As the day progresses on a whale watching safari the sun tends to burn off the fog and normally by noon it is necessary to position the boat to get the sun at our back for better photos. Mid-morning we have a break in Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island and although we have a good picnic lunch and cold drinks on board guest often want a hot drink and especially to use the bathrooms. Heading back across Johnstone Straits to resume out wildlife viewing we stop by Stubbs Island and enjoy the Steller sea lions sunning on the rocky islands. Close by in the trees are many bald eagles posing for photographs.

Whale Watching Safari – 3 of 5

dolphins
Click to enlarge then click again

 

dolphins close
Click to enlarge then click again

Not bad for a one handed shot over the bow of the boat while driving with the other hand. The only way to get any decent photos of the pacific white-sided dolphins is to point, shoot and pray. Less than hour after we left the orca of yesterday’s post we came across this pod of close to three hundred dolphins which were feeding in Parsons Bay. They scoured the shore stopping to feed on several occasions providing opportunities for some interesting photos. I have being wildlife guiding at Grizzly Bear Lodge for more than ten years (all the lodge’s guides have been working at the lodge that long) and I think dolphins still put on the best show as they are within a meter of the boat with their nose often in the prop wash from the motor.

Whale Watching Safari – 2 of 5

orca
Click to enlarge then click again

 

more orca
Click to enlarge then click again

This was a normal “foggy” morning in August when we first found this pod of orca in Johnstone strait. The posting on February 17 will show the same orca in the sunshine later in the day. If you remember from my previous posting these photos were taken with a small waterproof Pentax (an optio, 6.0 megapixels with three times optical zoom) point and shoot so these orca came quite close. The first photo was when they appeared out of the fog and we shut off the motor and waited while they approached the boat. Again the guest photos are much better than mine are as I was also using the hydrophone to listen to their calls. If you check the December 26, 2013 posting you will see how close the orca came to the boat while they were listening to our hydrophone.

Whale Watching Safari – 1 of 5

lunge feeding
Click to enlarge then click again
flat lunge feed
Click to enlarge then click again

 

For additional photos use the “Categories” “Whale Watching” on the right. Also select “Google Map of Itinerary” under “Pages” to locate the whale watching area. The boat ride to the area of Johnstone Strait between Vancouver Island and mainland BC, where most of the whales watching take place is about 45 minutes long. If there is a low tide in the morning we normally see black bears on the beach and harbour seals on the small islands. There are four whale watching companies operating from Vancouver Island in our area.  We are in radio contact and this cooperation makes locating the whales much easier. If orca or humpback whales are in the area someone will find them and report their location.  The above photos were taken near Bold Head located in Blackfish Sound adjacent to Johnstone Strait. The first showing a humpback whales lunge feeding which in when a whale comes up beneath a ball of herring and tries to capture the whole herring ball in one mouth full. The second is another lunge with the white pole in the left of the photo being the antenna of our boat. This provides some perspective as to how close we sometimes are to the feeding whales.

Grizzly Bear watching on the Glendale River – 7 of 7

river lunch
Click to enlarge then click again

We are normally back to the float for a picnic lunch around 1:00 but that may vary depending on the tide. If the high tide is later in the morning then we have an earlier lunch and return to the skiff do we can go up the river. If the guest have had enough of the grizzly bears and lunch we start to head down Knight Inlet for the forty kilometer (25 mile) ride back to the lodge on Minstrel Island. The an hour and quarter boat trip may take two or more hours some times due to the afternoon winds and the desire for a comfortable ride but most often because of the side trips to enjoy the scenery of the inlet and to look for more black bears and dolphins. …..tomorrow starts a Whale watching safari.