Whale Watching

We’re not all about the bears, whales are abundant here too!

Killer whales and humpback whales are often seen during our wildlife tours. There are resident whales and transient whales that can be seen feeding and playing in our waters.

Bald eagle rescue 1 of 3

Bald EagleBald Eagle

George and family from Hampshire England visited us in July this year and provided this series of photos. We were on a whale watching trip and had an excellent day but were still trying to find an eagle feeding. In the back of Parsons Bay a commercial crab fishing boat flagged us down and said that there was an eagle in the water that they could not reach because their boat was to high. Eagles often swim so we went to take a look and this one was in trouble. We came along side and used a towel to reach down and wrap the eagle before lifting it in to the boat. Having never done this I took advice from all on board and we dried the eagle with towels and paper towels…

 

 

 

 

Also Whale Watching 2 of 3

Humpback whale feeding

Clearer, same ducks in the water and a mouth full. Humpbacks will feed on krill and various kinds of small, shoaling fish such as herring (check out the mouth) and mackerel. They may eat up to 1,400 kg (3,000 lbs.) of food a day. As the mouth closes the whale will press down with its tongue forcing all water out through baleen plates. These baleen plates hang in row from each side of the upper jaw. This traps the herring / lunch inside.

 

 

Also Whale Watching 1 of 3

Humpback whales

A little more interesting than deer on the beach is a humpback whale lunge feeding on a herring ball. This is why your guide is always looking for herring balls. (See September 25th posting) At first I thought that this photo taken by Glen (a fellow guide) was a little out of focus until I realized that was water running off the whales back. Better tomorrow…

 

 

 

While Whale Watching 2 of 2

Deer eat seaweed

More interesting than a deer in mid-jump is the fact that it was eating seaweed. Using Google I found an article that seems to explain “Deer will eat seaweed if forced to the beach by snow, but it isn’t very nutritious or digestible and, under this circumstance, probably indicates they are in danger of starvation.”. This fits with the fact that these deer were on a small rocky tree covered island. The trees were evergreen and therefore not eatable, grass was replaced by lichen, which I saw the deer eating, and on all the deer on could see their ribs. Only part not making any sense was that the small island was separated from a large island with fields of grass by a narrow (40 meters/ yards) channel that deer swam to get to the island why didn’t they leave?

 

 

 

While Whale Watching 1 of 2

Blacktail deerBlacktail deer

We not only see grizzly and black bears along the shore but also blacktail deer. Although more common in the Glendale River estuary where we go to view grizzly bears they are also on some of the small islands on the whales watching safari. On this day we observed several deer on the shore near the seal lion haulout. These pictures were interesting because I caught the deer in mid-flight as it jumped down the rock face. Tomorrow…

 

 

 

Commercial Salmon Fishing 2 of 2

Commercial fishing

A test set often takes about and hour and a half and if time permits we will go closer to the boat for the last ten minutes to get a feel for the work that the fishermen do and see the results of their efforts. On this day they are looking for salmon in the net and do not see any. They pulled the nets out of the water without releasing salmon. On other days while on whales watching trips we may pull along a boom of logs or float houses being towed and often see cruise ships, large self dumping log carriers and barges taking freight to Alaska. Always something different on the Inside Passage.

 

 

 

Commerical Salmon Fishing 1 of 2

Commercial Fishing

The Ocean Predator is a privately owner commercial fishing boat that contracts with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to do test sets for salmon at specific times and locations. They determine, by the amount of salmon they catch, if there will be a commercial fish for certain species of salmon.

 

 

 

Dall’s Porpoise

Dall's PorpoiseDall's Porpoise

Dall’s porpoise are the fastest cetacean in BC, at speeds up to 55 km/hr and like dolphins they will often play around the boat. The white in the corner of the photo is the edge of our boat. Dall’s are found only in the North Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas (Bering Sea, Okhotsk Sea and Sea of Japan). They range from coastal waters to deep offshore waters.  Details of migrations are poorly known, however, Dall’s porpoise are year-round resident though-out much of their range, generally moving north for the summer and south for the winter. Dall’s porpoise feed mainly on small schooling fishes (herring, anchovies, mackerels and sauries) and cephalopods (octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish).

 

 

 

 

A Matter of Position

Good Lunge

As in all wildlife photography timing and being is the right position is important. For this photo the lunge was more toward our boat and and a little slower so it was possible to get a better photo.