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.

Wildlife Watching?

Batboat

Not all watching is wildlife watching.  This summer we were taken by surprise when this vessel showed up in our viewing area.  The guest I had on board became quite interested and took many photos.

“PORT ANGELES — Galeocerdo — which is the genus name of the tiger shark — came into the Port Angeles Boat Haven for a load of fuel on Friday afternoon.

The unique-looking vessel conjures images of the Batmobile or something out of “Star Wars.”

The 118-foot vessel was built of composite materials by Wally Yachts in Italy in 2003.

She is powered by three gas turbine Detroit Diesel engines that generate 16,800 horsepower, which will push the boat up to 60 knots (70 mph).

She also has two auxiliary Cummins diesel engines, each of which delivers 370 horsepower and are used for close-quarter maneuvering and cruising at the more comfortable speed of 9 knots.

I understand that Galeocerdo was most recently in Mexico’s Baja California state cruising in the Sea of Cortez and is on her way north to spend the balance of the summer season cruising in British Columbia. But you can read more about this unusual vessel — with photos of its layout inside — at http://www.superyachttimes.com/sale/details/327.” Taken from the Peninsula Daily News

 

 

Humpback Whale Breaching

Humpback Whale Breaching

This was an interesting morning off the end of Craycroft Point that juts out into Johnstone Strait. We were watching some orca feeding in the ripe tide as well as a humpback whale. These were resident or salmon eating orca so no threat to the humpback but it was repeatedly breach as if to scare the orca from the area but it was not working. The highest count I got was nine breaches in a row. This breach was mid-way in a sequence were the whale was coming out of the water and down with a loud slap.  The guest got many excellent photos, which put mine to shame, but then I always use the excuse “I was running the boat.”

 

Killer whales passing

Orca and Guests

A day whale watching from Grizzly Bear Lodge does not mean that you will be in “close” proximity to orca or humpback whales all the time.  There is, however an excellent chance that sometime during the trip you will be close enough to get those “bucket list” pictures. A good photo is the result of patience and position. My job as a guide is to get you into the best position and as a guest you just need the patience.

 

 

Stelle Sea lion Visiting

Stellar sea lion

This is probably as close as one needs to get to a steller sea lion. The sea lions migrate between California and Alaska. Traveling north in the spring (June) and back south in the fall (September) although for the past several years there have been several dozen sea lions that stay in the area all year. On this day we had stopped to watch a humpback whale feeding in Weynton Pass when this Sealion visited us. And by visited I mean it came right up to the edge of the boat as if to ask: “What are you doing?”

 

Black Bear Tour

Black Bear Tours

Every tour from Grizzly Bear Lodge is a black bear tour. Black bears do not have access to the salmon rivers because of the number of grizzly bears in the area so their main source of protein is to turnover rocks on the beach. This inter-tidal zone contains crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. This photo was taken as we first approach the bear. The idea is to come in slowly and allow the bear to adjust to our presence, which permits a chance for a better photo. The better photo in this sequence was posted on January 31st.

 

 

 

Bald Eagle Spotting

Young Bald Eagle

It does not matter if we are on a grizzly bear tour, whale watching or on a trip to Trapper Rick’s on the extra day in camp guests are always looking for bald eagles.  The eagles white head is easy to spot as we run along the shore to our destination. What is hard to see is the immature eagles, which do not start getting their white feathers until their third year and do not have a full white head until their fifth. Juvenile bald eagles are a mixture of brown and white with a black beak in young birds. The adult plumage develops when they are sexually mature. Once we have reached either the grizzly bear viewing area or the location of the whales and we have stopped to view the wildlife it is much easier to find the juvenile eagles along the sore.

 

Two for one lunge feeding Humpback Whales

Humpback Whales Lunging

To provide perspective the yellow in the right hand corner is a guest’s head. Over the past five years humpback whales have become more common in Grizzly Bear Lodge’s whale watching area so a normal day in 2014 we would view between ten and twenty different whales. The idea is to wait quietly near a herring ball and wait for the whale’s lunge with mouth open to engulf the herring. In this case we had two coming up through a large school of herring.

 

 

Waiting Quietly 6 of 6

Black Bear on the beach

Even a black bear must move between rocks in search of food and that is the best time for a good photo. The one constant on every tour that leaves Grizzly Bear Lodge in the morning is that we are always looking for black bears along the shore. Many black bear sightings occur on the whale watching days and occasionally the grizzly bear trips see whales. “Wildlife is where you find it!” a guide’s favourite quote.

 

 

Waiting Quietly 5 of 6

Black Bear on the beach

The first evening the guests arrive at Grizzly Bear Lodge there is normally a black bear tour in the local area. It is a get to know your guide and boat as well as look for eagles, harbour seals, black bears and other wildlife.  Black bears are on the beach to turnover rocks. This inter-tidal zone “food” is high in protein and is made up of crab, clams, barnacles, amphipods and other tiny invertebrates. The beaches are normally sloped down to the water and being that it is easier to roll rocks downhill this is a common view of a back bear. But again patience and waiting does have its rewards as will tomorrow’s blog post.

 

 

Waiting Quietly 2 of 6

Humpback whale lunging

Again sitting quietly in an area known as Bold Head we wait for the humpback whales to appear. We do cheat a little because the first thing we do is find a herring ball, which is located by the seagulls diving in the water. Parked near the herring we wait for the whales to come and feed. The feeding is a lunge as the whales come from beneath the herring with their mouth open to engulf the whole herring ball. More waiting tomorrow!