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.

Waiting Quietly 1 of 6

orca close to boat

The orca / killer whales in the Grizzly Bear Lodge’s whale safari area are mostly resident or fish eaters although at times we encounter the transient or mammal eaters.  The northern resident orca are located in waters north of Campbell River on Vancouver Island and while the transient orca are more often found in BC coastal inlets. This is a female orca as indicated by the shorter dorsal fin. Sitting quietly while whale watching is the key to many interesting photos. Humpback whale tomorrow.

 

 

Steller Sea Lions Pose for Guests

Stellar sea lions

Whale watching safari trips from the Grizzly Bear Lodge include more than humpback whales and orca.  The water-ways between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland abound in marine based wildlife: eagles, large variety of ducks and water fowl, white-sided dolphins, dall’s porpoise, harbour porpoise, harbour seals and of course stellar sea lions. A safari trip without viewing a majority of these is not considered a good day. These steller sea lions migrate between California and Alaska in the spring and fall and in the past few years some have made the area their year round residence.

 

 

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

The morning run up Knight Inlet on the grizzly bear tour is always interesting.  It is a spectral view, Grizzly Bear Lodge is located approximately 20 miles from the mouth, and the grizzly viewing area starts another 25 miles up the inlet, which is about 90 miles long. Eagles are abundant on the morning run this one being in the Glendale estuary the primary grizzly bear viewing area.  Eagles are not always in trees it is not uncommon to watch them pick up a fish from the water and then land on shore to eat the “catch of the day”. This bald eagle with talons open was coming in to catch a late breakfast.

 

 

Humpback Whale

Humpback lobtailing

“Humpbacks also stick their tail out of the water into the air, swing it around, and then slap it on the water’s surface; this is called lobtailing. It makes a very loud sound. The meaning or purpose of lobtailing is unknown, but may be done as a warning to the rest of the pod. Humpbacks lobtail more when the seas are rough and stormy.” A quote from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Our guest are not always interested in the reason behind mammal’s behaviour but they sure do want the photographs. The numbers of humpback whales that are staying in our viewing area all summer are increasing every year so these photos are becoming common.

 

 

BEST GUEST BLOG

Please.

This is a great site to visit to get a “guest eye view” of a trip to our lodge.

Click on this link

http://www.masey.com.au/2010/08/dream-grizzly-trip-day-one/

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 “Pages” and select “Google Map of Grizzly Bear Lodge 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.

Bald Eagle in Flight

Bald Eagle

Glen, one of the Lodge guides, takes many excellent photos and allows me to use them on the blog. He would likely have deleted this photo because part of the wing tip is missing but I have lower standards.  Bald eagles are a favourite subject for our guests and I am sure many would be happy with this photo, as they do not have three months to capture the “peeeerfect” picture.

 

 

Killer Whales 2 of 2

Spring Salmon

To explain this photo. The odd shape is because the lower left corner is the edge of a white boat. I am the figure over the edge of the boat taking a picture of the salmon.  There is not much to show perspective but this salmon would likely weight close to 12 kilo (twenty-five pounds). This is a good size spring salmon and the orcas favourite food. We remained drifting in this area for about twenty minutes with orcas around the boat and the salmon beneath coming out on occasion but staying close to the boat. If I had a net we would have had fresh salmon for supper but the guest agreed we were sanctuary and netting would not be fair.

 

 

Killer Whales 1 of 2

Large male orca

Grizzly Bear Lodge’s whale watching safari trips travel to the waters of Johnstone Strait, between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia.  The orca / killer whales arrives in the area by late June or early July and remains until late October.  These resident salmon eating orca travel in pods and are curious, as most dolphins.  They have been known to detour from their normal path of travel to inspect boats and whale watchers passing on all sides of the boat which makes it hard to choose the best chance for a picture. This large male may have come close for another reason. See tomorrow’s post

 

 

Visiting Humpback Whales

Humpback Whales visiting

The lodge’s whale watching is takes places on the waters between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland.  An area around Telegraph Cove on the Johnstone Strait.  Humpback whales and calves are becoming a more common sight in our viewing area. They arrive in the waters off the East Coast of Vancouver Island in the spring and feed in the area until late October. In this photo one of our boats was sitting quietly watching another humpback whale when this mother and calf came for a visit.