Grizzly bears are the “stars” of the lodge but time is spent looking for marine “wildlife” in the water off the East Coast of Vancouver Island. We normally manage to find eagles, orca, sealions, seals, dolphins, and humpback whales. All this and still time for a stop in Telegraph Cove to use the facilities and maybe grab a cup of hot chocolate or coffee.
Photos by
Bruce & Carole Cripps 11-11
One of the benefits of our location is that we are protected from the open ocean and the big swells. We do get afternoon winds in the summer, but more often than not the mornings are nice and calm. Thanks Tom for this great picture of a peaceful morning on the water at Sailcone
It is mid morning on Johnstone Strait and we came upon a pod of what appeared to be orca resting. I am not sure that I would call this resting as most of the time seemed to have been spent playing. This pod of orca took more than an hour to move a hundred meters (yards). The adults would drift with the current while the young spy hopped, tail slapped and rolled on their backs. Fantastic viewing and I even saved on fuel.
Some photos capture the majesty of the orca. This is a large male coming for a closer look. Often the best approach to viewing marine life in the area between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast is to sit quietly in the boat with engine turned off and allow visitors approach. Lunchtime on a whale watching tour involves drifting and waiting. Photos by
Peter Palstring 5-6
The Humpback Whales that frequent the waters near the lodge are migratory. Most of the whales in our area head to Hawaii in the winter to mate and have their calves. Biologists are able to identify these whales by taking pictures of the underside of their fluke (tail). These markings are unique and once the whale is mature will not change. They are catalogued and separated according to region and the percentage of white and dark colours. This whale is known as “Guardian.” She is frequently spotted in our waters and has been returning for several years.
Fish and birds aren’t the only ones who feed on herring balls. Humpbacks often do what is called a lunge feed where they come up from underneath the herring ball with their mouth open and try to consume as many fish as possible. Often when we are out whale watching you will see gulls feeding on a herring ball. When the birds lift off the water it usually means one of two things. Either the fish have dispersed or there is a whale coming up for a snack.
A killer whale / orca’s working speed is much faster than a humpback as it is looking for salmon. This orca had been circling the area of our boat as we sat and watched it feed. This time if surfaced under a “full head of steam” before it dove again nearer the boat to continue it’s search for food. Again as in January 17th post my guests did not complain.
The working aspect of this post has two meanings. First I am working and the only reason it can be classified as that is because I get paid, other than that it is just fun. The second one working is the humpback whale as it passes along the shore looking for more herring to fill it’s demand for food. Note the bar in the lower left corner of the photo is the metal bar on our boat which holds the radar. So yes the whale is close.
Orca are highly intelligent and incredibly sociable animals. There behaviour varies day to day. They are often travelling, foraging and resting, but they do take time for play and socializing as well. This whale is basically standing on his head and doing a little bit of “tail lobbing”.
This photo was a little far off for my Olympus TG 4 camera but my guests sure got some great shot. It was a morning that involved allot of activity within the pods of killer whales. There was spyhopping, tail slapping and even the occasional breach which nobody caught on camera. Reason I show this is because it is my first double spyhop.
Just like that our season has come to an end. I would like to thank all of our wonderful guests and staff who made this year a huge success. I am happy to stay that all of our team is planning to return next season. We are actively taking bookings, with dates starting June 1 2025. Hope to see many of you next season.
The wildlife viewing this season was awesome. A couple highlights that come to mind was the shear number of salmon in our local rivers, as well as the abundance of Resident Orca. With salmon returns being so strong this year, we were happy to see bears in excellent condition. By the end of our season most of the bears had packed on a lot of weight and were getting very “picky” about what parts of the salmon they would eat. Hopefully this will translate into more cubs being born this winter. Another positive was the weather conditions. We had enough rain to keep our fire risks low and it made for some excellent wild berries. The bears took full advantage of this, with the berry season extending far past its normal conclusion. This did mean that we had to work hard to find bears during our summer season, (as they were often feeding on the berries deep into the forest), but moving forward it is excellent that they had such an abundant food supply. The Humpbacks also didn’t disappoint, with great numbers and a few new calves returning with their mothers to feed. After a slower year for resident Orca sightings, this season was one of the best that I can remember. In fact as Im writing this the A62 and A23’s are still being spotted in the area by dedicated biologists. Strong numbers of Chinook and Chum salmon are providing them with a steady food source. There are a lot of positive signs and we are hopeful that 2025 will be another great season.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We plan on having a new cedar front deck built in time for the 2025 season, as well as new ceilings and paint in parts of the lodge and rooms. Theres always projects on the go.
Felix, Julien, Ryan, Zack and Myself all look forward to welcoming guest in June. See everyone soon.
Angus Reid
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