June 2011 Sightings
Thursday June 30Wet, windy and wild… is this summer!!! We headed north to escape the rough waters of Georgia Strait, and although the rain seemed to follow us, we were all nice and dry and comfortable in Tenacious's warm, roomy cabin. Moreover, we were rewarded with a great trip; bears don't mind the rain and the good size black bear we saw up at Sonora was quite at home foraging along the shoreline. The eagles were at Jimmy Judd Island in numbers, waiting for the young hake to rise to the surface. I reckon there would have been over 80 at least. Seals, eagles and bears - not bad for a stormy summer day!
Wednesday June 29
Today bears and eagles ruled. We just got word from the boat, that they saw a beautiful, healthy Black Bear on the beach at No Name Bay (sounds like a passage out of Robinson Crusoe). His glossy coat shone in the sun and he was busy turning over 50-60 lb. boulders like cotton ball. He was completely unperturbed by our presence.
We stayed with him for about 15 minutes, then left him and headed through Okisollo Channel to the Yuculta Rapids. Now these are a special place for eagles, we see them in good numbers at Dent and Arran Rapids, but nowhere are we able to wines them so up close and in such numbers! 70 - 80 eagles swooping down onto the hake and salmon, only metres from the boat and you can see the details in their beaks, the determination in their eyes and their razor sharp talons with your bare eyes! Humbling and awesome at the same time.
Tuesday June 28
Orcas at Sentry Shoal, which is just south of Mitlenatch Island, seals, sea lions, sea birds, eagles, Black Bear… do I need to say anymore? Great trip! Thanks Capt. Joel, you've delivered again!
Monday June 27
The weather was pretty ordinary today, but the trip like always never disappointed: we witnessed a spectacular eagle show, a number of California sea lions, 2 Black Bears up in the Bute Inlet and, of course, our beautiful coastal mountain scenery.
Sunday June 26
Afternoon departure and the word was out that a group of Transient Orcas was seen very close by. We turned north and headed up the Discovery Passage, straight through Seymour Narrows on the look out for those Killer Whales. Sure enough, we didn't have to wait long: we spotted 7 Orcas heading north close to the shore line just past Browns Bay. Happy days for everyone on board, the Marine Wildlife Trips have been more like whale watching trips of late due to the high density of Transient Orcas in the area.
We spent a great time with the Transients then we headed through Okisollo Channel which is a channel that divides Quadra and Sonora Island. After circumnavigating Quadra and stopping to enjoy some Harbour Seals and Eagles, we arrived home a very contented boat.
Saturday June 25
Left at 3:30pm and found the Orcas shortly after, they were only 15 min. away at Francisco Point heading northwards along Rebecca Spit. WHAT A DAY WE HAD !!!. AWESOME is the only word to describe it, 6 Transient Orcas including the T2s and T170s. There were an estimated 130 - 150 breaches, constant tail lobbing, reverse tail slaps, over a dozen spy hops, incredible incredible social behaviour. Our guests were treated to a spectacular display, I have never seen so many breeches ever!! It was a day to remember, add this to the two previous trips and this is shaping up to the best Transient Orca season for many years.
On the way home our trip just got better, passing through Browns Bay we encountered 2 humpbacks, were were treated to a spectacular breach to cap off a truly remarkable day.
Thursday June 23
Our trip departure was an early one this morning, 8.30am start. Like yesterday we wanted to try our luck at finding some Transient Orcas, so we decided to head south towards Baker Pass as this would give us as good a chance as any to find them. I love it when we trust our instincts… There they were, heading slowly south, between Hernando and Mitenatch Island. This time the gods were truly smiling on us, 12 orcas!!!
Yesterday it was all about social bonding, today it was all about the kill. A Harbour Seal left himself exposed in the open ocean about a mile out from his haul out, the orcas circled him, they had 2 young calves with them and for the next 20 minutes gave us an extraordinary display of mothers teaching their young how to hunt. The unfortunate seal was battered and thrown about like a rag doll for what seemed like an eternity, until at last from a deep dive, the mature mother exploded like a torpedo from the depths, breaking the water and taking the seal down for the final kill!!!. It was dramatic, exciting and mother nature at its best… right on our doorstep… great trip!
Wednesday June 22
We left at 3pm this afternoon and headed south around Quadra Island, then north up Sutil Channel, what with all the Transient Orca activity of late we were hoping to come across a pod on our way up to Stuart Island. Unbelievable!!!, there they were, 3 transients just south of Read Island, heading our way.
Talk about active - wow - these guys were displaying all sorts of social behaviour, from spy hops to breaching, tail slaps, peduncle throws and some very close bonding action whereby one would rub their body over the other. This went on for quite some time giving our guests a truly memorable experience by witnessing this unique and special social bonding behaviour.
Tuesday June 21
A beautiful grizzly sighting at the same spot in Philips Arm we had seen her a week earlier. When our boat pulled in it came right out of the bush, sat down close in the grass and started munching away. Our guests watched her in awe for quite some time.
Monday June 20
Another fabulous day on the water and again we saw the whales on our Marine Wildlife Tour! 2 seperate groups of Transient Orcas - breaching, tail slapping, spy hopping. If this is any indication, it's going to be an awesome whale watching season!!!
Sunday June 19
ORCAS… I heard on the radio they are within our range. With guests in tow we headed south once again through Baker Pass where it seems most of our Transient Orca watching has taken place so far. There was a pod of 3, a mother and her 2 offsprings.
We were the only boat in the area and just settled down to watch these magnificent marine mammals. For most guests on board it was their first Orca sighting and many sighs - ooooo`s and ahhhhhhh`s - were heard throughout our time with them. As we were in the vicinity of Mitlenatch we never miss an opportunity to take our guests for a look at this rich and diverse island. Over 30 juvenile Steller sea lions were basking on the rocks. Too young to compete with the large mature males for mates, they just hang out together waiting for their turn in a few years time when they have grown to 9ft and 1500 pounds in weight! Seals, eagles, seabirds and happy people… the sun might not have been shining but mother nature looked after us today.
Saturday June 18
We set off early this morning, the tides were great, so on that basis we decided to take our chances of finding a Grizzly Bear. There was no time for stopping on the way as the Grizzly country was right on the border of our time limit, but it was too good an opportunity to miss. An hour or so later, with me peering through my binoculars looking intently for what I hoped hadn't been a wasted effort, we were rewarded: there, feeding on the sedge grass, was a huge healthy mature male Grizzly Bear!!! He didn't seem perturbed by our presence as we crept along very, very slowly. Our passengers were delighted, many, being from Europe, were ecstatic to see one of Canada's true wildlife icons. We enjoyed his presence for a while, everybody satisfied with that golden camera moment. On the way back, only 10 mins from the Grizzly sighting, we saw a large healthy Black Bear. It was great for our guests to have seen the two types, both very beautiful, but very different at the same time. The ride home was a happy one. We took a punt and it paid off it was a 'bear' day to remember!
Friday June 17
We headed south to start the trip as there was a report of Transients in the area. Unfortunately they proved all to elusive, so we decided to circumnavigate Mitlenatch Island and catch up with some juvenile Steller sea lions as well as harbour seals and a plethora of sea birds, then we headed up north, the tide was good so we hugged the mainland on the look out for Black Bears. We were soon rewarded with a beautiful healthy looking male enjoying the mussels in the inter tidal zone, a quick burn through the Arran Rapids and we were into a great eagle show.
These guys swooping down to pick up the small fish that are pushed to the surface in the strong tidal currents, lunch was followed by Sonora's seals and then an enjoyable ride home in the sunshine basking in the the spectacular mountain scenery.
Thursday June 16
Our boat spotted Transients at Race Point heading south, yep that means right past Campbell River. WOW, so close, very very cool, 5 in total. We stayed with them for a while before heading up towards Stuart Island where we saw a Black Bear and enjoyed the rapids that were pumping!!!
Wednesday June 15
Caught sight of a female grizzly in Philips Arm, a very rare occurrence! She was busy munching away on sedge grass and we were able to get fairly close to shore. We decided to follow her example and had lunch while we were watching her for quite sometime!
Did you know:
When grizzlies wake up from hibernation, they need to get their digestive system working after the long time of inactivity. Sedge grass is high in protein and while providing them with energy, it also gets their system going.
Tuesday June 14
Our Marine Wildlife Tour started out delayed because we had to pick up two 'stranded guests'. In the end, this turned out to be our luck, because we would have missed this great sighting had we been on time. A humpback whale right at Race Point! He was breaching for us, which is a rare thing to be observed!
After that we had Pacific white sided dolphins accompany us and ride the bow wave and saw seals lazing around and eagles soaring for us. Our guests were delighted, and once again our Marine Wildlife had more than met their expectations.
Saturday June 11
What a trip!!!!............ unbelievable Orca day, weather was perfect, snow capped mountains in the background… perfect… transient Orcas… perfect.
We set out early at 9am heading towards Mitlenatch Island, one eye was on the island and its magnificent bird and marine mammals and the other was on the lookout for that majestic blow! A report came in that there was a sighting at the Twin Islands which are located just through Bakers Pass heading towards Lund on the mainland. We weren't disappointed, a breech in the distance gave us a perfect start to the morning, the orcas went through a range of behaviours from spy hopping, tail slapping and breaching as well as one successful kill.
All in all a great morning, so after sharing some time with the Orcas we headed off to Mitlenatch where a young juvenile Steller sea lion decided to keep us company for half way around the island, swimming right next to our slow moving vessel, pigeon guillemots, gulls, scooters and a lone bald eagle along with a plethora of wide eyed harbour seals completed a more than memorable morning trip!
Wednesday June 8
Beautiful calm day on the water, stunning snow capped mountains provided a perfect backdrop for a wonderful afternoon. Sonora Island once again proved to be a great place to view Black Bears with 2 excellent sightings, it truly is a wonder to watch these beautiful iconic animals foraging along the inter tidal zone.
Eagles, Eagles and Eagles… stopped counting at over 30 eagles on the trip, highest concentration along the the strong tidal currents of Seymour Narrows, and the tidal rapid systems around Sonora and Stuart Island.
My favourite marine mammals made an appearance today, the beautiful fast agile Dall's porpoise, these guys made a bee line for our boat and we all enjoyed watching them ride the bow wave. One can never ever tire of seeing these beautiful sleek cetaceans darting and weaving in the bow wave… made my day!!!!
Did you know:
Dall's porpoises, when swimming at high speeds, create fan-shaped splashes of water, called "rooster tails" because the spray resembles a rooster's tail. Rooster tails are one way that scientists use to identify Dall's porpoises.
Thursday June 2
This trip focused on Black Bears, the tour group was from the USA and their focus was on the American Black Bear. Luckily for them they came to the right place, Vancouver Island and the neighbouring Discovery Islands are a haven for the Black Bear. There are actually 16 sub species of Black Bear, the species found here on the island is known as Ursus americanus vancouverii.
The trip was a success, we saw 3 Black Bears in total. We took advantage of the low tide and were rewarded with bears foraging along the inter tidal zone (the area between high and low tide) for high protein food such as mussels, oysters, barnacles and crabs.
We also combined the trip with an exhilarating ride through numerous Tidal rapid systems such as the Arran Rapids, Dent Rapids and the Yuculta rapids . Travelling through these unique rapid systems is not only fun but it is a great time to take advantage of seeing Bald Eagles, seabirds, seals and sealions feeding on hake and herring.
Did you know: Wild male black bears of breeding age usually weigh between 125 and 500 pounds, depending upon age, season, and food. Very well fed bears can be heavier. The record is 880 pounds in Craven County, North Carolina, and a close second from northeastern Minnesota weighed 876 pounds on September 5, 1994. Wild females usually weigh between 90 and 300 pounds with the heaviest known female weighing 520 pounds in northeastern Minnesota on August 30, 1993. Black bears in captivity may exceed these records.