September 2011 Sightings
Thursday September 29
Whale Watch
We departed the dock at 10am and headed north up the discovery passage. There was no report of any resident orcas anywhere, they have been absent now for a week but we have had lots of Transients over the last 2 weeks so they were our focus of the day . An extensive search by us and two other companies however did not reveal any of these sometimes slippery ceteceans. We did however see a nice Humpback Whale at Chatham Point , as well as Steller sealions, harbour seals, dall's porpoise, harbour porpoise , bald eagles and a beautiful black bear foraging on the beach , so all in all a pretty good day.
Whale Watch
We departed the dock at 10am and headed north up the discovery passage. There was no report of any resident orcas anywhere, they have been absent now for a week but we have had lots of Transients over the last 2 weeks so they were our focus of the day . An extensive search by us and two other companies however did not reveal any of these sometimes slippery ceteceans. We did however see a nice Humpback Whale at Chatham Point , as well as Steller sealions, harbour seals, dall's porpoise, harbour porpoise , bald eagles and a beautiful black bear foraging on the beach , so all in all a pretty good day.
Wednesday September 28
Whale Watch
Today was a great day with lots of sightings! 4 transients at Kanish Bay, 2 humpbacks off Copper Cliffs, very close to shore, lots of harbour porpoises & seals, 100+ stellar sealions in the Saymour Narrows and Jimmy Judd, and many bald eagles flying overhead! The transients were the T2's and they had a brand new calf with them....less than a week old!! That's always a treat to see. We then came across one of the humpbacks again at Plumper Bay. The Rapids were amazing today and we took an exciting ride through them; always a bonus!! All in all it was a fantastic day and the weather even cooperated with sunshine all day....very welcome after all the windstorms earlier in the week!
Grizzly Trip
Whale Watch
Today was a great day with lots of sightings! 4 transients at Kanish Bay, 2 humpbacks off Copper Cliffs, very close to shore, lots of harbour porpoises & seals, 100+ stellar sealions in the Saymour Narrows and Jimmy Judd, and many bald eagles flying overhead! The transients were the T2's and they had a brand new calf with them....less than a week old!! That's always a treat to see. We then came across one of the humpbacks again at Plumper Bay. The Rapids were amazing today and we took an exciting ride through them; always a bonus!! All in all it was a fantastic day and the weather even cooperated with sunshine all day....very welcome after all the windstorms earlier in the week!
Grizzly Trip
What a beautiful day to watch Grizzly Bears , we left the dock at 11.30 am and on the way up once again were treated to some Transient Orcas on our way , there were 4 in total accompanied by a tiny new born calf !!! Continuing on we saw Steller Sealions, harbour seals, dall's porpoise and eagles.
But we were there for the bears and bears we got! In total we watched 4 Grizzlies at 3 different locations along the river. It was fantastic as all locations are spectacular and the sightings were quality , ie long, close, bears eating fish , bears swimming, bears standing etc. All this under blue sky and sunshine.
To cap it off on the way back we spotted a Humpback Whale at Browns Bay and to everyone's delight it breeched completely out of the water !!! PERFECT !!
But we were there for the bears and bears we got! In total we watched 4 Grizzlies at 3 different locations along the river. It was fantastic as all locations are spectacular and the sightings were quality , ie long, close, bears eating fish , bears swimming, bears standing etc. All this under blue sky and sunshine.
To cap it off on the way back we spotted a Humpback Whale at Browns Bay and to everyone's delight it breeched completely out of the water !!! PERFECT !!
Tuesday September 27
Grizzly Trip
At last a break from the rain, yippeee!! We left the dock just after 11.30 am and headed north......my word there was alot of debris in the water after the previous day's storm! But we were in safe hands; captain Joel has been navigating these waters for the last 20 years and is a pure diamond.
We were on a bear tour but as we were on our way we had the opportunity to stop and enjoy some Transient Orcas. These guys were the T2c's , normally there are 3 of them but surprise suprise they had a new addition to their family!!! A brand new calf how AWESOME !! We have a lot of history with this matriline and we see them often so to see a new calf literally only a few days old was magical and a very good sign for the rest of the trip.
After leaving the orcas we stopped by and watched the Steller Sealions and seals and enjoyed a thrilling ride through the various tidal rapids.
The river had gone down quite considerably from the previous trip so this was encouraging for our sightings . We made our way up to Tower 4 and waited patiently. Our patience was rewarded when a nice size male came out of the forest, walked along a large tree trunk in the middle of the Elgard River, looked about him for a while, and then slowly ambled back off and into the forest. Ok that was only a 5 minute sighting but it was a good one . We waited a while incase he came back out, but after 20 minutes we decided to try the spawning channel. No luck there so we checked out the beaver lodge and a few other places before moving back to Tower 5. We saw lots of gulls, an eagle and fish but no bear!! So we headed back out towards the spawning channel for one last chance . I stopped the bus some way away and walked down quietly, YES!!! A nice size bear was busy chowing down on some salmon! I quickly brought the rest of the group up and we had a good 20 minutes enjoying watching him before our time was finally up and we headed home happy.
One last treat was 70 pacific white sided dolphins foraging and playing off our bow and stern on the way home at Seymour narrows. Always a perfect way to end a trip
Grizzly Trip
At last a break from the rain, yippeee!! We left the dock just after 11.30 am and headed north......my word there was alot of debris in the water after the previous day's storm! But we were in safe hands; captain Joel has been navigating these waters for the last 20 years and is a pure diamond.
We were on a bear tour but as we were on our way we had the opportunity to stop and enjoy some Transient Orcas. These guys were the T2c's , normally there are 3 of them but surprise suprise they had a new addition to their family!!! A brand new calf how AWESOME !! We have a lot of history with this matriline and we see them often so to see a new calf literally only a few days old was magical and a very good sign for the rest of the trip.
After leaving the orcas we stopped by and watched the Steller Sealions and seals and enjoyed a thrilling ride through the various tidal rapids.
The river had gone down quite considerably from the previous trip so this was encouraging for our sightings . We made our way up to Tower 4 and waited patiently. Our patience was rewarded when a nice size male came out of the forest, walked along a large tree trunk in the middle of the Elgard River, looked about him for a while, and then slowly ambled back off and into the forest. Ok that was only a 5 minute sighting but it was a good one . We waited a while incase he came back out, but after 20 minutes we decided to try the spawning channel. No luck there so we checked out the beaver lodge and a few other places before moving back to Tower 5. We saw lots of gulls, an eagle and fish but no bear!! So we headed back out towards the spawning channel for one last chance . I stopped the bus some way away and walked down quietly, YES!!! A nice size bear was busy chowing down on some salmon! I quickly brought the rest of the group up and we had a good 20 minutes enjoying watching him before our time was finally up and we headed home happy.
One last treat was 70 pacific white sided dolphins foraging and playing off our bow and stern on the way home at Seymour narrows. Always a perfect way to end a trip
Sunday September 25
Grizzly Trip
We left the dock at 11.30am , wow what a wet and wild day , the heavens certainly opened up today! All was good though as we all kept dry in the covered boat!! On the way up to the Orford estuary we saw groups of Dall's porpoise, harbour porpoise, harbour seals and Steller Sealions.
The Orford and Elgard rivers were very very high reducing the bear viewing opportunities as there was very little river bank for them to follow; however, we did get lucky when we went up to Tower 5 . When we arrived we had a bear come out of the forest within a minute!! 2 minutes later another bear came out chasing away the original bear!! This bear gave us a good look coming out into the open in order for everyone to take a picture of a 'bear in the mist'.
We had to make our way back when she disappeared back into the forest as the water was rising quickly and we didn't want to get stranded at the point!! All in all 2 bears under the circumstances was a good return for the day .
Whale Watch
Saw 4 transients up at the Sophia gardens, first time these particular Transients were seen in this area ever!
Grizzly Trip
We left the dock at 11.30am , wow what a wet and wild day , the heavens certainly opened up today! All was good though as we all kept dry in the covered boat!! On the way up to the Orford estuary we saw groups of Dall's porpoise, harbour porpoise, harbour seals and Steller Sealions.
The Orford and Elgard rivers were very very high reducing the bear viewing opportunities as there was very little river bank for them to follow; however, we did get lucky when we went up to Tower 5 . When we arrived we had a bear come out of the forest within a minute!! 2 minutes later another bear came out chasing away the original bear!! This bear gave us a good look coming out into the open in order for everyone to take a picture of a 'bear in the mist'.
We had to make our way back when she disappeared back into the forest as the water was rising quickly and we didn't want to get stranded at the point!! All in all 2 bears under the circumstances was a good return for the day .
Whale Watch
Saw 4 transients up at the Sophia gardens, first time these particular Transients were seen in this area ever!
Saturday September 24
Whale Watch
Soon after departing, we saw 14 transient orcas at Tyee Point, hunting 100+ pacific white-sided dolphins! Honestly, how neat is that?! The water was calm, the scenery gorgeous, no wind, so we just relaxed and kicked back on the boat white the orcas remained in a tight-knit group, milling around the boat for a long time!! After spending some good quality time with the transients, we headed off in search of additional wildlife and came across 30+ stellar sealions, 100+ harbour seals, and a dozen bald eagles at Jimmy Judd Island. It had already been a great day so far so when we came up on 2 humpbacks at Humpback Bay, it was icing on the cake! On our way home, we travelled with 300+ dolphins heading north at Brown's Bay. Fantastic Day!!
Grizzly Expedition
Sightings were great today!! Our group saw a total of 7 bears doing everything from hunting, to swimming, to back-rubbing, to browsing, and just hanging out. The grizzlies were very laid back today and it gave us ample photo opportunities! Our time on land went by way too quickly as the bears were still out and about when we had to leave. Today created lots of great memories for everyone; it's a wonderful day when you're surrounded by such gorgeous animals in their natural environment!
Whale Watch
Soon after departing, we saw 14 transient orcas at Tyee Point, hunting 100+ pacific white-sided dolphins! Honestly, how neat is that?! The water was calm, the scenery gorgeous, no wind, so we just relaxed and kicked back on the boat white the orcas remained in a tight-knit group, milling around the boat for a long time!! After spending some good quality time with the transients, we headed off in search of additional wildlife and came across 30+ stellar sealions, 100+ harbour seals, and a dozen bald eagles at Jimmy Judd Island. It had already been a great day so far so when we came up on 2 humpbacks at Humpback Bay, it was icing on the cake! On our way home, we travelled with 300+ dolphins heading north at Brown's Bay. Fantastic Day!!
Grizzly Expedition
Sightings were great today!! Our group saw a total of 7 bears doing everything from hunting, to swimming, to back-rubbing, to browsing, and just hanging out. The grizzlies were very laid back today and it gave us ample photo opportunities! Our time on land went by way too quickly as the bears were still out and about when we had to leave. Today created lots of great memories for everyone; it's a wonderful day when you're surrounded by such gorgeous animals in their natural environment!
Thursday September 22
Whale Watch
We left the dock at 10:30am and headed north out of the wind; we didn't have to go very far before we found 4 Transient Orcas. Wow this was fantastic, Orcas within 10 minutes of leaving the dock. We spent an hour with these guys before turning back north into calmer seas , as we turned into Johnstone Strait we found 100 plus pacific white sided dolphins !!!, great start, Orcas and dolphins.
We decided to go to Stuart Island for lunch but took the back country route; it's so beautiful between East and West Thurlow Islands. The waters were calm and the scenery is spectacular. As we re entered Nodales Channel, a small group of Dall's porpoises shot past the boat , these guys are so beautiful!! We paused and watched them zip around foraging for fish , very entertaining. We came across a second group of Dall's 10 minutes later, they had a tiny new born calf with them , literally it would only be 1.5 - 2 ft in length....very very cute!!
Lunch was at Big Bay followed by approximately 24-30 Steller Sealions , 100-150 Seals , bald egales and some harbour porpoise.
Great Trip!!
Whale Watch
We left the dock at 10:30am and headed north out of the wind; we didn't have to go very far before we found 4 Transient Orcas. Wow this was fantastic, Orcas within 10 minutes of leaving the dock. We spent an hour with these guys before turning back north into calmer seas , as we turned into Johnstone Strait we found 100 plus pacific white sided dolphins !!!, great start, Orcas and dolphins.
We decided to go to Stuart Island for lunch but took the back country route; it's so beautiful between East and West Thurlow Islands. The waters were calm and the scenery is spectacular. As we re entered Nodales Channel, a small group of Dall's porpoises shot past the boat , these guys are so beautiful!! We paused and watched them zip around foraging for fish , very entertaining. We came across a second group of Dall's 10 minutes later, they had a tiny new born calf with them , literally it would only be 1.5 - 2 ft in length....very very cute!!
Lunch was at Big Bay followed by approximately 24-30 Steller Sealions , 100-150 Seals , bald egales and some harbour porpoise.
Great Trip!!
Wednesday September 21
Grizzly Trip
Off the dock at 11.30am wet and overcast conditions didn't perturb the crew or our guests, whales and bears don't mind the water!!
Within a short while whilst halfway up discovery passage we came across 10 Transient Orcas !!!, Wow , this is a bear trip not a whale watch but who cares you can't go past Orcas no matter what !! We stopped and enjoyed 45 minutes with the Transients before continuing on. As we passed Stuart Island we saw 24 huge steller sealions hauled out on the rocks; these guys are the grizzly bears of the ocean , being over 9 feet long and up to 1500 pounds in weight !!
When we got to the Orford Estuary the rivers had risen quite considerably. Gone was the crystal clear waters of the Elgard River and the Blue Green waters of the Orford, this was replaced by fast moving brown water!! I wondered if this would affect our bears.
My fears were lost when, as we approached the spawning channel, a large male grizzly was right there , taking advantage of the shallow water and spawning chum salmon. We watched this big guy for over an hour; we were literally only 20 -30 feet away and in that time he caught and ate over 7 salmon!!!
I moved the group up to Towers 4 and 5 , our timing was perfect! Although the river was fast rising, there were 2 Grizzly Bears right there , a third followed shortly after . This was great we had mist just over the river , hundreds of gulls taking advantage of the dead salmon and Grizzlies in the mist....AWESOME!!!!!!
All in all we saw 7 Tansient Orcas, 24 Steller Sealions, Eagles , porpoise, 4 Grizzly Bears (no wait time ) ....very good trip!!
Grizzly Trip
Off the dock at 11.30am wet and overcast conditions didn't perturb the crew or our guests, whales and bears don't mind the water!!
Within a short while whilst halfway up discovery passage we came across 10 Transient Orcas !!!, Wow , this is a bear trip not a whale watch but who cares you can't go past Orcas no matter what !! We stopped and enjoyed 45 minutes with the Transients before continuing on. As we passed Stuart Island we saw 24 huge steller sealions hauled out on the rocks; these guys are the grizzly bears of the ocean , being over 9 feet long and up to 1500 pounds in weight !!
When we got to the Orford Estuary the rivers had risen quite considerably. Gone was the crystal clear waters of the Elgard River and the Blue Green waters of the Orford, this was replaced by fast moving brown water!! I wondered if this would affect our bears.
My fears were lost when, as we approached the spawning channel, a large male grizzly was right there , taking advantage of the shallow water and spawning chum salmon. We watched this big guy for over an hour; we were literally only 20 -30 feet away and in that time he caught and ate over 7 salmon!!!
I moved the group up to Towers 4 and 5 , our timing was perfect! Although the river was fast rising, there were 2 Grizzly Bears right there , a third followed shortly after . This was great we had mist just over the river , hundreds of gulls taking advantage of the dead salmon and Grizzlies in the mist....AWESOME!!!!!!
All in all we saw 7 Tansient Orcas, 24 Steller Sealions, Eagles , porpoise, 4 Grizzly Bears (no wait time ) ....very good trip!!
Tuesday September 20
Whale Watch
We departed the dock at 9am , we were the only whale watching boat out on the water today , so our network of finding the whales was pretty slim, it was all down to us. So we headed north into Johnstone Strait, the weather was overcast and windy with some strong wind warning predicted for the afternoon. Our boat however, Tenacious, is superb in inclemant weather so undettered we continued north. Our first of many highlights that day was an encounter with a Humpback whale in Kelsey Bay. After a brief photo stop we continued on. The weather in the strait took a bit of a turn for the worse and we were soon in 3-4 foot swelsl with a following sea behind us we surfed the ocean up into the still beautiful calm waters of Blackfish sound.
When we arrived in the sound we were in for a treat: large groups of resident orcas had converged in the area just as we got there. My initial estimate was that there were well over 40 individuals, but reports later on confirmed over 70 . We had spectacular viewing , spending over an hour we witnessed large groups of orcas , resting, socializing, foraging all around us, at every angle you looked you could see orcas, you didn't need binoculars for this trip!! It was amazing.
Then to cap it off a humpback whale appeared and moved right through the middle of over 40 orcas, making loud trumpeting vocals as he passed through. Throw in 2 dozen foraging pacific white sided dolphins into the mix....what more could you ask for !!!!
On the return trip , the Tenacious battled through the seas once more. Capt. Joel kept everyone entertained and did a marvelous job . When we arrived in Kelsey Bay the seas had calmed once more to flat calm. the trip wasnt over yet; at Chatham Point we encountered a large group of 100 plus white sided dolphins and then to cap it off as we approached Seymour Narrows only 20 minutes from home, 7 Transient Orcas showed up !!! Unbelievable , and these guys were active, we saw 4 breeches, multiple tail slaps, 3 peduncle throws , pectoral slaps and a lot of excited passengers!
It was a long day but extremely rewarding and fruitful!
I LOVE THESE WATERS !!!!!!
Whale Watch
We departed the dock at 9am , we were the only whale watching boat out on the water today , so our network of finding the whales was pretty slim, it was all down to us. So we headed north into Johnstone Strait, the weather was overcast and windy with some strong wind warning predicted for the afternoon. Our boat however, Tenacious, is superb in inclemant weather so undettered we continued north. Our first of many highlights that day was an encounter with a Humpback whale in Kelsey Bay. After a brief photo stop we continued on. The weather in the strait took a bit of a turn for the worse and we were soon in 3-4 foot swelsl with a following sea behind us we surfed the ocean up into the still beautiful calm waters of Blackfish sound.
When we arrived in the sound we were in for a treat: large groups of resident orcas had converged in the area just as we got there. My initial estimate was that there were well over 40 individuals, but reports later on confirmed over 70 . We had spectacular viewing , spending over an hour we witnessed large groups of orcas , resting, socializing, foraging all around us, at every angle you looked you could see orcas, you didn't need binoculars for this trip!! It was amazing.
Then to cap it off a humpback whale appeared and moved right through the middle of over 40 orcas, making loud trumpeting vocals as he passed through. Throw in 2 dozen foraging pacific white sided dolphins into the mix....what more could you ask for !!!!
On the return trip , the Tenacious battled through the seas once more. Capt. Joel kept everyone entertained and did a marvelous job . When we arrived in Kelsey Bay the seas had calmed once more to flat calm. the trip wasnt over yet; at Chatham Point we encountered a large group of 100 plus white sided dolphins and then to cap it off as we approached Seymour Narrows only 20 minutes from home, 7 Transient Orcas showed up !!! Unbelievable , and these guys were active, we saw 4 breeches, multiple tail slaps, 3 peduncle throws , pectoral slaps and a lot of excited passengers!
It was a long day but extremely rewarding and fruitful!
I LOVE THESE WATERS !!!!!!
Monday September 19
Whale Watch
WOW , AWESOME, FANTASTIC what a trip . It would to take me way to long to describe the incredible activity that we experienced today . We left the dock at 9 am and bang it all happened . This is a summary of what happened
8 pacific white side dolphins within 5 minutes of leaving
100 plus very very playful pacific white sided dolphins after 30 minutes
Dalls porpoise 5 minutes later
16 Northern Resident Orcas rubbing on the rubbing beach at Camp Point . Incredible vocals, beautiful behaviour . This was so lucky for our guests to watch, Camp point is the southern most point where the resident orcas display this incredible behaviour. Its unique to them and no other population of orcas in the world. The vocals were out of this world
After the orcas enjoyed themselves at camp oint they headed west when another group of 100 plus dolphins came by and interacted with them and our boat , it was incredible to see
THEN we get a report of F2 FIN WHALES in the area. FIN WHALES, first time they have been seen in the lower Johnstone Strait for over 15 years, as we were watching the mother and calf the orcas came by and surfaced at the same time just 20 meters apart!!!
On our way home a dozen dalls porpoise rode our stern and bow wave for over 10 minutes
Then finally 10 minutes from home 50 dolphins came past and played around the boat once again
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING !!!
Grizzly Expedition
Our Grizz trip was also super successful today! Our guests lucked out with the weather and spent the day under sun and mostly blue skies! Okay enough about the nice weather......the wildlife was superb as well!! 100+ seals, 20 stellar sealions, and 100+ pacific white-sided dolphins along the way.....and 6 Grizzlies coming and going in front of our platforms. They were pretty calm today and posed for some wonderful photos, both up-close and further along the Orford River. They're such amazing hunters and it's always awe-inspiring to watch. The river is stocked full of salmon and the bears are taking full advantage! It was a fantastic day and everyone left very satisfied!!
Whale Watch
WOW , AWESOME, FANTASTIC what a trip . It would to take me way to long to describe the incredible activity that we experienced today . We left the dock at 9 am and bang it all happened . This is a summary of what happened
8 pacific white side dolphins within 5 minutes of leaving
100 plus very very playful pacific white sided dolphins after 30 minutes
Dalls porpoise 5 minutes later
16 Northern Resident Orcas rubbing on the rubbing beach at Camp Point . Incredible vocals, beautiful behaviour . This was so lucky for our guests to watch, Camp point is the southern most point where the resident orcas display this incredible behaviour. Its unique to them and no other population of orcas in the world. The vocals were out of this world
After the orcas enjoyed themselves at camp oint they headed west when another group of 100 plus dolphins came by and interacted with them and our boat , it was incredible to see
THEN we get a report of F2 FIN WHALES in the area. FIN WHALES, first time they have been seen in the lower Johnstone Strait for over 15 years, as we were watching the mother and calf the orcas came by and surfaced at the same time just 20 meters apart!!!
On our way home a dozen dalls porpoise rode our stern and bow wave for over 10 minutes
Then finally 10 minutes from home 50 dolphins came past and played around the boat once again
AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING !!!
Grizzly Expedition
Our Grizz trip was also super successful today! Our guests lucked out with the weather and spent the day under sun and mostly blue skies! Okay enough about the nice weather......the wildlife was superb as well!! 100+ seals, 20 stellar sealions, and 100+ pacific white-sided dolphins along the way.....and 6 Grizzlies coming and going in front of our platforms. They were pretty calm today and posed for some wonderful photos, both up-close and further along the Orford River. They're such amazing hunters and it's always awe-inspiring to watch. The river is stocked full of salmon and the bears are taking full advantage! It was a fantastic day and everyone left very satisfied!!
Sunday September 18
What an amazing day, this was probably the best all round trip of the season , we headed off at 11.30am for our Grizzly Bear Trip and headed north up Discovery Passage, we leave a bit early as it gives us the opportunity to take advantage of the rich marine life in the area , in that way our guests are often treated to bonus's. Today was no exception , on route to the Grizzlies we saw 100-150 pacific white sided dolphins, and like my previous reports state , these guys never ever fail to disappoint, they were breaching, somersaulting, riding the bow and stern waves , amazingly beautiful , we were all thrilled, next we were treated to a group of northern resident Orcas, these were the A23 matriline who were making their way down Johnstone Strait towards Nodales Channel, !!! wow what can I say Orcas on a bear trip very very cool . Next we stopped and enjoyed some Steller Sealions , eventually as time was running we had to leave all that behind and get up to the Orford Estuary.
As soon as we arrived at the viewing tower there were 2 Grizzlies already there, we witnessed some amazing interactions and behaviour such as catching fish, bears chasing each other, threat displays, close encounters nose to nose standoff's , bears literally right under our tower , and the complete circle of life, a grizzly eating a salmon that had already spawned infront of salmon in the process of spawning, quite magnicent. We watched the bears for over 2 hours right there in front of us, literally just a few feet in front !!!
On the way back we saw more steller sealions, harbour seals, dall's porpoise and the beautiful gregarious pacific white sided dolphins once more to take us home
What an incredible diverse day !!!!
150 dolphins - in and out
5 orcas
20 plus steller sealions
100 plus seals
6 dall's poropoise
harbour seals
eagles
2 Grizz - for 2 plus hours - chasing each other through water, catching and eating fish infront of us, stand off between 2 , CLOSE encounter with each other , bears right at the base of tower, we couldnt get out even if we wanted to!
Great day!!
What an amazing day, this was probably the best all round trip of the season , we headed off at 11.30am for our Grizzly Bear Trip and headed north up Discovery Passage, we leave a bit early as it gives us the opportunity to take advantage of the rich marine life in the area , in that way our guests are often treated to bonus's. Today was no exception , on route to the Grizzlies we saw 100-150 pacific white sided dolphins, and like my previous reports state , these guys never ever fail to disappoint, they were breaching, somersaulting, riding the bow and stern waves , amazingly beautiful , we were all thrilled, next we were treated to a group of northern resident Orcas, these were the A23 matriline who were making their way down Johnstone Strait towards Nodales Channel, !!! wow what can I say Orcas on a bear trip very very cool . Next we stopped and enjoyed some Steller Sealions , eventually as time was running we had to leave all that behind and get up to the Orford Estuary.
As soon as we arrived at the viewing tower there were 2 Grizzlies already there, we witnessed some amazing interactions and behaviour such as catching fish, bears chasing each other, threat displays, close encounters nose to nose standoff's , bears literally right under our tower , and the complete circle of life, a grizzly eating a salmon that had already spawned infront of salmon in the process of spawning, quite magnicent. We watched the bears for over 2 hours right there in front of us, literally just a few feet in front !!!
On the way back we saw more steller sealions, harbour seals, dall's porpoise and the beautiful gregarious pacific white sided dolphins once more to take us home
What an incredible diverse day !!!!
150 dolphins - in and out
5 orcas
20 plus steller sealions
100 plus seals
6 dall's poropoise
harbour seals
eagles
2 Grizz - for 2 plus hours - chasing each other through water, catching and eating fish infront of us, stand off between 2 , CLOSE encounter with each other , bears right at the base of tower, we couldnt get out even if we wanted to!
Great day!!
Saturday September 17
We left the dock at 9am and headed north , today was going to be a long one, there was no word of the northern residents, everyone had lost track of them , so we decided to head north anyway with the hope of finding them somewhere east of Robson Bight. As we headed well into Johnstone Strait we came across a large pod of Pacific white sided dolphins, there was probably around 150 - 200 individuals in this group , I just love these guys, they were moving towards the east at a pretty fast pace. We turned our boat around and kept them company for about 20 minutes. Nothing ever gives me more pleasure than sharing time with these special ceteceans; they never ever fail to impress with their bow and stern wave riding guests just love it. We had at least 6 riding right on the bow wave turning their heads looking up at our guests just a few feet away !!!!
Unfortunately we had to leave them behind and headed north once more on the look out for Orcas, there was a report that Transients were in the area so that got us quite excited, as we were heading towards Blackfish Sound a report came in that at least 30 resident orcas were approaching fast , this was welcome news indeed as the Transients had done what transients do very well ie completley disappear!!
So within 10 minutes we were sitting in sunshine , blue sky and flat water in Blackfish sound accompanied by at least one group of a dozen magniicent northern residents, we had the A30'S, A23's and A34'S in the area , we spent an hour with the A30's getting some great sightings before heading back home for the long boat trip back.
Our trip back was broken up with another spectacular interaction with the dolphins, who had made their way to Camp Point just past Kelsey Bay , man these guys travel fast . On the return to the dock everyone was tired but very happy, how could you not when you get a combination of Orcas and dolphins!
Friday September 16
Whale Watch
Our whale watch is still out on the water but so far they've come across 10+ orcas at Robson Bight, 200+ pacific white-sided dolphins at Vincent Bight, and 2 black bears along the shoreline on the way up north. With a couple hours left, who knows what else they'll come across! Already, this makes for a fantastic day, wildlife-wise!!
Grizzly Expedition
We departed at 11.30am this morning and headed south around Quadra Island before turning north, the Bute inlet being our destination for our Grizzly Bear Trip, on the way up we went had a great look at a dozen or so Steller Sealions basking in the slack Water up near Stuart Island ,10 or more bald eagles perched in the trees overlooking the tidal rapids on the look out for a feed and 100 plus harbour seals hauled out on the rocks, throw in a Black Bear relaxing on the shoreline after a good feed and we had an awsome trip before we even got to the Grizzlies!!
When we arrived at the Orford Estuary we made our way up towards the viewing towers at the Elgard River, within minutes a Grizzly came into sight , although she didnt hang around for to long (about 5 minutes) we did see her catch and feast on a salmon before disappearing into the thick forest. After a while we decided to check out the spawning channel as there was some success there earlier in the day. When we arrived, there was no sign of a bear so we had a look at the beaver lodge , and straight away a large male was staring right back at us on the other side of the dam , he made his way across a large log giving everyone a beautiful photo opportunity before disappearing in the bush.
So we decided to head back to the confluence of the Orford River and Elgard River and we wern't disappointed, a female Grizzly was coming upstream towards us and spent over 45 minutes foraging around and gorging herself of salmon, I woulod say she caught and ate at least half a dozen in that time before making her way down the Elgard River and out of sight,
So in summary we had , sealions, seals, eagles, a black bear and 3 grizzlies .......not a bad day at the office!
Thursday September 15
Marine Safari
Departed the dock at 3pm this afternoon and headed south to Mittlenatch Island, the weather was a bit wet , but that didnt seem to deter the hundreds of harbour seals hauled out all along the western side of the island, after some great sightings of the seals and various seabirds we headed north towards the blue sky and sunshine. As we headed into Bute inlet we hugged the western side of the inlet on the look out for Black Bears and there just north of Lawerence Point our efforts were rewarded with a beautiful sighting. We watched this magnificent black bear for over 20 minutes as he foraged in the inter tidal zone, while he was aware of our presence he was not overly deterred as we sat at a respectful distance watching him.
We left the bear to his meal and passed through the beautiful Arran rapids into Cordero Channel where we enjoyed steller sealions swimming and hunting through the kelp beds , one huge 1200 pound plus male hauled himself out on the rocks , this guy was enormus , Steller sealion males can get up to 1500 pounds and this fella was up there with the best of them. Before we departed we noticed a pair of bald eagles perched up in a tree , perfect for us as their perch was at eye level with the top of our boat so we got an excellent look !!
A quick pass by more harbour seals saw us leave for home, pretty good going if I say so myself.
Grizzly Expedition
Our morning's excursion spotted 3 bears and they kept us entertained during our time on land, fishing, hunting, and chowing down on numerous salmon!
Wednesday September 14
9am departure saw us head north again up Discovery passage , our first wildlife encounter was with a group of Dall's porpoise foraging off Chatham Point lighthouse , these guys were foraging and intent on filling their bellies ,so we left them to it and continued NW up Johnstone Strait. Wow!!, the seas around Ripple point were fair lumpy with 3-4 foot waves and a bumpy ride, however this settled down as we contiuned north and we made good time with the ebb tide giving us an extra push.
Just as we were coming up to Vincent Bight we encountered the first of a huge group of Pacific White sided dolphins , in my estimation there were well over 500 in this pod, spectacular was the word of the day, these guys took great delight in riding our bow and stern waves , it was truly amazing watching them surf the bow wave , turning their heads looking directly up into our faces, eye to eye, very very moving experience!!
We could have stayed hours with these guys but we were still to find the Orcas so we continued on our way, just east of Robson Bight the water was like glass and not a drop of wind was to be head, in the distance two large blows !!, fantastic a mother and calf humpback whale, we stopped to enjoy a couple of beautiful tail flukes before we left and continued onwards for the orcas.
Eventually we were rewarded for our persistence , the A36 brothers and their Aunty A12 were spotted just ahead, it was fantastic, all the other boast had left leaving us to enjoy some special one on one time with my 3 favourite northern residents , after a good hour and a hearty lunch we headed regretably back home, a brief stop with the dolphins again on the return put a smile on everyones face yet again. What a day , seals, sealions, dall's porpoise, white sided dolphins, humpbacks and orcas...you have to loooove september!!
Tuesday September 13
We left the dock at noon and headed north up Discovery passage , we stopped to look at some pacific harbour seals and some dall's porpoise on route before turning up into Johnstone Strait. The last report of the resident orcas were that they were way up in Blackfish Sound / upper Johnstone strait area , so we were prepared for a long one!!
On the way up just past the Adam River we came upon a sight that will last long in my memory , over 500 plus dolphins were foraging from one side of the strait to the other . These guys were amazing , surfing the bow and stern waves, breeching, somersaulting zipping from one side to the other, truly , truly an amazing spectacle.
After regretably pulling ourselves away from the dolphins we continued west towards the orcas. We eventually caught up with the Orcas as they were coming into Johnstone Strait, we had the A30's, 23's and our favourites the 2 A36 brothers and their aunty A12. It was these guys that we spent the most time with , and wow was the water beautiful up there. Pefect conditions , flat calm with a gentle breeze we stopped to listen to the amazing vocals of the A clan members before we headed home with smiles on our faces and many happy memories in our heart.
Our Grizzly Expedition was also successful and everyone spent the day happily watching several bears as they caught salmon right in front of us.
Monday September 12
Another gorgeous day on the water and a good thing too seeing as how we had to travel a bit further north to find the orcas today! Not to worry though, it was a scenic ride up and we had numerous bald eagles flying overhead throughout. We spent time with 20 resident orcas in Robson Bight and watched as they swam calmly ahead of us. They kept us guessing their direction with lots of turns and dives! We also came across 200+ pacific white-sided dolphins near Vincent River and wow, are those guys ever a thrill to watch!! Soooo active and agile! You could tell they were in a playful mood as they kept chasing the boat, riding in our wake, and turning every which way at the drop of a hat!! They kept us thoroughly entertained and added to an already great day!!
Saturday September 10
Wow, today was incredible!! Our boat came up behind 200+ pacific white-sided dolphins in the Johnstone Strait and they literally took up the entire Strait! Our guests watched in awe as they jumped, twisted, and played! We then came across 2 massive humpbacks traveling east, and watched them do some deep dives, bringing their large tails high into the air. The A30s were at Eve River, hugging the shoreline, moving west. We stopped for lunch at Port Neville and afterwards, got a quick view of the humpbacks again. Coming back home again, we ran into the A24s at Ripple Point, moving east. There was a baby orca in the group and he/she came right around the boat and did a huge tail slap for everyone to witness!! Altogether we saw 14 orcas, 2 humpbacks, 2 harbour porpoises, 10+ harbour seals, 200+ dolphins, 2 bald eagles, and our Grizzly Expedition saw 3 bears just in front of the platforms. Does that sound like an amazing day or what?!
Friday September 9
Today was one of those awesome days where we found the orcas within minutes of leaving the dock! Gotta love that!! There were two groups of them making their way south, alongside Quadra Island. We were able to see 3-4 of them right from our office window; there were 12 total. We spent some time at Mittlenatch watching the Stellar Sealions, and then had a relaxing afternoon cruising around the local islands, taking in the scenery and spotting more wildlife. This area has so much to offer!! Our Grizzly Expedition had a great day too and spent time with several bears as they swam and hunted for fish.
Thursday September 8
On today's Grizzly Expedition, we spent time with 2 bears along the river. At tower 4 we watched a large female for over an hour as she caught fish, ate dozens of fish heads, and spent time just sitting peacefully in the water. She then had a good back rub against some branches and eventually made her way into the bushes. Our guests got some awesome up-close photos!! There were tons of pink salmon in the river too! On the way up to Bute Inlet, we saw Dall's porpoises, Stellar Sealions at Mittlenatch and Jimmy Judd, as well as numerous eagles and seals. Our whale watch came across the same wildlife (minus the grizzlies of course!), including 6-8 transients off Marina Island. Another fantastic day for wildlife viewing!!
Wednesday September 7
We had to travel a bit further to find the whales today but with flat calm waters and clear blue skies, that didn't matter!! We found the A30s and the A24s in the Johnstone Strait and were also lucky enough to spend time with 200+ pacific white-sided dolphins! Boy do those dolphins know how to put on a show!! It's amazing to watch them play and jump so close to the boat! Everyone enjoyed the day and got some fabulous pictures!!
Tuesday September 6
Another great day out on the water!! We headed North to find the A30's and the A23's as they headed into Nodales Channel! There were about 15 whales all together and they were foraging in the beautiful sunshine! Then we came across a group of 6 Dall's porpoises that contained a mother with her calf!! We moved along to Jimmy Jud island where we found 8 HUGE stellar sea lions as well as a whole bunch of harbour seals and even some bald eagles!! On our grizzly bear we trip we got to see the whales and sea lions on the way up into Bute Inlet and then once on land we saw 3 massive grizzly bears!! Then on our way home we managed to find a group of transient orcas!!
Monday September 5
What an UNBELIEVABLE day!!! We headed North and found 16 resident orcas (the A30's) and after watching them for a while, we got a report of transient orcas in Phillips Arm. We headed there as fast asa we could and found a group of 200+ dolphins being chased towards a dead end! The 6 transients were working as a team dividing the dolphins into a smaller and smaller group as they cornered them... We watched the orcas jump fully out of the water as they chased after the dolphins! As the group of dolphins got smaller we watched the lucky ones escape by jumping full speed and fully out of the water over and over again! We watched the orcas make at least 2 kills! Our guests were so excited there were big smiles on everyones faces, even our staff were having a hard time containing their excitement! Then on our way home we found two more transient orcas and stopped to watch them as a nice way to end the trip.
Sunday September 4
Lots of action out on the water today! Not only did we come across 12 resident orcas, who are so wonderful to watch, we also got to spend time with 150+ pacific white-sided dolphins as they dove and jumped all around us!! It was a true show of acrobatics and absolutely amazing to watch.
On our Grizzly Expedition we saw 4 Grizzlies!! We got lucky at the first platform we stopped at, and within 5 minutes of waiting we saw 2 diferent grizzly bears!! One was a little downstream fishing for salmon and the other was hobbling over rock and logs straight towards our viewing platform! The only sounds were that of the river, the bears claws scraping over the logs and the clicks of a dozen or so cameras!! The large bear slowly walked right past the viewing platform with one of his sides nearly brushing up against the wooden legs of the tower. He stopped and stared at our group for about 30 seconds before moving along down the river! We were even luckier at the next viewing tower as there was already a bear downstream fishing for salmon! He looked as though he'd been at the river for some time, judging by his bulging belly... We watched him catch several fish and wander slowly past the platform on the opposite side of the river! It really was a beautiful afternoon watching the bears in the warm sunshine!
Saturday September 3
Today we headed North looking for Resident orcas and we were pleasantly surprised to find them at Hickey Point!! There were about 50-60 orcas all spread out across Johnstone Straight so we picked a group of about 30 and followed them all the way to Kelsey Bay! One of the males felt like showing off and lifted his impressively large body out of the water 4 times!!! It's an incredible thing to see an orca of any size breach, but this guy was massive! After leaving the orcas we found a group of about 30 pacific white-sided dolphins, they were bow riding and playing in the wake of our boat. We followed them for about 25 minutes and they led us straight into a giant group of about 150+ more dolphins!!! We were completely surrounded and all of our guests were awe-struck! We also found a couple Stellar Sea Lions, some dall's and harbour porpoises, lots of seals and even a couple eagles!!
Friday September 2
Another great day with the whales!! On our way up we came across 2 black bears on different beaches along Sonora Island!! The bears sure have been out and about lately! We then continued to Humpback Bay where we found the A34 group of orcas as they foraged along the shoreline! We followed them all the way to camp point where they had a rub on the beach and decided to check out the guests on our boat a little closer! After listening to some really great vocalizations on the hydrophone we decided to leave these guys and went to find the A36s with their aunt A12 and did they ever put on a show!! There was lots of tail slapping and even some spy hops!! A12 is 70 years old and she is usually quite reserved but today she was full of energy and joined in the activity with her nephews!! After spending quite a lot of time with the orcas we decided to go and find some dolphins!! We saw a huge group of over 200 dolphins!! They were playing in the bow wave and in the wake and they were jumping, twisting and just haveing lots of fun all around our boat!! And just when we think that the day can't get any better we are notified of transient orcas in Discovery Passage!!! We found these four orcas travelling North at Race Point and followed them into the Seymour narrows before heading back to Campbell River!
Thursday September 1
We saw such a variety of wildlife today that we didn't even know what to do with ourselves!! We saw a black bear on a beach along the way to Nodales Channel where we found A12 and her nephews the A36's. They were feeding on a bunch of salmon that were trying to use our boat as a hiding place!! Then we continued on to the A34 group of orcas (12 whales) and spent quite a bit of time with them! There was quite a bit of vocalization and a whole lot of ecolocation going on between the group which is always nice to listen to on the hydrophone! Then we went to Jimmy Jud Island and found several Stellar Sea Lions!!! It looks like these guys are finally back from their breeding grounds!!! We also saw about a dozen eagles and over 100 seals near the rapids which were rather calm today. We also came across some Harbour porpoises and a group of 8 pacific white-sided dolphins along our travels!!