What A Day!
It was a fun-day Sunday with a variety of sightings both on the morning and afternoon tour.
Our local Sea Otter once again delighted our guests with its calm, chilling-out like manner as it laid on its back along the edge of a bull kelp forest. We have had more sightings this year of Sea Otter (s) but never two at the same time so we wonder if we are seeing the same individual or perhaps there are a few in the area. How wonderful to imagine a population of Sea Otters starting to build in this inside passage region.
A Black-tailed deer was seen today on Wheynton Island along with a …wait for it….drum role please….A Grizzly bear. Yes, a lone Grizzly was seen first on the island itself then it was sighted swimming along the edge of the island before it crossed over to reach the shores of Hanson Island. In the last two weeks we have had more sightings of grizzly bear than in the last twenty years. It makes us believe that the salmon numbers are low so they are being forced to move out of the mainland inlets in search of another food source and fruit trees and berries is it.
It is crucially important that we give these bears their space especially when swimming from one island to the next and while foraging on shore. They are not out to harm us, infact they want what we want, to be left alone to get on with their act of simply trying to survive. I hope everyone in this community gives them the space to do so.
Lunge feeding Humpbacks was a highlight today as well as the sighting of a few pods from the Northern Residents. The Orca’s traveled along the Vancouver Island Shoreline make their way west at a steady speed. Among the feeding Humpbacks were Murres and Auklets, Gulls and Phalaropes as they too feasted on the small schooling fish, and boy were the birds noisy. They sounded like a symphony of angry birds amplified by the still open air and calm sea.
It was a tremendous day out on the water where we were spoiled by the sights and sounds of mother nature at her finest.
