River Otters at Sunset

The fellow on the left must be the dominant Otter. The two others are waiting their turn for any scraps left over.
So as not to spook them ,I went up tide and shut the motor off after heading right for them. I didn’t move as I very gently drifted by them. I had to boost my ISO up to 1000 and that only gave me 1/200th wide open. I had my tele-converter on ,so my largest aperture was 5.6.
I did two passes.

Watching

When they are not preoccupied with trying to get something to eat,they are very watchful around themselves.These guys just couldn’t figure out what was going on with this strange looking object drifting by.(me)
The technique worked beautifully!

Branded California Sea Lion

I found this fellow up on Atleo Airs Plane float. He has been branded on his back. I could make out a “3” and” 6″. I wonder who would do that? I should check into this further. Maybe it’s a tracking number and some scientists would be interested in knowing of his location/time!

Eagle on a Post

I do not know this eagle. I found him on one of the water pipeline posts and caught him jumping.
This pole is located in Browning Pass.

Harbour Seal

This little fellow popped up right in front of me. They are very curious creatures.
They are also called the Common seal and have the greatest range of all seals. They can grow up to 1.85 meters(6.1′) at 132 Kgs (290 lbs). The females live much longer than the males. The females range from 30-35 years ,while the males are 20-25 years. It’s estimated that there are between 400,000 to 500,000 world wide and the population is considered healthy in size.

Who are You ?

I saw this fellow swimming under the water and placed myself in a perfect spot when he would come up for air. He was a little surprised that I was there,but didn’t consider me a threat because I wasn’t moving! Animals become nervous when they see other animals moving.

Maggie coming in

Maggie came in and had a go at a fish. The angle I got her at,is not my usual . You never know how they are going to come in at.

Abstract

Once again,a mistake that turns out be kind of cool. You can see through the wing!

Fred Tibbs Grave on Morpheus Island

I sometimes take friends out on a tour and usually take them over to the old cemetery. It’s very beautiful over there. I couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to be for eternity!
This grave stone belongs to Mr. Frederick Tibbs. He was from Surrey England and lived on a local island.
He took care of a small harbour light and had a unfortunate accident happen to him.
He had rowed over to this platform that had the oil light on it and replaced the fuel container,trimmed the wick etc. Unfortunately for him ,a wave must of gently lifted his row boat off of the platform behind him,and it was set a drift.( He sometimes use to swim from his island to town. )
He discovered the problem and because he was a really good swimmer, decided to try to swim for the boat. Unfortunately while swimming for it,a small motorized boat came by and found the boat a drift. This person put the boat in tow and left. Tibb’s should of turned around and gone back to the platform and wait for help,but instead decided to continue on to Clayoquot Island.
He than, just before reaching the island had to go through a thick patch of sea weed . The over exertion of the swimming,hypothermia,and the shock did him in. He made it to the island ,but died of a heart attack.
He died when he was 35 yrs old.

Coast Guard Helicopter at Sunset

They landed just as I was heading back for the night and couldn’t resist from taking a few.

The Cape Edensaw

I haven’t noticed this cutter before. It’s normally the Cape Ann. She must of been out on patrol?
At any rate ,these vessels are designed to right themselves if they ever get turned over in heavy seas!

Romeo and Juliette Soaring

Sometimes they just seem to want to have some fun and soar. They find a thermal and gain altitude. It’s kind of like you going up a spiral ramp in a parkade in your car.
They stay on top of these rising thermals and simply get off at the floor they desire! They save on alot of energy by doing this! and I think have fun too.

Smack !

Eagles also use their weight to stun their prey. It would be like you getting the wind knocked out of you. You would be dazed/confused.
Just long enough until the dispatching bite is delivered to the head!

Freckles

Every eagle I see that is 4 yrs old ,I call Freckles. They are on the verge of getting their full ranking colours! They no longer need to have camouflage to protect them.
Mother Nature figures they’ve learned enough by that time to be street suave I guess!

Busted !

This is when he realized that I was there. I used a boat as cover to sneak up. I paddled around to the bow of the boat very quietly and was able to shoot the whole thing.

Scenting !

After smelling the rope ,he decided to leave his calling card. I’ll never untie a rope again without gloves. Otters are messy, smelly creatures. The musk gland they have certainly works very well.
Notice that the angle of the urine is curved backwards! Defies gravity!! Weird!

Scenting

This when he smells the rope and smells another animal. One of us. An American boat moored at the end of the 4rth St.Dock. Whenever they smell something other than them,they urinate on it!
They are cute and cuddly looking ,but sure are stinky creatures!

A “Romp” of Otter’s

These guys were relaxing on the porch of a floathouse in the harbour. They are very playful creatures and are almost always in a group.
The collective noun for a group of Otters can be a “Family”,”Bevy”,”Romp”,or a “Raft”! I like Romp personally!

The Three Stooges

I saw these guys resting on this floathouse and very slowly paddled in ,all the while shooting. tricky

Daredevil

They move so quickly that it’s really hard to try and compose your shot. Their path is like a pendulum! I “pan” them as they zip by me at seemly mach speed!

Did I get That ?

It looked like this guy was checking to make sure that he actually did get it!

Fly By at Sunset

I love it when they go over top of me! They just look so majestic.
I would of liked to get the full wing span into the frame,but sometimes you just can’t compose so quickly. There is almost always something that could of been done better! Thats just the way it goes.

River Otters

When I go fill up my fuel tank at the local marina,these guys are sometimes hanging around. They are very watchful.

Sunset Eagle

The sun was right on the verge of setting and the colour was leaning towards the Reds.

Moe Getting Hassled

Moe was minding his own business and these two crows decided that they would put the chase on him. They must of been nesting and will not tolerate any animal being around.
I don’t know why eagles don’t turn around and grab one of these guys.

Daredevil’s Mate

She landed onto this pointy top. It’s amazing to see them perch on such small branches!

Abstract

I panned and was able to keep the eagle in focus and that blurred the background.
I think my shutter speed was 1/60th or so?

Romeo Fly By

They seem to have about a dozen Tail feathers and you can see the other feathers growing in under their wings.

Coming In

It’s amazing how different they look in different types of light!

Romeo Bringing Home the Bacon

Romeo got a fish and brought it home to Juliette even before have any himself ! She was sitting on two eggs and Romeo got some take out for her. He treats her like a queen.

Maggie Comes In

I never know exactly what angle they are going to come in on. I sometimes get angles like this and it gives better perspective.

Searching

This eagle was from up the inlet and is not normally in this area.

Daredevil

I love it when they grab one looking into the sun! It really highlights the structure of their feathers.

Califorian Sea Lion

This guy went right by and was keeping an eye on me.

Coming In

They always look so powerful when they are about to hit! I can appreciate it even more when I review the nights shoot.

White Salal ?

I came across this Salal plant near Earth Mother on Meares Island. I checked with the local biologist and she said that she had never heard of such a thing.
I’m going to go back again this year and look in the same spot and see if it is still producing?

Sunset Grab

Getting them to face into the sun is difficult at best. However,when they do,their feather structure is high lighted and shows them off.

Tail Dragging

You can see the tail skimming across the surface and also how violent the impact is when they hit their prey! I wonder if the fish are sometimes killed outright from the impact alone?

HMCS Oriole

The Oriole came in today . She comes in from time to time with her eager crew. She is a training vessel and has 87 years to prove it. The CDN government owns her and the Navy uses it to not only train it’s recruits,but also to instill team work!

Coming In

When you see them fold their wings,you know they are coming in at high speed. The sound coming off their wings raises the hair on the back of your neck. You’ll never forget how they sound when you hear it for the first time! Impressive!!

Romeo comes Home

It’s hard to see,but Romeo has a fish in his right talon. He always brings the fish to Juliette when she is nesting and cannot get out .

Romeo

Romeo comes in after a fish.

Gotcha

Maggie shows her style. They each seem to have their own little idiosyncrasy’s.

Moe Chases a Intruder

This is normal behavior. Whenever a strange eagle passes over another eagles territory,they can expect to be met and escorted to the door. The fellow being escorted is on the bottom and has turned around to tell Moe to get lost. They rarely fight,but they do alot of escorting and chasing!

Daredevil’s Mate

She is a good predator,but seems to be more reluctant than the Daredevil when it comes to grabbing fish. She usually just goes to the nest when the Daredevil gets a fish and chows down with hubby! Why not?

Juliette Brings Home The Bacon

You can see Juliette about to land into the nest at Deadman Island and one of the eaglets is poking it’s head up enough that you can see it. I think that the eaglet is a female,but not sure?

Romeo ‘s Vampire Pose

Romeo strikes a pose and looks so beautiful doing it!

Sunset Flight

Whenever I get back from a shoot and see that they were looking at me………I always wonder what they were thinking when they were looking at me? They don’t seem to mind me visiting them all the time.(or at least when it’s sunny) There are a few that will fly beside me when I’m going down the Inlet.

Romeo Grabs Another!

They seem so calm when they attack! They can really chat up a storm sometimes. I wish I knew what they were saying?

Pouncing

I forget who this is,but I think it’s a female,becasue of the size of the head.
Notice how large the pupil is. Their eye is normally smaller.