“Flora Queen” Passing in Front of Lennard Lighthouse

I could not read the name of this boat,but have since learned that it’s name is the “Flora Queen”.

Monas Island Female

The weather today was shitty! I prefer clear skys. Clouds have there place,but I do not like them on the western horizon.They snuff or block the sun when the light is the best. The best light is when the sun is about 2 or 3 sun widths above the horizon!
The fog was to the east and west of Tofino. The harbour was clear and so was Lemmens Inlet to the north. So thats where I went. I payed a visit to the Monas Island Gang and also to Morpheus Island .
The female flew near me,but did not come in.
It was tough tonight to find some half decent subject matter! The fog corralled me and limited my travel. By the time I came back into the harbour, it was totally fogged in!
I’m afraid I couldn’t find much to write home about tonight !

Monas Island Female

She went behind me to the west and the light was behind her. She passed behind me and that was all she wrote tonight.

Moe

Moe was out tonight and was the only one that came in. He did one run.
This is his hitting sequence.

Moe Perched

He perched onto this limb just above me. The light was being swallowed by the fog and I was constantly adjusting my exposure. I only had minutes left with Moe until the fog covered everything!

Moe Jumping

He jumped and I only got acouple of it. He went in behind some trees and I couldn’t track him. The light was warm at least!

Moe Perched

After jumping ,he went to this branch and perched. I liked the tree in behind him. He turned his pose in the next shot.

Moe Perched

I had put the camera in my camera case and started up the motor. As I was about to leave,I looked back up to him and noticed that he had turned around on the branch. I guess he wanted both profiles shot! Such a vain bird!

Sailing Sunset

I found only this subject to shoot in the harbour. The sun was being swallowed up by the fog.I couldn’t find the name on the boat anywhere?

Atleo Air Landing

He landing in the harbour and taxied into the dock to tie up for the night.
If you don’t have a radar on your boat and the fog moves in,it’s time to get out of there. Not worth the risk.
I’m out there in the boat by myself and I always am conservative when it comes to being adventurous.All I need is one mistake and it could be a big problem!
Better safe than sorry

Heading Out

I met this couple when I was putting my boat in the water. They went over to the beach by Rassier Point on Vargas Island.
The last two days have been so fogged in that I couldn’t get out. So when I saw the clouds/fog starting to clear later in the afternoon,I jumped at the opportunity to get out!
It was a good call. Alittle of everything tonight.

Ocean Royal

The Ocean Royal was heading out of the harbour at sunset. It looked like he was going north.

Kayaks Heading Out

These kayaks were heading out by the north side of Strawberry Island. I always like this shack. It has a very west coast feel about it. It’s hard to see but there are whale ribs leaning up against the building. Rod Palm is our local Cetacean expert and no dought comes across many bones in his travels.

Daredevil Coming In

The light was perfect for him to come in. I just cannot get enough shots in front of this darkened area. I noticed that the shadow is getting shorter in this bay. The sun is slowly going to the south and coming around the point that produces this shadow. It will be gone in a month or so.

Belted KingFisher

When the Daredevil went by he disturbed this Kingfisher and the bird did a excellent pose for me. The light was going straight through his feathers.

Daredevil

He came in from a high spot and dropped very quickly. It was difficult trying to not only get a focus on him,but also to track!
The air flow over his left wing tip must be intense! The feathers are looking more ruffled! I assume it’s because of air flow over the wing surface.
Still looks weird.

Fly By

He went right by me and over to a tree and perched. He chowed down on the fish and made quick work of it.

Gulp

They seem to like eating the head first and than if it’s a small fish,they swallow the rest whole. Thats what he’s about to do here.

The Nanuq

This is a new boat in town. He was going through Tsappee Narrows and heading west into town. It looks like a fast moving boat and the wake was large as well!

Delilah About To Hit

She came in and made a excellent hit. She’s still molting like crazy!

Vampire Pose

She did a perfect Vampire pose after hitting the fish. The light was reflecting off of the waters surface and filling the inside of her wings nicely.

Delilah

She looks so much larger than the Daredevil ! You can tell who’s who by the head. The males head is more slender.

Heading Over To The Nest

She went over to their nest and had to go by this point.I always like shooting with this tree in the frame. It just has a nice shape to it.

Sunset Heron

I was going to the NW between Meares Island and Morpheus Island when this Heron decided to fly across the channel. I shot this while I was up on a plane. I had no time to slow down and shoot from a more still position.
I always try to have my camera close for situations just like this!
You can see Lone Cone in the background.

Sailing Boat and Strathcona at Sunset

This sailing boat was down Lemmens Inlet beside Monas Island and I did a quick shot while I passed by.

Evening Fishing

I went over to Schindler Point on the SW corner of Meares and found these two fishing out in the water. The clouds did a nice show in the background as well.

Eagle on Rocky Outcrop

I was heading out of the harbour going east and saw a eagle on this navigation outcrop.It’s out in front of the Crab Dock.
I tried to get close,but he jumped and flew away. He had something he was eating,but I couldn’t make out what it was.
Vargas Cone can be seen in the background. It’s on the south side of Cox Beach.

The Kristi and Amy

I came across this boat in Browning Pass and it was heading back into the harbour. I got a few shots of the boat with Lone Cone ( Meares Island) in the background.

Daredevil

He and his mate were the only eagles active tonight.
All of the following shots are of them in various poses.

Daredevil Hitting

I like how the water is frozen against the blackness of the background. It works because the contrast is high between these two colours!

Delilah Coming In

She’s looks alittle ragget from all that molting she’s been going through.

Delilah Hitting

She may look alittle ragget around the edges,but she sure looks beautiful here. As a normal rule of thumb for me ,I need to always see the eyes . However,I just couldn’t delete this shot because it shows a fantastic action pose!

Delilah

She continued along on her merry way with her catch.

Coming In

Hitting

Splish Splash

Strike Run

Delilah’s Profile

Daredevil Perched

He perched on a lower limb and looked right at me. They feel nervous when they are closer to the water and do not stay very long on these lower limbs if other animals are around.(namely me)

Daredevil Booking It

He took off from this lower perch,but I got a few as he was jumping.

Being Pushed Out

The female flew in from the side and pushed out the male. The females are larger than the male and it appears that bullying does occur in Nature as well!
I shot this sequence and it shows the Daredevil being pushed off of his perch by his mate.
She’s just a bully sometimes!

Frieda Landing and Looking at Frank

I went out to Chesterman’s beach this afternoon.
These two have the largest territory of any other eagle Bar none! They own all of Chesterman’s Beach.
This perch tree is near the middle of Chesterman’s. I know it well.
Frieda was about to land and she seemed to be looking at Frank as if to say”move over you Feather Duster,I’m landing here”!
Remember with eagles,the female is alot bigger(25%) and size in nature does matter!

Tofino Air Landing

I got the order of this shot and the last one screwed up. They should be reversed.
You can see the plane coming in for a landing. The sail boat is called “Blue Rodeo”.

Meares Island Eagle About To Jump

He seems to like this pole as a watching spot for fish.

The Daredevil & Delilah

They both were perched on their favorite tree and seemed very content just to stay there.
The male is on the left.

Here She Comes

She came in very fast and I only got a few shots . She seems to like doing these acrobatic displays? She also is molting right now.

Leveling Out

She swooped down and came along the water for a hit.

Striking

She hit this fish,but missed. The reflection was great,but I still would like to get one where the water is perfectly calm! Maybe at slack tide?

The Happy Couple

They both flew over to the point where that darken area is.

Delilah Coming In

She came in a second time and I got better shots than before. In the next shot you can see that she clipped the waters surface with her talons!