4RTH ST DOCK PANO

It was not only overcast today but we actually got several inches of snow this morning! So I wasn’t able to get out. The reason why I took this shot is because I was hoping that some light would come through the clouds & light up the harbour? It almost did! Lone Cone got lite up but only for a few minutes & that was it!
So i thought what the hell,I’ll shoot it anyways. Just a few token shots before I leave for vacation folks.
I’ll be back in January! Have a great holiday!

PERCHING

NO ROOM AT THE INN!

A clearing developed overnight & it gave me the opportunity to get out!
Probably the last time of the year for me! I leave for a three vacation from Tofino on Sunday & will not be back until January 8th.
The tide was very high again,so putting the boat in the water was a challenge once again! I made sure to push the choke all the way in this time!
Went down to cannery to visit with my Lion friends. I was shocked to find yet another Lion with a wire around it’s throat!
I found another Lion with the identical wire around it’s throat last February. It most likely starved to death or died of infection from being in a weakened state. The same fate awaits this Lion!
It is a young male Californian sea Lion. It’s condition is good for the moment,but I suspect that is because this wire is recent?
Because I am leaving,I will not be able to observer this unfortunate creature & report back to you. Once I come back,I will see if it is still around?

Said good bye to my Lion friends & headed over to Rankin rocks. I found several thousand Dunlin’s coating the rocks! They all had their little beaks tucked into their feathers resting.
I continued on down into Tranquil to check on the Trumpeter swans residing there. There normally is 6 but only 4 were there today. They spook so darn easy!!

Went to Gunner Inlet on the off chance of finding one of my bear friends,but with the tide being so high & it being so cold out,I knew the odds were slim to none & Slim just left the building!
Decided to come back into town for sunset but noticed the next Frontal system had moved in to snuff the light. You can see that with the shots of Romeo.

Had a good shoot today but finding that entangled Sea Lion upset me!

You can see how high the tide was in this shot. All the Cormorants had very little room left on the rocks! Most of these are Brandt’s with a few Double-Crested thrown in for good measure

MOVE OVER!

ENTANGLED SEA LION!

This is that Sea Lion I found with a wire around it’s throat! I found another one last February with a very similar wire around it’s neck as well.
Trying to get this wire off is a tricky affair! We would have to wait until it was near death so that it could be approached! If we tried that right now,it would jump into the ocean before we got within 50 feet!
Waiting is the only way to capture it. It has to weaken enough that it can be approached! This unfortunately means that it’s state of health is precarious at best! It most likely will die of starvation or infection from it’s weakened state!
This wire almost looks like a snare?

DUNLIN HEAVEN

TRANQUIL TRUMPETER’S

ROMEO AT SUNSET

ROMEO

HEY!………”WHERE’S THAT BIG TURKEY GOING”?

It seems so long since I was last out on a shoot……..& it has been! The sky’s cleared for the day & I headed out.
My first hurdle was the tide! A very high tide was happening when I wanted to go out! Almost 14 feet! I have to put on my chest waders when the high tide coincides with me wanting to get out.(unless of course I wanted two very full & complete soakers!)
I headed on down to Cannery bay to visit with the Lions. Their numbers haven’t grown tremendously so since I last saw them,but most likely will over the Christmas holidays! The high tide forces them up higher into the forest & their rocky islet had only a few spots available.
The entire inlet was very calm & gave great reflections!
I than went over to Rankin rocks to see if any birds or Seals were laying about,but nobody was home! Decided to try Gunner Inlet for any bears but I knew the odds of that happening was slim to none & Slim just left the building! Gunner was vacant for any of my furry friends,so I decided to slip on over into Fortune Channel to check over there before heading back in to town.
Once I got into Fortune I decided to check on my fuel situation. I was absolutely shocked to see my tank was almost bone dry! I couldn’t figure out why! I thought maybe the carb needed adjusting for the colder weather? I had to go to Creative Salmon’s Dawley Pass farm & beg for some fuel! They were nice enough to give me 10 liters! I only needed enough to get into town. Thanked the guys & took off for the sunset in town. Made it back in time for a nice visit with Romeo at Deadman island. Juliette just sat there staring at me as per usual. Said good night to them both after half a hour & went over to the fuel dock to fill up.
Thats when one of the attendants noticed that my choke was half way on!! I must of forgotten to push it in all the way! I had been boating all the time with the choke half way out! No wonder my fuel consumption was atrocious! That was a dumb mistake! Felt pretty embarrassed about that screw up! I have never done that before & most certainly will never again!
Even with that screw up it was still a great day out!

“FLOCKING TOGETHER”

TOFINO INLET

This is the Almond Islet eagle. I see him from time to time. As you can see,It’s gotten cold enough to put a good dump of snow on the mountains!

LIONS

THE “RESOLUTION”

Gord was tied up in Cannery bay at that float. I don’t know how he sleeps at night with all of the Lions barking so loudly? Ear plugs?

LION ZOOM ZOOM

THE DAREDEVIL

SUNSET HITTING

ROMEO BEING ROMEO!

SUNSET STRIKING SEQUENCE

I loved the clouds so I used my wide angle lens to capture them as well. Romeo always seems to be at his best at sunset!

SEARCHING FOR DINNER

WINTER IS CLOSE!

The weather has been poor to bad lately,so when I saw a semi good clearing coming,I made a dash for the boat!That clearing did close up on me after I got out but not enough to snuff all the good light.
Because of getting out later than normal,I was forced to stay in the harbour area. Tomorrow looks better for getting down to visit with the Lions!
I did come across that Brown Pelican as well. I found it was injured! It somehow got a cut along the back of it’s head? Rod Palm is going to try & capture? It needs to go to a Vets to get stitched up! I’m going to try to go along to record the event.
Fingers crossed for our feathered friend & the weather to clear!!

THE CAPE ANN

HEADING OUT

CATSFACE FLIGHT

ROMEO

PROFILES OF ROMEO

BLUE HERON

OYSTERCATCHERS

WINTER’S ANCHOUR

SUNSET VIGIL

INJURED PELICAN!

I’m not really sure this is the same Pelican I photographed on November 29th?
At any rate,this poor soul has been injured & requires help! If we can capture it,we will make sure it gets the help it needs!

UPDATE: December 7th,2012. This Pelican was captured & sent to MARS ( Mountain Avian Rescue centre) I’m sure he’ll be taken care of by these good people!
UPDATE: January 15th,2013. It appears that MARS has named this Pelican “Tuffy”! Tofino’s nic name is “Tuff City”! So I suppose that might have something to do with it?
Tuffy has been transferred to centre in Burnaby for awhile & than he will be transported back to California! I bet it’s not the last we see of him!!