Month: January 2015

THE “HIDEAWAY II” & THE “STORM DANCER” COMING INTO HARBOUR

Fishing Boat

20150130-IMG_8412It started out sunny today but some low expansive cloud moved in & forced me to call off the days shoot! I decided instead to help a friend move some appliances. During this time,the cloud broke up enough to make me rethink my decision?
I checked the Satellite sites & decided it was worth it! Considering the weather forecast for tomorrow was going to be bad,I wanted to fill my boots as much as I can!
As I was getting my boat out,someone who knew me yelled over to me that he had seen 4 Gray whales close by! I asked where & headed out!
They were near the outside (open ocean) so as soon as I got around Vargas island the waves & wind started hitting me. I looked all around but couldn’t find the whales anywhere! That nasty cloud bank had moved in as well,so I decided I had better turn around.
On the way back I saw two small boats staying still in the water near the shore of Cats Face. The only reason they would be doing that would be whales! I started angling over to them & sure enough I saw a blow! I had found them!
Because the water was getting choppy,it was hard to see & keep track off them. They also were spread out. I found what I believe was a mother & calf. She actually came up & semi Spy Hopped to check me out! That was the only real photo opportunity I got too!
After that,it was like they totally disappeared! I looked for well over half a hour & couldn’t see any blows? The wind was moving swiftly,so any blows would quickly dissipate!
I prefer zero wind with whales! When the breaths “hang”,I can track them much better!
Decided to get out of Dodge & headed back to the harbour. Time was tight too. That cloud had snuffed much of the light by now. There was some small breaks were here & there. Enough to make some excellent photo opportunities at least.
Because of the time factor,I decided to visit the closest eagles. Maggie/Moe & Romeo/Juliette.
Went over to see Maggie & sure enough she was waiting patiently for me. She flew out to greet me. I only got one run in however.
When she was eating her fish perched on the north end of Morpheus island,when another eagle came in & knocked her off her perch! Eagles partners do that all the time. Usually the female bullys the male. This was different however! I counted three adult eagles & one Immature! I had no idea who this other adult eagle was but Moe put the chase on him soon enough! The interloper took off to the south with Moe in tow chirping loudly!
That Immature had perched on Morpheus island. Maggie perched close by chirping loudly in protest! Moe soon joined her in protest.
Because of the colouring this Immature had to be one of theirs from last year. The parents will never attack their own but will try to make such a ruckus that it moves along! The light at that moment was poor! Silhouette material only. Couldn’t get too excited,so I moved along myself to go visit with Romeo & Juliette.
When Romeo saw me,he came over & perched on his rocky throne. They have this rocky islet in their territory they like to perch on.
The clouds were just thick enough that I could see the sun through them. I decided to get some silhouette shots of him perched. I must of taken too long for him because he took off! Romeo is normally a very patient eagle,but not so much tonight.
Took a few more sunset shots of my feathered friend & called it a night.
Todays shoot was short & challenging but defiantly worth it. I got my first good shot of a Gray whale! So that can’t be too bad.
Another Tofino adventure ends well!

OPITSAT’S SEA CATTLE

Opitsat

20150130-IMG_848420150130-IMG_8487Opitsat is a Native village on Meares island. It has been occupied for several thousand years.
I noticed some Bovine down on the sand eating the Ell grass. I’ve heard these cattle are semi Feral. They basically go & do whatever they want? I’ve also heard that their meat tastes badly because they eat the Ell grass,so nobody wants to eat them I guess?

DRYING OUT ONES WINGS

Double-Crested Cormorant, Tofino Birds, Tofino Wildlife

20150128-IMG_7624I headed out today as per normal. Went down to Cannery Bay to see if the Lions were around?
They weren’t & the bay is in sunshine now too! I was thinking that they were staying away from the float in the bay because it was in the shade & cold? Now that the sun is high enough to fill the bay,they should be there but alas……..are not! I’m pretty sure they are simply not going to show up this year. The food fish they follow are else where I suppose?
Decided to head further down Tofino inlet to Deer bay. Deer bay is very remote. I’ve never seen anyone else down there when I’ve been there.
It was calm out so the waters reflection was perfect!
I knew that there would be Trumpeters down in Deer bay. They like these quiet inlets. Sure enough,as I was getting closer I could see them down at the end with my binoculars! Because it was quiet,they heard me coming several kicks away & took off. I took a few shots as they went by. I started heading out of Deer bay when I decided to turn around & just have a quiet moment. I like to shut the motor off, just listen & enjoy sometimes.
Good thing I did! As I was slowly coming into the shallows,I noticed a eagle sitting in the water! I wondered why? As I approached carefully I could see that it was standing in about 6 inches of water. It wasn’t moving or even taking notice of me? Thats just plain weird! Normally a eagle will look at you & start to move away from you. I watched for 15 minutes or so wondering if it was injured? Than it decided to flap/walk to a nearby tree stump. As it was moving I could see that it had something in it’s talons under the water! At first I thought It must have a fish but soon saw a thin head flopping about as it walked. I realized that it had caught a bird! No wonder it didn’t take off from me! It had food & was not about to give it up!
I watched it start to eat this bird (Hooded Merganser). It plucked the feathers out & dug into it’s prize meal with zest!

It could of flew away at any time or for that matter,waded into shore away from me when I first arrived. For some strange reason it felt very comfortable with me being close. Normally a animal will go away with it’s meal & eat it by it’s self. This guy decided to eat it while I was watching! I thought that was remarkable! Animals simply do not do that!
After eating for several minutes it started into a very loud song! I assumed it was it’s victory song? When I first arrived,for 20 minutes it never once looked over at me but now that it was singing,it was looking at me! It was almost as if it was saying “Look at me,I have killed & eaten. I am a great eagle”! The sound of it’s very loud chirping resounded off of the valley walls all around me! It was a remarkable moment for me personally!
I of course was taking shots all the while & decided to change the lens. I looked down to change the lens & heard a loud WHOOOOSH! It had taken off down the inlet away from me with it’s prize in tow. I yelled “Thank You” as it flew away.
About 3 or 4 minutes later I was busy checking my shots when I heard a powerful flapping getting closer! I looked up to see my new friend flying right past me all the while chirping merrily away! He was flying into Tofino Creek to finish his prize.
He could of flew anywhere in that big bay but decided to fly right in front of me! I’m taking that as a compliment!
Remember that the only I can get close to the eagles I take pictures of is because they have become familiar with me over the years. I’ve never seen this eagle before ever! So, for it to allow me to get that close & watch it eating was an incredible honour! Thats not going to happen again!
I watched my new friend,whom I’m calling “Braveheart” fly into the darkness of Tofino creek silently. I’m calling him “Braveheart” because of the way he acted while I was close to him!
I than noticed a Immature eagle following close behind Braveheart. Obviously It had to be Braveheart’s & no doubt wanted Daddy to feed it.
I yelled out THANK YOU & headed out of Deer bay for town.

It took me about 80 minutes to get down to Deer bay btw. Because the sun was getting low in the west,I had no time to stop at Tsapee Narrows.So I headed straight to Maggie’s territory on Morpheus island. Sure enough she was there & flew out to greet me!
She’s always such a breath of fresh air to see flying out to greet me! She just chirps away merrily circling ever so gracefully!
Spent some quality time with her. She seemed to like going over to the exposed mudflats to eat. I could see the sun was getting low,so I said goodnight to her & headed over to visit with Romeo & Juliette.
Romeo came out to greet me as well! I felt popular tonight! Took some silhouette shots of both Romeo & Juliette. Juliette came over to say hi as well.
By this time the sun had gone in behind a offshore cloud bank. The light was gone,so I said goodnight to both my friends & called it a night.

Coming across that eagle down in Deer bay today made my day! I’ve never had that happen or heard of something like that happening! A very rare moment indeed!
I have a new friend!

BRAVEHEART PERCHED WITH HIS PRIZE

Eagles, Tofino Birds, Tofino Eagles, Tofino Wildlife

20150128-IMG_775720150128-IMG_7760I’ve never met this eagle before. We are strangers. Normally a eagle would of taken off by now but Braveheart was content to perch on this log. I suppose he was cold from being in the water so long & wanted to warm up. He ate his dinner & sang me a song!
Life is full of wonderful surprises!