Author: wall2wallblue

It’s obvious there aren’t many salmon around this year.  There wasn’t one eagle in MacDonald Bay…not even Kingfishers.  I paddled all around the bay and all I came across was this one Heron.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sun wasn’t even up when we pulled the anchor this morning, headed for MacDonald Bay on Gil Island.  We’ve got some potentially nasty stretches of water to navigate today, and we want to put them behind us before the wind comes up.  It’s foggy this morning, but Al says we have about a quarter mile of visibility with his new yellow “fog” glasses.  I’ll have to take his word for it.

Within about an hour, the fog lifted and we had perfect sea conditions.  We were loving it.  As much as I hate getting up early, it certainly paid off, once again.  Fraser Reach, McKay Reach, and Wright Sound were flat calm.  Just like I like it. 

We saw numerous whales along the way, especially in Wright Sound, but none were close enough to get a picture.   

There weren’t any boats anchored in MacDonald when we arrived.  Late that evening, however, a couple of very small boats came in and anchored across the bay. 

There is a spring tide tomorrow, so high tide today will be a good day for checking out the river. Just as I was getting ready to leave, an Indian tour boat came in and anchored.  They had six people they were taking up the river in a couple of inflatables with outboards.  The river is a good place for seeing grizzlies, so I assume that’s why they’re here.

I started paddling up the north fork of the river, right behind the tour boats.  When I came to the crossover channel to the south fork, I discovered that the tour boats were stopped.  I figured they were waiting for the tide to come up higher so that they could take the crossover channel.  I continued paddling on up the north fork. 

Just before I got to some rapids, I spotted a grizzly fishing for salmon trapped behind some huge logs that had created a breakwater in the river.  The river was only about four feet deep at this point, I was pretty sure that bear could paddle faster than I could, but I really wanted to get a shot of him.   What to do, what to do?  I got my camera out and was trying to get focused on the bear, while contending with the current and the fact that I was shaking like a leaf.  Suddenly I see one of the tour boats appear in my viewfinder.  Somehow they had found a little shallow channel and managed to get behind those huge logs where the bear is fishing, and they’re not 25 feet away from the bear.  The bear, didn’t appreciate the intrusion and headed for the trees. Well, as you can see, I didn’t get one good shot.

 

 

 

 

Oh, well, so much for grizzlies.   So, I paddled back down the river and got this shot of some seagulls instead.

 

 

 

Late that afternoon, at low tide, Al spotted a young grizzly on the beach.  I quickly suited up, hoping the bear would hang around until I got there.  By the time I got to the river, the bear had wandered back into the tall grass, out of sight.  I paddled further upriver where I saw a channel running to the south fork.  I waited, hoping the bear might be heading for this channel.  After about five minutes the bear appeared.

 

 

 

 

He checked me out and decided he’d rather eat grass.  I paddled back and forth, hoping to get another shot of him.  Then, I saw two heads pop up from the grass.  They were curious about me, but the grass was more appealing. 

 

 

 

 

 

It was getting pretty late, so I headed back to the boat, where I spotted these Mergansers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got an earlier start this morning and was rewarded with beautiful lighting.  I was able to capture the surreal effect created in this little cove, where the morning sun was filtered through trees.

The sun spotlighted this immature eagle.

 

 

Just outside the cove I spotted this Kingfisher partaking of a little breakfast delight.

 

This young eagle was looking for a meal also, but pickings are pretty slim this year.  It seems to be a terrible year for salmon, and this hot spell isn’t helping matters.  We need some rain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is just one of the many little waterfalls in this inlet.

 

 

A Loon finally hung around long enough for me to get his picture.

 

 

 

 

On my way back to the boat, this little Murrelet popped up right in front of me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I slept in this morning and missed high tide, so I decided to paddle west toward the entrance.  The sun is out early and it’s hot.  As I paddled along the shore, I noticed numerous delightful little waterfalls.

 

 

Near one of the waterfalls, I found a family of Mergansers.

 

 

 

While following the Mergansers, I noticed another group of ducks in the distance and decided to check them out, paddling very slowly toward them, trying to wrangle them toward shore.  As I got closer I discovered that they were beautiful Goldeneyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s foggy this morning when we pull the anchor, headed for Khutze Inlet.  Luckily, the fog lifted after about an hour, and we had smooth seas all the way to Khutze.  Khutze is a popular anchorage, so we were surprised to find it empty.  Yay! 

 

 

The biggest megayacht we’ve ever seen came in this evening and anchored nearby.

 

 

 

I was up and on the water early this morning, hoping to get some better shots of the creek.  The sun hadn’t come up over the mountains yet, so I wouldn’t have to shoot right into it. 

 

 

 

The seagulls were just beginning to stir. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This handsome devil seemed to be checking himself out before he greeted the day.

 

 

And, this jellyfish was out and about, looking for breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve had day after day of bright sunny weather, and today was no exception.

 

 

Since there wasn’t much going on at the creek, I decided to head for the entrance, hoping to spot another whale.  Along the way, I found Elderberries, which should make the birds and bears happy.

 

Once I got to the entrance, I was disappointed to see that the whales had apparently moved on.  I didn’t spot even one spout.  So, I headed back inside.  I was feeling really disappointed about the whales, when I spotted some activity on the water near the middle of the channel.  When I zoomed in on it, I discovered it was a family of otters!  I paddled like crazy hoping to get a shot of them when they reached the shore.

Unfortunately, they hauled out in deep shade, so the photos are not great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I followed them along the shore as they searched for goodies and played hide and seek with me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I headed for the creek first thing this morning.   There hasn’t been much rain lately, so the creek was not very impressive.

 

 

So, I paddled toward the mouth of the inlet, checking out the shoreline as I went.  The only bird I found was a Merganser with her two ducklings.  Once she spotted me, she took off across the channel, paddling as fast as she could, with her two little ones doing the best they could to stay up with her. 

 

 

And, when it became too tough to keep up, they just hopped on mom’s back.

 

 

While searching along the shore for a small waterfall that I had discovered last year, I spotted the first blackberries that I’d seen all summer. 

 

 

The tide was getting low enough to see Sea Stars.  Just below the surface of the waterI spotted a very colorful arrangement of a crab on top of a couple of Sea Stars.

 

 

I was almost to the entrance to Bottleneck when I heard what sounded like a canon blast.  I looked up and saw a huge splash of water.  A whale had breached just outside the entrance!  And then, it breached again, even closer.  Talk about shock and awe.  This was scary……but exciting.  I just had to get a photo.  I’ve been waiting for years to get a photo of a whale breaching.  However, I didn’t want to die in the process.  So, I decided to shoot from behind the rocky point on the north side of the entrance.

While I was maneuvering into position, I spotted a very small runabout heading right for where the whale had gone down last.  This guy is crazy!  Then the whale breached again.  The sight was amazing, and the sound terrifying. 

 

 

 

The whale just kept breaching and breaching, and I just kept shooting.  There was no way of knowing where the whale would come up.  He seemed to be moving farther out.  I soon found myself outside the entrance, hoping for a better shot.  But then the guy in the runabout seemed to be herding the whale toward me, so I scurried back behind the rocks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually the whale surfaced farther south.  I was tempted to follow him, but decided to quit while I was still in one piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After listening to the weather report this morning, we decided today would be a good day to travel.  So, by 0730 hours we’re on our way to Rescue Bay,  in Jackson Narrows.  Sea conditions are perfect.

As we entered Reid Passage, Al yelled, “Deer in the water!”  I grabbed my camera and went in search of the deer.  I spotted him just about 100 yards ahead of us, and almost to the other side of the passage.  I told Al to slow down, as I tried to get the deer in focus.  By now, he was very near to shore.  I had time for just one shot, and he was gone.

 

 

As you can see, he was a buck “in velvet”, his antlers brand new.  Judging from the look on his face, I think he was a bit surprised to see us too.

When we got to Perceval Narrows, the seas coming in from Queen Charlotte Sound were huge, and where the huge seas met the outflowing tide, a real caldron was formed.  Luckily, we only had a short distance to go before we were once again in protected waters as we entered Mathieson Channel. 

When we got to Rescue Bay, Al suggested we keep on going since traveling conditions were so good.  We’d be to Bottleneck by supper time.

Bottleneck was completely empty when we arrived.  So nice.  We anchored at the head of the inlet and started cracking crab for our dinner.  And what a delicious dinner it was.  Life is good.

 

It started raining during the night.  Right now it’s pouring buckets.  You would think hummingbirds wouldn’t be able to fly in this foul weather, but you’d be wrong.  It hasn’t even slowed them down.  We must have made a really good batch of sugar water.

Rainy day schedule.  Spent the whole day and part of the night editing photos.