My new favorite birds

I have found my new favorite birds.

It might change over time, however, right now I am simply impressed that one of the species of bird I am thinking of, have in the past been a source to extreme irritation!

The bird I am talking about here is the SEAGULL!

A seagull that just caught a fish

They are loud, confusing, a little crazy, no wait, very crazy and a little aggresive - I love them!

A seagull, just moments after catching a fish

Seagulls,

There are more than 50 different types of gulls, they live all over the world, eat whatever they can get their beak into, and they adjust to all kinds of climate.

Like white and grey dots on the ocean surface, the seagulls will gather, hundreds, sometimes thousands of birds, quietly waiting for the next meal.

Seagulls, hanging out, waiting for the next feeding frenzy

A Rhinoceros Auklet, just surfaced from a dive

Rhinoceros Auklet,

Small, clumsy, shy, extremely good divers not to mention very fast, will also gather around the thousands of seagulls, not a large number compared to the seagulls, but enough to create a bateball under water.

Rhinoceros Auklet

The Auklets can dive as deep as 57 meters for as long as 148 seconds to catch their prey. If you see an auklet while on a zodiac, you will most likely see them as they take a quick dive, always leaving you wondering where they went.

A diving Rhinoceros Auklet

A bateball is created by the Rhinoceros Auklets attacking a scool of smaller fish from below while the seagulls will attack from above.

And when that happens, the seagulls state of mind will change so quickly, without any warning, into a frenzy of screaming, flapping, diving, splashing, and then, quiet again, waiting for the next one.

Seagulls feeding from a bateball

It is quite amazing to see the two species working together!

And that concludes todays essay on why I love Gulls and Auklets.

Orca video..

This is it! Cool sound from G klan orca in Johnstone Strait!

You can see from my very happy face how much I am enjoying this!!

No need to say more,

Enjoy!

It's a hard life ;-)

Black tailed deer


Grizzly mother and cub


Grizzly cub



Grizzly mother and cubs



Grizzly mother and cubs


Another couple of days have gone by, los of new and familiar sightings, lots of orca is in the area at the moment due to the rising amount of salmon.Yesterday we went back to Glendale Cove in Knight Inlet to see the grizzly bears.



Grizzly mother and cub

Once again a great day, a total of 16 grizzlybears where 9 were cubs and 3 black bears! I had my heart break when we discovered a grizzly cub, lying in the water, crying a heartbreaking cry for help. It had been injured - probably by a male grzzly -and most likely wouldn't survive.

Hurt grizzly cub

We thought and maybe secretly hoped that the rising tide would put it out of it's misery, but we came back about an hour later and it had climbed on a log and was still crying. As a human and an animal lover it is very difficult to sometimes let nature take it's walk, especially when it involves babies, but had we done anythbing to save the grizzly cub, that would probably have been the last thing we would do as the mother grizzly was watching secretly behind the trees and bushes, most definately wanting to protect the hurt baby bear. It is often seen that the male grizzly will attack the cubs, in order to make the female grizzly 'open' for mating again, and that will only happen if she has no cubs. The male grizzly will be alone except for the mating and if you see a male grizzly, it is very certain that no other female grizzly bear will be there.

Grizzly mother and cub, hanging around the hurt cub.



Grizzly eating grass



Bald eagle almost matured

On our way back to Port McNeill, we spotted a young black bear on a rock wall just on the water, eating mussels. You can get really close to them if you stay quiet. They have very poor eyesight but very good hearing. The sound of a camera or a boat engine will not scare it away, but a branch cracking in the forest will make it run almost emidiately. We were close enough to hear the scratching on the rocks with its paws! He was lookinig directly at us, but you could see that he didn't really see us. Amazing!

Black bear eating along the shore

About 15 minutes later, we saw two big black bears on a little tiny island, eating huckleberries, hanging out and climbing trees. It's amazing to watch them so close as if you weren't there.

Black bear eating berries

I am living, smelling, hearing and experiencing Naional Geographic Channel every day and loving every bit of it.

Everything for the picture, right??

When you catch yourself smiling when no one else is around, that’s probably one of the best ‘happy barometers’ I can think of.



Grizzly Bear with cub, with a pink salmon.



Blue herons waiting for the smaller fish


Blue heron with a fish in the beak


Grizzly bears up close in Glendale Cove, we are watching them chase pink salmon in the shallow water, racing the bald eagles for the fish.
The blue herons fly heavily and slowly yet with such grace, the fast pace and fast song of the Kingfisher keeps our senses alert, the temperamental falcon fighting the crows under the clear blue sky and the icy blue glacier water that is full of life.

This icy blue water reminds me of the south, my mind unwillingly takes me to palm trees and white beaches, but quickly takes me back to Knight Inlet where -out of nowhere - Pacific Whitesided Dolphins show up all around us, around 60 of them…
Knowing that they can outrun the boat easily the dolphins race and play alongside the boat, surrounded by beautiful mountains, some of which are still white from snow.
And all of a sudden they disappear as quickly as they appeared.
Done with playing and showing off.

This must truly be heaven on earth. !!


Knight Inlet with the icy blue water


Pacific Whitesided Dolphin with a baby



Grizzly Bear fishing





Mother and cub

Blue heron

We sat in the little zodiac, nobody else around, watching a pod of orcas playing in the kelp beds, perhaps sharing a fish they caught.

We sat there for more than 15 minutes, watching, listening to the puffing sounds they make when they surface, beautiful green water up against a steep vertical rock, the water completely still.

Yesterday we were watching another pod all alone, and the young ones were particularly playful, breaching, tailslapping, rolling around and spyhopping, going really slowly along the shore.

We were watching them for about 30 or 40 minutes, passing by some kayakers, and all of a sudden, a few feet from our boat we heard the puff from the blowhole very close to us, and since we were watching the pod from a safe distance, the surfacing orca came as a chock to us all, we had not seen it coming. Awesome!

Once again we could hear the orca singing straight from the water, no hydrophones, just real life.

WOW!!!

Orca ´mini breach´

Pectoral slap

Lunging orca

Tomorrow we will be on the water, not one day is the same, so I am looking forward to a trip on the water once again.
Unfortunately, I have gotten a bad case of photositis, my left arm and shoulder is in very bad shape, but knowing myself, I will be sitting front row with my camera in my hands, ignoring the pain and complain about it when we come back on the shore… Everything for the picture, right??

videos and sound

Here is a video from yesterday with some great orca sound so you can see and hear for yourself how amazing it is...
Enjoy...



You can also see more pictures on www.orcaadventures.com on the photogallery.
My pictures are the albums:
aug 2, 2008 - zodiac
and
aug 3, 2008 - zodiac

Addictive surroundings!

Orca swimming around you, eagles fishing only a few feet away, humpback whales breaching, sealions roaring, and the splashing of water on the boat...
These are truly addictive surroundings.
I am at loss for describing words, and left standing with more than 1000 pictures already...
I can't stop shooting with my camera, I feel saturated with so many impressions, but find myself wanting more, wanting more, wanting more..
Constantly looking for the the perfect picture, the perfect moment to share with you how this really feels.

I have heard the orca's singing... with my own ears, not a recording, not a hydrophone lowered in the water... I heard it simply through the water while they were swimming all around and under the boat I was in.
Completely and utterly amazing!
It brings chills and goosebumps and tears to peoples eyes when they hear it, even the guys right beside me was deeply moved by these sounds from the deep..
I had a sudden urge to jump in the water with them, but had nowhere to put my camera, so I left that thought fairly quickly :o)
Enjoy the pictures..








'The Sea Otter' zodiac - Ocean Rose www.orcaadventures.com


Flying fish


Black bear with a cub on the beach




Seals


Orca and seagulls


Orca on the horizon



Family portrait


Orca


Spyhopping orca


Orca


Seagulls, hanging out on a floating log


Male orca fin


Tail slapping orca





Orca tail



Sea lion, hanging out, making love to the camera, the usual stuff :o)



orca and sailboat


Orcas surfacing


bald eagle fishing



young orca with mother