A Wildlife Overload

Wed Jun 15th

Last weekend we had a few days up in Campbell River for a whale watching trip. The town is a little over halfway up the NE side of Vancouver Island looking across an archipelago of islands and the BC mainland.

Long famous for its fishing, the town expanded with the development of the Elk Falls pulp and paper mill in 1952. It was closed in 2010. Salmon fish farming is also under threat following the revocation of fish farm licences by the Federal Government to mitigate the impact of lice on native fish stocks. Fish farming has also been opposed by First Nations' groups.

Over the years the fishing harbour was expanded to include a large marina which also provides a base for sport fishing, whale watching and adventure tours such as ours. The harbour also hosts the terminal for ferry access to Quadra Island.

We had booked a six-hour whale watching trip for the Norfolk branch of the Cronks. I was tour organiser and Fred, who does not do boats, our Jack sitter!

It was one of the most amazing six hours I have spent, amongst the beautiful scenery of the Discovery Islands. We may only have seen one Humpback (the weather reduced the opportunity to see more), but Black Bears foraging on the foreshore, and a ‘swarm’ of Bald Eagles made for an exceptional trip.

Conditions at the beginning of the expedition were good and our guide initially followed the main channel used by freight barges and cruise ships heading to Alaska, rather than head out to open sea. We tracked up the Discovery Passage and passing Sonora Island saw a couple of Black Bears foraging on the foreshore. They were carefully turning rocks over and eating whatever was underneath. Unperturbed by us pottering around in the boat just off the beach, they carried on eating. After about ten minutes one of them sauntered off and we left the remaining one to its food. We carried on up the network of channels and islands.

Half an hour further in and we spotted a Humpback whale between East Thurlow and Sonora Islands. Known locally as KC, Kelp Creature, as he was first spotted playing in kelp beds, our guide thought he was 4-5 years old though a video on YouTube from 2015 suggests he is 8-10 years old and identifiable by the marks on his fin. He then put on a display for us as we snapped away, mesmerised by his sheer beauty.

BC introduced new rules in February on the distance boats must keep from whales and switching off engines if one pops up unexpectedly. It didn’t stop one boat rushing down a small inlet towards the whale the other side to where we were bobbing around. Our guide rushed to the back of the boat and started waving a flag on a pole to alert the boat to the whale’s presence. The boat finally got the message and stopped about 20m short of the whale which had already sensed the other boat and took a quick dive. We were glad to see it resurface a few minutes later over on our left. A close call.

Our guide mysteriously announced we were off to see something special and headed off to the channel between Gillard Island and Big Bay. A bit like Skookumchuck, a huge volume of tidal water is forced through the narrow channel creating whirlpools and strong back currents with, at times, a drop of 1m in water level either side of the island. The effect of the currents, we were told, forces the Hake to the surface rapidly, expanding their swim bladder, killing them and providing a ready feast for the local Bald Eagle population. It is a large population.

Bald Eagles on just one tree on Gillard Island

We counted 26 Bald Eagles in one tree alone, and all the trees on downstream side of the island were dotted with Bald Eagles. A similar number were flying over the water, dropping down to gather up a Hake lunch, often several going for the same fish creating an aerial display that I would not have believed if it had been described to me beforehand. This was going on over the water all around us, creating the feeling we were in a scene from The Birds. An avian spectacular.

It only occurs when the tide is in full flood and when we headed back after lunch at the dock at Big Bay, there were only a few eagles still around. How do they know when to turn up, given the tide times change every day? Answers on a postcard.

We headed back to the harbour avoiding the open sea as the wind had picked up and it would have been too rough. No more wildlife on the return apart from a brief glimpse of a Dall’s Porpoise, but it disappeared too quickly to photograph.

On Sunday we checked out Elk Falls and then on to McIvor Lake for lunch which was busier than when we swung by last October. Pleasant though to see the lake being used and enjoyed.

On Monday we headed back to the Coast. We had planned to stop by Skookumchuck on the way back, but after experiencing the tidal flows near Gillard Island by boat on Saturday we gave it a miss.

On the ferry back to Powell River the Captain announced that a pod of Orca were swimming off to the right of the ship. We saw six of them and judging by the difference in fin sizes some were quite young.

Orca on ferry crossing

On arrival at Powell River we made a mad dash for the Saltery Bay ferry back to Earl’s Cove, only to see it disappearing from the dock as we arrived. Great ferry scheduling! We had planned for lunch at John Henry’s, our favourite haunt when we were living at Garden Bay last June, however the kitchen was shut. The best laid plans!

Back home, it was unpacking and packing for 4 days in Whistler where we were headed on Tuesday.