Bear,Bear, Not Quite Everywhere!

We... Love... Bear..., can you tell? Sleek and glossy black bear. Shaggy-coated brown bear. Big old fat bear, energetic young bear, round and fluffy bear cubs, even the rowdy young adults – we can’t get enough of these intriguing creatures. Bear watching was off to a slow start this season. After weeks, no it seemed more like months, of wondering where most of the grizzlies might be hiding, we finally found plenty of brown bear along Chatham Strait. The fish runs were weeks late this year, so the bear had little incentive to hang around the stream mouths. Every year I carry on about the Baranof Island bears, and this year is no different. Here are just a few of this month's favorite grizzlies.   

Now I'm ready for more bear, please.

Red Bluff Bay and Bear

Bear! Another bear! Still more bear! That was Red Bluff Bay on this visit. We were alone in the bay when we arrived, fortunate to have our choice of anchor locations. We headed to our favorite spot, the sheltered cove beyond the waterfall with an unobstructed view of the estuary. Out of sight of the towering waterfall, nonetheless we heard it’s constant thunder roaring in the background while our view included rugged mountain peaks, a wide grassy meadow and river delta and a bear trail along our cove. 

Even before the anchor dropped RL spotted the first grizzly in the estuary. We were barely settled when a sow with two cubs wandered into view, grazing on the lush foliage in the estuary. We jumped into the skiff and headed over for our first brief photo op… brief since the tide was falling and the shallow, rock-strewn shoals present a threat to propellers. As we turned to head back to the big boat, a grizzly appeared directly behind Rhapsody, slowly grazing his way along the shoreline bear trail. Photo op!

In the midst of transferring the images from cameras to computer, another grizzly appeared along the bear trail, less than 200 feet off the stern. Photo op!

Some time later two more bears hustled along the bear trail, the small grizzly in the lead definitely nervous and finally romping away to disappear around the bend near the small stream. That was a lot of amazing bear viewing during the first 3 hours in Red Bluff. Several more bear appeared in the estuary later in the day.

Very few bear made an appearance over the next 24 hours, then in late afternoon on the third day of our stay one large nutmeg-colored grizzly waded up the shallows of the river mouth. He submerged, then spent long minutes pawing his head, especially his eyes. Pesky fly problems perhaps? Three large adults grazed in the estuary for hours... too far away for photos at a tide too low to approach closer. We settled for bear watching with binoculars instead.

The closest, most visible wildlife for much of our stay was the pair of hummingbirds that buzzed everything of color around the boat: flags, humans in red and yellow gear, geraniums in a galley window, etc. Not quite so bold, two pair of Red-throated Loons kept a cautious distance as they circled the boat, sounding their eerie cry as they cruised along.

Timing mattered this week for bear watching; we were so fortunate to arrive when we did! No complaints here, between the two of us we shot over 600 grizzly images. Red Bluff Bay is a breathtakingly beautiful scenic location, but it’s truly special when grizzly bear and sunshine coincide.

Gut Bay at Mickie's Basin

It was almost tempting to run the big boat inside the inner cove, Mickie’s Basin, almost but timing wasn’t right. It takes a high tide to navigate the reverse S-bend course in the shallow, 30-foot wide entry, avoiding the occasional boulder while you keep off the shoals. We chose to anchor in the outer cove and use the skiff to explore the inner basin. Quietly beautiful, this location provided shelter from most wind gusts and swells. Gut Bay had few visitors during our stay. M/V Sea Roamer anchored briefly in the outer cove, waiting for high tide, then headed into the basin to spend a week or two on anchor. Charter boat Ursa Major and two small trollers spent brief overnights in the outer cove.

One scruffy grizzly kept us laughing with his antics, rolling around in various shallow depressions, wriggling and waving his paws while rubbing dirt into his fur coat. Was he cleaning his fur? Were the bugs bothering him? Or was he just fooling around? 

Sea Roamer reported good prawning in Gut Bay, setting traps deep, between 300-500 feet. That's a lot of line to recover when you pull each pot, hopefully heavy with prawns. The spot prawns they shared were delicious! (link) Thanks Lee and Ellen.

Baranof Grizzly Bear Bonanza

Baranof Island wins top honors for the best bear-watching of the 2014 cruise. We shot thousands of photos, collected a fine store of memories and savored every moment. Hopefully we'll see some of the same grizzlies next year as they come to feast on the returning salmon. 

When we share a bay with brown bears it's tempting to linger and spend a few days on anchor. Most of our photography and bear watching takes place in a boat; the big boat, a dinghy or a kayak. Occasionally we hike the shore when conditions are safe, but not very often. Ashore at this site in late July it was comforting to have a stream between us and the bears. It also helped to have waves of returning chum salmon to attract the grizzlies and hold their attention. On our first day here we identified 17 different brown bear. Early the next morning we ran the dinghy to shore to see which grizzlies would reappear. The banks were empty when we arrived, but soon we spotted our favorite sow with her three active cubs. Those cute little guys, about the size of small herd dogs, already display different traits or personalities. One cub cuddled close to its mother, often nuzzling her muzzle or tucking under her belly to suckle. Another more adventurous cub would pause or bravely wander off to investigate an interesting scent, and then had to scramble to catch up with the family parade. The third cub tended to stir things up, always ready to pounce and tussle, to bat at its siblings or even steal their fish.

An impressively large adult, one new to us, approached the stream from our shore... hey, where did she come from?!... strode quickly into the middle of the water and plopped  down. This accomplished fisherman reached down with its enormous paws, snagged one fish after another with apparent ease, and ate them without ever changing location. She remained stationary in midstream until the sow and her cubs wandered up the bank into the rocks and disappeared around the point. Only then did the lone bear venture into the recently-vacated shallow area, a prime fishing spot with easier access to schools of fish. (No one messes with a mama bear.)

Another female with a very young cub wandered along the far shore, avoiding contact with the other grizzlies. The adorable little cub resembled a fluffy basketball with legs, bouncing along beside its solid, slow-moving, lumbering mother. That pair remained upstream, far away from us and the more popular fishing spot.

The action slowed, then stopped completely. The grizzlies went on about their business and we reluctantly returned to the boat to raise anchor and move on. Oh, those Baranof Bears!

Bear, Bear. Bear Everywhere

"Where are the bear?" In spring it seemed the bear must still be denned up (they weren't) or in hiding, since bear sightings were rare and we didn't see a single cub. Cruising along Baranof Island in July changed all that. Finally we have seen grizzlies of all sizes and ages as they gather at the mouths of creeks, streams and rivers to feast on the returning salmon. I'll share some bear-watching stories in a later post, but here are a few photos of my current favorite bears.

These are just teasers, c'mon by and see the really good photos.

Baranof Warm Springs: a stay in the south cove

The Baranof Warm Springs dock was full of pleasure boats, without a single seine boat in sight. That shouldn't have been a surprise since we hadn’t noticed any seiners working in Chatham Strait either. Where are they fishing this month? [update: the Petersburg seine fleet ran to openings in the outside waters near Craig & Noyes Island instead of the inside channels where we've seen them in past years] We anchored at the head of the scenic south cove, close to shore but in 80 feet of water. This lovely spot feels like we’re sitting in the middle of a high mountain lake surrounded by peaks and alpine meadows, but of course we’re in salt water at sea level. We threw on the raingear, jumped in the skiff and ran across the bay to the dock to visit, to hike the trail uphill, and for me to pick berries. Ripe salmonberries, blueberries and huckleberries were plentiful in easy-to-reach patches. Score! I restrained myself and only nibbled on a few salmonberries while I harvested – that's easy to do when you know it's the blueberries that often house tiny worms. Worms ick! No problem. If you don’t want the added protein, toss the blueberries into a bowl of cold water and the worms come wiggling out.

Courtney Hann of the Alaska Whale Foundation shared her knowledge and enthusiasm for a citizen involvement project she initiated this summer. Check out the foundation's website, it's loaded with fascinating stuff; research reports, videos, recordings and fascinating factoids. Besides project information, Courtney also shared a jar of her delicious homemade Blueberry Jam, and I gave her a container of my sourdough starter and an herb bouquet. Mmmmmm, the jam and sourdough starter were a dynamite duo for the next morning's Belgian waffles. 

It’s been too wet, windy and lumpy to run the dinghy back to the dock, but I really want need Courtney’s recipe for those Blueberry Preserves. (note: days later when we moved to the dock Courtney shared the secret – lemon zest and a touch of cinnamon.)

Drenching downpours, 25-knot winds and white-capped swells rolling inside the main bay kept us anchored for several days, comfortably tucked around the corner in our sheltered cove. It rained so hard that wispy waterfalls turned into thundering torrents and new streams appeared everywhere carrying the sudden runoff. Even the eagles hunkered down on limbs and drift, looking miserable instead of majestic. (Click on the photo above and see if you agree.)

We processed a gazillion photos from a major grizzly viewing adventure (more about that later in another post), Ron worked on boat projects, I baked French bread baguettes and a batch of  Cruising Cookies and - “What? - Is that a new rock? - The rock moved!” Ron had spotted a bear moving quickly up the creek. We’ve never seen a grizzly here before, but one appeared briefly in the stream at the head of south cove. Recent rains account for new waterfalls and increased flow in the shallow streambeds, but what brought a bear?! Was he looking for pink salmon, checking to see if any had returned yet (they haven’t). Or did the fruit-laden berry bushes attract him? Heavy rain, low clouds and fog, the distance to shore and a fast-moving bear made this more of a viewing moment than a photo op, but the photo shows there WAS a grizzly in Baranof Warm Springs’ south cove this year.