There were more crows than usual Sunday morning at the Kitamaat Village waterfront. Crows perching on old driftwood roots….
…or in the air along the shore line.
Suddenly all the crows took to the air….that murder of crows (or as one of the other birders said “it looks like two murders”).
It was soon clear that they were mobbing a juvenile bald eagle.
The eagle escaped the crows. And we saw it about 20 minutes later, a little further away over the mouth of Whatl Creek at MK Bay, flying over some gulls skimming the water.
Summer photography in Kitimat and down Douglas Channel.
Images from walking around Kitimat, hikes, and from North West Photo Fest at Minette Bay Lodge and down Douglas Channel.
The most amazing event was when we were off Coste Rocks and witnessed three humpbacks up Amos Channel. One did not dive, but floated on the ocean, asleep. The currents slowly sent the whale toward us while the winds pushed the boat toward the whale.
A sleeping humpback floats in Douglas Channel near Coste Rocks Provincial Park on August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Watch the encounter on Youtube.
A newly fledged American robin hides in the undergrowth in Kitimat, August 4, 2018. It was just beside the sidewalk as I walked by. About 10 minutes later as I walked back to the location it finally flew away. (Robin Rowland)
Another fledgling American robin munches on #berries in the undergrowth of Kitimat, August 4m 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A female surf scoter at Pine Lake, near Terrace, BC, August 6, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A lesser yellow leg flies over seagrass at Minette Bay Kitimat BC during a North West Photo Fest photowalk, August 10, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Two lesser yellow legs perch in the tidal streams of Minette Bay, August 10, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A light in the forest. Light on a tree during a photo walk at Minette Bay Lodge, August 11, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
The largest Coste Rock on August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A flock of juvenile surf scoters fly over Douglas Channel south of Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
Harbour seals look out from Coste Rocks, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Two marbled murrelets take off near Coste Rocks in Douglas Channel south of Kitimat, August 13. (Robin Rowland)
A marbled murrelet swims in Douglas Channel south of Kitimat, August 13. (Robin Rowland)
A barn swallow feeds its young under the rafters of the Tookus Inn floating lodge anchored in Clio Bay, south of Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
A rufous humming bird coming in to flowers at Minette Bay Lodge Kitimat, BC, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A rufous humming bird coming in to flowers at Minette Bay Lodge Kitimat, BC, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A humpback whale that apparently survived a ship strike feeds in Bishop Bay, BC, Monday August 28, 2017. The whale is missing part of its back close to the dorsal fin. (Robin Rowland)
I went down “the Channel” (the collective name for the waters of Douglas Channel and the surrounding passages, channels and canals) with friends on Monday, August 28.
We were first heading down Ursula Channel toward Monkey Beach where I was going to shoot some portraits of my friends, Before we got to Monkey Beach we saw humpbacks breaching far, far down Ursula Channel.
After we finished shooting the portraits, we went into nearby Bishop Bay for supper. We never made it to the famed Bishop Bay hotsprings. There was a pod of perhaps seven humpbacks hugging the shore, feeding. So we had supper on board and spent a couple of hours watching and photographing the humbacks.
Four humpbacks feed along the shore of Bishop Bay. (Robin Rowland)
As well the whale missing a chunk from its back, at least two others showed scarring from probable past ship or boat encounters.
Two humpback’s one missing part of its back, feed in Bishop Bay. (Robin Rowland)
A humpback with a scarred back and dorsal fin in Bishop Bay (Robin Rowland)
Another view of the scarred humpback. (Robin Rowland)
The scarred humpback dives showing its fluke (Robin Rowland)
Another humpback showing its scars. (Robin Rowland)
A whale blows in Bishop Bay. (Robin Rowland)
A humpback fluke with what looks like chewed edges. (Robin Rowland)
Another view of the humpback with the strange flukes (Robin Rowland)
Another humpback fluke. Fluke are a different as fingerprints which is how scientists identify them. (Robin Rowland)
A third fluke (Robin Rowland)
And perhaps a fourth (Robin Rowland)
And finally a jellyfish that floated past our boat. (Robin Rowland)
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Unit 63 alpha and bravo vessels, the “Snowflake Responders” exercise in Kitimat harbour on Sunday, August 13, 2017. (Robin Rowland)
On Sunday morning, we held a North West Photo Fest long lens photo workshop/photo walk on the seawall at the Kitamaat Village, mostly shooting birds, when the search and rescue boats came out for a training session.
Jay Gough of Nikon and the participants in the Kitamaat Village photo walk (Robin Rowland)
And around the same time we caught a rainbow over the harbour, putting the legendary “pot of gold” at its end right in the Rio Tinto aluminum smelter. (Robin Rowland)
A murder of crows flies along the Kitamaat Village waterfront, Sunday, August 13, 2017, during the North West Photo Fest photo walk on the village seawall. Sony A77 with Minolta 500mm f/8 RF mirror lens(Robin Rowland)
There were more crows than usual Sunday morning at the Kitamaat Village waterfront. Crows perching on old driftwood roots….
