April

Despite its appearance, this black bear wasn't angry, it was happily chomping on a variety of intertidal species. They just chew with their mouth open.

One half of the Motley Crew, the T023Cs, blowing rainbows in the inlets surrounding Tofino.

A sea otter, a species once extirpated from Canadian waters, sleeps on the waters off Clayoquot Sound.

My first tufted puffin sighting of 2019. These birds nest in small numbers locally, and are just one of the many amazing bird species on the coast here.

A bald eagle makes a turn as it comes in to dive at gulls just off Strawberry Isle.

Harbour seals resting at low tide.

These guys are nicknamed "rock sausages". It's easy to see why!

The T23Cs, with T023C3 in the fore of the image. This gang spent three consecutive days in inlet waters around Tofino.

A black bear drools at it feeds on barnacles and crabs on the shoreline.

Great blue heron with a classic heron pose.

Undoubtedly my saddest moment on the waters. We encountered this recently dead coastal wolf in the waters off Meares Island. These animals are incredible swimmers, so finding one dead in the water is exceptionally unusual.

My first cub sighting of 2019. This youngster is exceptionally confident, and spend its time copying its mother and flipping rocks to find food.

Here is the cub, and the sow, using their incredible sense of smell to locate food.

A 4th year bald eagle, with the white head and tail, but still some flecks of brown remaining giving away its age.

A family shot of the T023Cs. T023C was born in 1990. Her offspring were born in 2009 (T023C3), 2013 (T023C4) and 2018. The calf is uncoded as far as I know. With mortality being as high as 50% in their first year, it's common to wait a while before giving them a code or name.

CSG23, Pattern, flukes in the same place that we saw him last year. This grey whale was first photographed in 1980 in Clayoquot Sound.

The T023C's 2018 calf and T023C3 with the nick in her fin that helps to identify her.

Those yellow/orange things are grey whale barnacles. The black dots are their feeding parts that they use to capture food as the grey whale swims along.

The fluke of an unknown grey whale that was briefly seen around Whaler Island.

A haul out of California sea lions, in the inlets around Tofino. If you look to the top left you'll see a branded sea lion. These codes help researchers track the movements of individuals within a population.

The rainforest, in all its misty glory.

A golden blow from a member of the T023Cs in Tranquil Inlet.