Walking with Grizzlies

[nan]

23 new lifers oups quite a lot
Bald Eagle is a bit less dark... or is the light... nice one ... nice two
and all the serie of course
like Black Oystercatcher (American or... not matter) is a magnificent bird and with the small one
still like the Puffins, it's realy special for us... only far North
Kittlitz's Murrelet... are you sure -O
and Magpie, Sparrow and Pine Grosbeak

fantastic, thank you

[Richprins]

Wish Freud was with us. His jokes were the best ever. Did you know that Bears have a much higher developed sense of smell than Freud's bloodhound, Henry? He could also have cooked snacks for us whilst on shore.

I think Dewi is being facetious here, and referring to Clement Freud the chef and author...

"Bald" eagle has always been a bit of an offensive name for me...

Can't blame Verreaux and Levaillant? Or can we?

Interesting bird pics, Deli, and few flowers this episode!

[Heksie]

I'm just shaking my head here Dewi, I was so impressed having what? 10 lifers with my 9 day trip and then you gooi sommer 23 lifers
What a great trip it was just for birding I say
Beautiful shots of the baldie and the black oystercatcher
But the tuft puffins in the previous episodes are my favorite
You definitley brought much more home wiht you that walking with some brown teddybears

[pooky]

23 lifters - how fabulous is that - great pics

Beautiful scenery and plant life - with and without Meg

[Flutterby]

Lots to catch up on!! More amazing stories and pics, and 23 lifers!!

[Dewi]

Thank you for your comments Sharifa, Lisbeth, Mel, Nan, Richprins, Heksie, Pooky & Flutterby.

Sharifa - To put the lifers into context, when I first visited Cape Town I got 136 lifers (birds) plus 12 new Mammal species. On one day alone I saw 85 new species of birds.
When I worked in Antartctica. My total year list was 24 species of birds.

Lis - The jury is still out on the Murrelet, but it WAS a Murrelet. I managed to get photos of 52% of the new ones seen, so you will have to take my word on it for the other 48%.

Mel - I saw some of the target species I was after, but missed out on others. Aleutian Tern and Varied Thrush being the best of the ones I wanted to see.

Nan - Those Black Oystercatchers were great to watch with their youngster. You are right about the light on the Eagle.

RP - I was in the right family with Sigmund's grandson - be more specific in future. Sigmund would probably have told me that I suffer from Megalomania. You can blame Linnaeus for the name. -O You will like the next flowers - they eat meat.

Heksie - I'm always amazed by how much I learn about things I never knew existed when I go on trips. I always try to read as much as I can beforehand, only to realise how little has actually been written about those places.

Pooky - More scenery to come, and plants, and Meg, and one or two bears as well if I can fit them all in somewhere. -O

Flutt's - Glad you caught up. Hope your trip was a good one - looking forward to reading your TT & seeing your & BB's pics.

[Richprins]

Hmmm...Linnaeus...will research the swine!

[Dewi]

We sailed out of Kukak bay and headed into Kaflia bay. This was where Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend were killed and eaten by a bear on 5th October 2003.

Kaflia Bay.


We went ashore and hiked the bear trails in an area dubbed "The Grizzly Maze." Dense thickets and stands of Alder cover this region and the bears have worn pathways through this tangle. To travel here, one has to be on constant alert as a bear could be coming along the path towards you at any time and visibility was down to a metre or two at best in some places. "Hey Bear, coming through bear" was the chant as we marched along the paths. The last thing you need here is a suprised bear coming around the next corner. At one point, a low growl stopped us in our tracks. The growl was not from a bear and Brad looked puzzled as to what the sound could have been. We backed off and returned the way we had come before taking another route. Thinking back afterwards, the growl was more cat-like, so the possibility of it being a Lynx was discussed.

Entering the Grizzly Maze.


We were hoping that there would be bears fishing in one of the streams here. There were plenty of fish in the lake at the mouth of the river, but none were moving upstream yet, due to the low water levels.



We sat and chilled out for a while, but only saw a single bear on the sandy beach on the opposite end of the lake.



For those of you who were wandering why we wore waders all day...



...it was so that we could take photos of ourselves standing in a lake.





The pathways were littered with bright yellow flowers.



And tasty Salmon Berries were just ripe for the picking.



We came across a carnivorous plant - a Venus Fly-trap. The sticky dew-drops snare insects and both sides of the jaws close to entrap a hapless fly or beetle.



We found a moulted feather of a Bald Eagle.



Before catching sight of the spoor of the animals we were looking for.

[Mel]

I think, I don't dare to asked what happened to the bear that killed and ate two people...

Not sure, if I'd be so brave to walk the bear walk -O Competent guide or not

Wearing the waders was well worth it - nice photo of you and Meg!
Also love the group photo in the lake - you all look happy and relaxed

[Richprins]

We went ashore and hiked the bear trails in an area dubbed "The Grizzly Maze." Dense thickets and stands of Alder cover this region and the bears have worn pathways through this tangle.

You see now! That's the way to START a story! -O

Another food pic too!




Grimble: "Kukak...heeh heeh!"