eagles ,whales, fish

  I happened to see an eagle swimming in from the deeper currents with a catch, and guessed that he was pulling in a small salmon, because that water would be an unlikely place to catch a greenling or a rockfish on the surface. His, or her, partner was swooping around cheering him on, or on the lookout to grab the prize if he dropped it. I went for my camera, and then back down to the boat, untied, and taxied to where I had last seen wings fluttering on the far side of the boulders on the shore. I thought I had plenty of time, but the great photo got away, again. The dry partner eagle swooped in at the shore, and carried the fish to the nearby nest, while the wet one shook himself off.  In the photo , you can  easily see one eagle in the nest,  and if you look closely, the wet one is above, in the tree branches.

I had hardly tied up again when a pod of orcas ( Killer Whales ) came in to view. There were two or three boats, including the "whale watcher" tour operators, keeping the respectful 100 metres to the side which is required by law. Andrew and Catherine had arrived, so I went up and asked them if they wanted to go out to see the whales, which they did.
These orcas are the mammal eaters that we see all year around, at unpredictable times as they try to ambush prey such as seals and dolphins and porpoises.
It is easy to get too close if you are actually trying to get as close as allowed but not closer.
And from a distance, sometimes boats look closer than they are. It is also easy to get surprised at cruising speed and find a whale close by. The Coast Guard boat came running up through the Tyee Pool ( not rowboat season, yet ) and looking like he is too close to one of the kids in the Orca pod (family).

While we were watching, one of my guide friends pulled in briefly to share the view with his guests, on their way back in from their morning fishing. S came near and said the fishing was good, but his three anglers raved that they had all caught their limit, and their excitement was contagious.
So we decided to go out. Well, the next tide was not so good at all, for anyone. Salmon do have their ways. However, fishing for us the next day was very, very good.