Timber, Salmon & Eagles

Another 12 hour overnight Greyhound run from Prince George to Prince Rupert, maybe this time for couple of days, let's see how the 'birding' goes!

Daylight appeared to coincide with our meeting the sea at the landward end of the Rupert Inlet, and quite a sight it was.

There follows a pictorial of snapshots of everyday life in a small Canadian coastal town which survives, by and large, on fishing, logging and some mining.

Of the latter, there is a large Zinc Ore mine not far outside of the town with much of the product being transported overland, while the rest is taken away in these medium size 'bulk freighters'.

The Inner Harbour

Seems the White-tailed Deer are used to human presence, they are all over the place.

'Mother Whale & Calf' the town emblem carved in stone.

Bald Eagles are very confiding also, I counted 31 during the 6 hours out today. This adult sat in this tree quite unconcerned that I was directly below,

while juvenile

only took to the wing

when hassled by another that wasn't content finding its own perch.

There are 3 or 4 fish processing units in town, mainly dealing with Salmon and Halibut. I thought it a good idea to bring the readership some images of the process, so simply bowled in and asked to see the Manager. My contact directed me to the Secretary who in turn introduced me to the Wet Fish Manager who seemed delighted with my intent. Unfortunately, all of today's catch had been dealt with as it was small, commercial fishing not starting until this Sunday, missed the moment by a few hours. Undeterred I was give the freedom to wander where I liked and did get a few shots of the external workings of the industry.

2 small Voith Shneider propelled Tugs used both in the industry and on a commercial basis for visiting shipping.

Repairing nets in preperation for the start of the season.

Only a very small part of the dedicated fleet of fishers, add to these the other companies boats and privateers you have a good number of hulls!

One of the more traditional vessels now being superseded by light aluminium vessels.

The Office Block and Processing Facility overlooking the inlet.

These 3 lovely people from the Wildlife Rehab Shelter heard me talking about publishing these photos and drew my attention to the back of their van.

Inside was this young Black Bear cub which they had just rescued after the parent bear was murdered by humans.

They will nurture it until it can be released back to the wild. I had been told by a passer by of an

overgrown redundant railway track that was in fact off-limits due to falling rocks, but everyone uses it. Seemed like an ideal place to notch up a few birds, so in I went. Most of the plant life was untouched

and there were several small natural grotto's, adding a good feel to the place.

While the photos are not overly impressive they do tell the story, with this Golden-crowned Kinglet being added to the Trip List.

A Townsend's Warbler put in a fleeting appearance, giving some idea of what they look like, while

another Belted Kingfisher was far more obliging.

At the end of the track was Seal Cove

complete with Seaplane terminal,

Heli-pad plus Helicopter Flying Doctor.

There was also a wedding, a little nontraditional with The Blues Brothers,

Bride in white, Bridesmaids in lime green and almost everything else

decked in those 3 colours - novel to say the least!

The logging ship was swinging to her anchor, while the Stevedores

balanced precariously on the rafts of timber either side,

while it was most comforting to see this sign, one of many scattered through the town.

The Coast Guard were also in attendance,

as was this Beetle and

the Sea Cadet Unit reminded me of many memorable 'runs ashore' in the Medwey Towns.