Know Your Neighbours:
Front Row Seat
August-September 2004
This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD
by Bryan Nichols
QUICK REFERENCE TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORSCRITTER CHECKLISTS
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Many of my previous columns have provided checklists of what to watch, wildlife-wise. For this issue we’ll go over some of the best ways to watch wildlife from a sea kayak. On occasion I’ll be referring to previous checklists. If you’re a new reader or would like to remind yourself of some of the most interesting critters that Northwest and Caribbean kayakers can spot, dig through your back issues to find my old checklists or take the opportunity to visit WaveLength’s excellent website (www.WaveLengthMagazine.com) where they’re all available. One of the best ways to appreciate wildlife is to bring along a field guide and a checklist and make a point of looking for critters that catch your fancy.
VIEW FROM THE COCKPIT
Kayaks are great wildlife watching platforms because they excel at gliding softly through the interfaces that are rich in interesting wildlife. Ensconced in our small, silent boats we move at the edge of water and sky. Look up and you might see birds, look down and there may be fishes. We also drift along the edge of ocean and land, looking shoreward to see legged mammals visiting the beach and looking seaward to see marine mammals coming up for a breath.
The shore is an especially important place, and kayaks can reach more than just the beach. Where feet fear to tread, a kayak can explore. In a kayak, you can drift effortlessly along the edges of large mudflats that would suck the boots off a cowboy. Your kayak can take you to remote shorelines untrammeled by tennis shoes spilling out of SUVs. You can visit seaside cliffs covered in life that a hiker would only see briefly, on the way down.
Of course, with this sort of power to visit comes a power to disturb. When it comes to wildlife watching, ignorance isn’t bliss, because some critters are decidedly more sensitive than others. A cormorant on a ledge in nesting season will not appreciate you coming in for a close look, but a sea anemone caught dangling by a low tide will probably ignore you—as long as you don’t bash into it. Sometimes seals will give you no more than an annoyed look as you round a corner a few meters away—others will slip into the water before you can even focus your binoculars on them. You should be aware of local wildlife watching guidelines (and/or actual laws) and you should always try to use a combination of respect and common sense.
Such considerations aside, one of the great things about seeing wildlife from a sea kayak is how natural the experience seems. Encounters with creatures great and small are quiet and intimate, which makes them memorable. As a bonus, you can feel good that your kayak isn’t adding noise and petrochemicals to the air and water you’re sharing with those whales, wolves, whelks and dangling anemones.
WHERE SHOULD YOU LOOK?
Looking for wildlife, you need restless eyes. Here are some general tips on where and when to look:
Scan the Surface
If you want to see marine mammals, you should be constantly looking for dark objects that rise and fall. It takes some practice not to be fooled by waves and kelp, but regular scans of the water surface will eventually reward you with porpoise fins, whale tails and seal heads.
Look Down
Buy a pair of polarizing glasses and when the water is calm, don’t forget to regularly look down. The filter feeders we see while tromping along the shore aren’t at their best at low tide. Looking into shallow water will allow you to spot them unfurled and hungry, their colorful tentacles stretched out to grab plankton or larger bits of food. And one of the great things about the ocean is that in deeper water, you just never know what might be lurking below you, looking up.
Scan the Shore
As much as I love the ocean, the Northwest has some pretty spectacular wildlife on shore. We’ve got wolves, bears, mountain lions and moose to look for. Kayaks are quiet, quick and safely OFFshore—a great way to come across a big wild animal. Silent shoreline cruising will certainly treat you to deer, raccoons, and mink—with some luck you might also come across some of our larger mammals.
Remember the Headless
Though we have some spectacular mammals on shore and in the water in the Northwest, don’t forget to think smaller and spineless here. We also have some of the world’s most impressive invertebrates and your kayak gives you the best access to them without actually getting into that chilly water. Giant chitons, giant sea stars, giant barnacles, giant anemones—be sure to bring along a field guide and sample some of the amazing diversity the ocean can offer.
© Biologist Bryan Nichols is currently at the Bamfield Marine Station, watching bears on shore and listening for rockfish.
10 WAYS TO WATCH WILDLIFE FROM A KAYAK
FINDING FLOATERS—PLANKTONNo one sits in a better seat to spot marine jellies (Oct 1998) than us kayakers. Though you’ll find them floating all year, you’ll notice oodles in the spring and summer when the smaller plankton blooms—most jellies are predatory and their numbers bloom as well. Try bringing along a small pail to get a close look at the pretty ones, but take care—all are fragile, and some will sting. |
STRAIGHT DOWN & IN—INTERTIDAL CLIFFSAt low tide especially, seaside cliffs can be a visual smorgasbord of marine invertebrates, especially in areas with a bit of current. Get up close to a cliff in your kayak and you might spot such oddities as pink hydrocoral, yellow sponges and green anemones. There’s almost always strange invertebrates clinging to cliffs, and unlike cliff nesting birds, you won’t be disturbing this wildlife. |
BELOW YOUR BUTT—THE SHALLOW SUBTIDALOne of at least two cool things about winter is that the water is usually a lot clearer. For kayakers looking for wildlife, this allows us a glimpse into the shallows below. If you paddle at low tide, just below the surface are critters you might never see among the rocks onshore, animals too quick or too fragile to be caught by even the lowest tides. On calm days, go slow in the shallows and you might spot fishes, huge sea stars, and other wildlife only familiar to divers |
FLOATING ABOVE THE FOREST—KELPNo one glides over kelp like us kayakers. Boat engines get hopelessly tangled or clogged, and even divers tend to avoid the thickest patches of the Northwest’s underwater forests. Bobbing in thick kelp (Apr 2002) is a unique experience, be it the solid fl oats of bull kelp or the more exquisite fronds of giant kelp. Lift some of the smooth, fast growing blades up and kelp crabs will scramble downward as fish dart for cover. Otters, seals and numerous other animals use kelp forests as shelter and a place to find a meal. |
KAYAK DIVEMany sit-on-top style kayaks are designed as self-propelled diving platforms—there’s room for a tank and gear. In the Northwest, this isn’t a process to take lightly, but with training, practice and the right equipment, your kayak can get you to prime dive sites. |
KAYAK SNORKELIf you’ve got a yen to get in the water but don’t want to deal with compressed air and bulky scuba equipment, you might want to try snorkeling from your kayak. You don’t even need a sit-on-top—with practice you can hop in and out of most kayaks, even in deep water. But the drawback in the Northwest is visibility, not the cold (especially with the great wet and drysuits these days). In the summer, when you’d most love to go for a scenic dip, the shallows are often too murky to see much. |
MISTY BREATHS—SWIMMING MAMMALSWhat could be more exciting than seeing really big mammals from a really small boat? (Apr 2001) Volumes have been written about the joys of watching whales, dolphins and pinnipeds, and there are ever growing industries based on letting the masses do just that. As a result, there is also an increasingly sticky morass of laws and guidelines that, as Captain of your own small vessel, you should be aware of. Besides those big ticket killer whales and ubiquitous harbor seals, you and your kayak might just be visited by sea lions, porpoises, gray whales, sea otters and a variety of less common mammals of the sea. |
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BIRDS AFLOAT & ASHOREThere’s nothing like having a loon or grebe (Dec 2002) pop up beside you and proceed to gulp down a fish that seems too large for its gullet. Ocean kayakers know there are a whole bunch of birds that have adapted to swimming, from penguins down south to puffins, murres, auklets (Aug 2003) and others up here. Shorebound observers don’t get to see the best of these feathery fish eaters, and birders in big boats don’t get the low down perspective that we do. Looking towards shore, you’ll also see a host of birds that have evolved long legs and pointy beaks (Feb 2003) to take advantage of shallows rich in life. |
HOOF & TOOTH MAMMALSQuiet mornings and evenings are the best time to spot mammals on shore (Jun 2002), though mink, otter, deer and raccoon can be seen nearly anytime. This is one of those times a big group is not a great idea—you’ll see more alone or with an equally silent partner. Scan beaches as you round headlands—wary mammals are not accustomed to looking offshore, and might not recognize your shape if you remain still. |
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