Lutra Wildlife and Wilderness

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Lutra Wildlife and Wilderness

A Vancouver Island based ecotourism company offering guided Wildlife, Natural History and Photograph
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31/01/2024

Would you like to spend some time photographing seabirds and other marine wildlife?

Join us on a 5 night "Puffins and Pelagics" photographic safari to do exactly that. This exciting new tour opportunity will provide a small group of enthusiastic photographers with 4 full days of exclusive boat charters as we explore the wildlife rich waters of North Vancouver Island in search of Tufted Puffins, Pelagic seabirds and much, much more.

For more information, visit https://www.lutrawildlife.com/coastal-rainforest-photographic-safaris

23/01/2024

Eye to eye with a Pacific White-sided Dolphin.

One of the many joys of our multi-day photographic tours from North Vancouver Island is spending time in the company of these beautiful dolphins. After all, every day in the company of dolphins is a good day!

For details visit: https://www.lutrawildlife.com/coastal-rainforest-photographic-safaris

14/01/2024

A coastal wolf pup, braving the rains of the Great Bear Rainforest.

11/01/2024

Spirit Shake
A Spirit Bear enjoying the warmth of a sunbeam in the depths of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Seeing these incredible animals is always a joy, but photographing them often presents its own challenges. Working with difficult light conditions, rain, cold, mud, and fatigue are just part and parcel of the experience of visiting the Great Bear Rainforest. Sometimes, you've just got to work with it. It's important to never let the difficult photographic conditions spoil your wildlife experience and never let frustration make you lose focus on the magical moments that might be about to happen right in front of you.

(We added the music for )

14/08/2023

Happy belated International Wolf Day!
There were some fantastic sightings with yesterday, and we can't wait to share the photos!

Then again, photo or not, any day you have time with a wolf is a good day.

.irvin

07/08/2023

Spruce Grouse, Banff National Park.

The red "eyebrow" distinguishes the male from other species (females can be harder to distinguish, as you need to look at the tail feathers).
Poor thing had an injured leg, but was comfortable with us sitting and watching him after we 'stumbled' across it.
What a gorgeous bird...

29/06/2023

Just another little black bear cub hanging in a tree 🥰🥰🥰

Don't forget to look up when you see a bear...they might not be alone.

25/06/2023

Just a sweet little bear cub to make your day better 💕

Happy Sunday, everyone.

photography

22/06/2023

White-tailed Ptarmigan
(Lagopus leucura)

Living exclusively in the alpine tundra landscape, above the treeline, in the mountains of western Canada and the northern US, these small members of the grouse family are absolute masters of camouflage.

Their winter feathers turn pure white to match the snow, but their dappled summer feathers are an amazing match to the lichen-covered rocks. All they need to do is sit down, and they virtually disappear before your eyes.

It's not often we get the ideal conditions to look for them on our trips into the Canadian Rockies, let alone find one, but this year, we got extremely lucky!

21/06/2023

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Very lucky to find this little guy guarding a nest close to a trail we were exploring in the Canadian Rockies.

19/06/2023

Black Bear eating Dandelions

Another highlight from the Canadian Rockies

09/06/2023

Love is in the air in the Canadian Rockies. Some ### rated captures off the back of the camera from this mornings wildlife watching.
(All long lens shots of course, taken from a car at a very respectful distance).

01/06/2023

We had to post another photo off the back of the camera. After two incredible days in Jasper National Park, we are having to come to terms with the fact that we will soon be leaving this spectacular place.....but needs must when we have so much else to see.
Thank you Jasper ....you have been wonderful.

30/05/2023

Just another fabulous day in the Canadian Rockies.

If you are going to look for wildlife....it's nice to have a good backdrop.

16/04/2023

Having a bad hair day? Spare a thought for this poor Muskrat.

Despite their numerous similarities in both appearance and lifestyle, the Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is not closely related to the Beaver at all. Nor is it a rat. In fact, these adorable semi aquatic rodents are more closely related to voles and are the only living members of the genus Ondatra.

Their hairless tails are covered in tiny scales, and they are long and thin (not paddle shaped like a beavers). The tail is also distinctly keeled to aid propulsion through the water.

They are common and widespread in wetlands throughout most of Canada and we frequently find them on our tours in the Rockies, the Okanagan and on Vancouver Island.

31/03/2023

The arrival of Spring on Vancouver Island and the sounds of Pacific Tree frogs (Pseudacris regilla) fill the air.

Also known as the Pacific Chorus Frog, these tiny frogs will often hibernate, or go dormant, for much of the winter, but they emerge in March-April and the males immediately start 'singing' to attract females. This singing reaches fever pitch around the small breeding pools and ditches where hundreds or thousands of frogs can aggregate to breed.

Just one of the many delights a spring visit to Vancouver Island can bring when you are not entirely focused on the charismatic megafauna.

22/03/2023

Black bear cub - Canadian Rockies

One of the many highlights of our spring Wildlife tours to the Canadian Rockies is the chance to see lots of young bear cubs recently emerged from their mothers dens and out exploring the world (under the close supervision of their mothers) for the first time.

There's still time to join us one of this years wildlife safaris, so why not contact us at Www.lutrawildlife.com to find out more.

06/03/2023

The look you give when you are caught sniffing someone else's 💩

Bears can tell a lot about their surroundings from smell alone, so finding a fresh bear 💩 whilst on your morning walk can provide this young bear with lots of useful information about who they might run into during the course of their day.

Contrary to popular belief...Bears do not 'mark their territories' with s**t. In fact, bears do not actively defend 'territories' at all, but they are generally loyal to a 'home range'. However, they may choose to temporarily guard or defend valuable resources within that area.

There's always something fun to see on our tours in the Canadian Rockies 😀

04/03/2023

We had a snow day in the Cowichan Valley last Tuesday, which was a great opportunity to practice photographing our garden birds, like this sweet female bushtit, which for size reference, isn't much bigger than an Anna's hummingbird.
How do can you tell it's a female? The males have dark eyes, while the females have piercing yellow eyes. Both are unbearably cute...❤

03/03/2023

Killer Whales at sunset - Vancouver Island.

One of Vancouver Islands most iconic wildlife species and awesome in every sense of the word, Killer Whales remain one of our favorite animals to spend time with on our Wildlife and Photographic tours around Vancouver Island and the Pacific northwest.

What wildlife would you like to see on a trip to Vancouver Island?

Contact us to register interest in our 2024 tour schedule and let us help you make your dreams come true.

Www.lutrawildlife.com

addicts

27/02/2023

Canada Jay, Whiskyjack, Grey Jay...call it what you will....they are always dressed for the weather.

With heavy snow falling here today in the Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, it reminds us of all those subalpine birds and mammals that endure conditions like this throughout much of the year.

With their mass of fluffy feathers and their ability to easily exploit any available food source, Canada Jay's are able to withstand the harsh winter conditions in the subalpine and actually stay on territory throughout the year.

26/02/2023

Join us for a photographic safari around the Coastal Rainforests of North Vancouver Island.

Bears, sea lions, whales, dolphins, wolves, sea otters, and the rare opportunity to visit the waters around Triangle Island to photograph thousands of seabirds....all possible on this exclusive 5 night photographic adventure.

Tour dates 21ST JUNE- 26TH JUNE 2023.

CONTACT US FOR MORE DETAILS.

25/02/2023

House Finch
(Haemorhous mexicanus)

A common garden bird for us here in the Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, and often overlooked as a worthy photographic subject.

What common garden birds are you not photographing today?

03/02/2023

Partially leucistic Dark-eyed Junco

Partial leucism is the result of a gentic mutation, not common in birds, and this is certainly the first Junco I've seen with such a pretty s**ttering of white over its head, neck, and back.

Unlike Albinism (which is very rare in wild birds and results in a complete lack of melanin pigment in the body), partial leucistic birds have normal amount of melanin in their bodies, just an inadequate amount of melanin pigment fixation localised in some, or all, of the feathers.

The extent of the white or pale feathers on the body varies greatly between different birds carrying the mutation, so every partially leucistic bird is entirely unique.

Here's hoping this gorgeous, unique little individual can avoid the attention of the Merlins, Sharp-shinned, and Coopers Hawks that hunt over our garden.

lovers

30/01/2023

Red-breasted Nuthatches
(Sitta canadensis)

Common throughout the forests of much of Vancouver Island, we consider ourselves very fortunate to have these handsome and very confiding little birds visiting the photo-station in our garden in the Cowichan Valley.

We can't think of a better photographic subject to work with as we experiment with various backgrounds and the changing winter light.

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Videos

Spring in the Canadian Rockies...simply breathtaking.

Happy weekend everyone!

It's been a rather damp and cold couple of days here in the gardens at the new Lutra HQ in Cowichan Bay and our industrious endeavours to renovate and restore our "new to us" home continue. However, life in the garden continues to thrive and for the last couple of days there have been large flocks of Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) feeding; providing a welcome distraction from the noise and dust of all the construction. While not as colourful as the Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) that many of our friends in the UK and Europe might be more familiar with, the Bushtits diminutive size and flocking behaviour is surprisingly similar. Female bushtits can be differentiated from the males by their bright yellow eye ....and I think if you look closely, you might be able to spot a few females in this small group. We hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we do.

Renovation work continues on the new Lutra Wildlife HQ, but it has been lovely to see so many fledgling birds appearing in the garden over the last few weeks. However, few sightings will top todays close encounter with this ridiculously confiding baby Downy Woodpecker.

Caught this freshly emerged Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) sunning itself in the garden today! (Our apologies for the background noise ...the neighbours were having some tree work done today. )