My best sea otter video ever was taken from the shore...
It seems kind of strange to write this on a paddling blog, but sometimes, you can find the best view and take your best photos by getting out of your kayak.
This
came to mind recently after two British tourists kayaking on Monterey Bay had a
close encounter of the worst kind with a humpback whale. The whale – probably
in the 40-to-50 ton range – breached and then dropped squarely on the Brits’
tandem kayak just off Moss Landing.
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| It's almost impossible to approach wildlife on the water without disturbing them, especially females with young |
Miraculously, the pair not only survived – they escaped without injury. Tom Mustill and
Charlotte Kinloch later recounted the incident in numerous press interviews, as a tour
boat video of the humpback belly-flop attracted thousands of hits on the Web.
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| Mustill and Kinloch (Photo from The Inquisitr News) |
Said
Kinloch to a British media outlet, “It felt like being in an avalanche, like a bus
landing on us.” Added Mustill, a wildlife filmmaker, “I remember coming to the
surface and thinking, ‘How am I not dead? Maybe I’ve got lots of injuries but
I’m in shock and can’t feel them,’” he said. “Then I saw Charlotte and thought,
‘How is she not dead?’”
Blimey,
those are good questions. By coincidence, I happened to be in Moss Landing just
two days later and walked out on a dune at Moss Landing State Park. Sure ‘nuff,
more than a dozen humpbacks were feeding perhaps a mile offshore, while two
whale-watching boats and four kayaks trolled the area.
Tour
boat passengers saw quite a show. The kayakers, not so much. Even though seas
were fairly calm, paddlers sit no more than three feet above water. And a moderate
swell frequently obscured their view
that day. Plus, with the benefit of headlines about “Brits meet blubber,” the
paddlers wisely kept their distance – probably a couple hundred yards from the
closest whales. Bottom line, they couldn’t see much, or get a decent photo.
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| A beautiful kelp bouquet on the beach would never have been seen from out on the water.... |
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| ...And it's difficult to capture details from a moving kayak |
It’s
easy to understand how the hapless paddlers got into trouble, and the whales
were probably in a feeding frenzy over schools of anchovy attracted by
unseasonably warm water. But hey, never get between a dog and its bone or a whale
and its snack pack.
I
got some great views of the whales from the dune that day – never seen so many
in such a short span of time – not to mention the number of breaches and fluke
(tail) sightings. Which got me thinking about an alternate approach to kayaking
and nature watching. And further confirmation came a few minutes later when I got my best sea otter video ever -- while looking down on the Moss Landing harbor from the shore.
Sure,
it’s a thrill to see a sea otter or seal at eye level. But if you’re close
enough to alter the animal’s behavior, you’re too close. Likewise, being out on
the water, especially moving water, requires close attention. It’s hard to focus the
camera when you’re moving one way, the subject is moving another, and you’re
both bobbing in the water. Standing still on terra firma, with binoculars or a
telephoto lens camera in hand, may offer a better view without disturbing wildlife.
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| Shore bird photos can be especially difficult from a boat, but a telephoto lens and quiet approach do the trick |
So if you can find an opportunity to exit the boat to watch, listen, and
photograph, you may be better off. A kayak may certainly help you find good vantage points. Here are three simple tips toward that goal:
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| Making tracks at Moss Landing |
©
Glenn Brank 2015
