May 31, 2006

This morning J-Pod was located just off of San Juan Island. Upon arriving we were able to get a really good look at Ruffles (J1). As the tour continued the whales spent their time foraging along the shoreline and we had an excellent opportunity for viewing. On our way home we were able to see harbour seals hauled out at Chain Islands as well as an immature eagle.

This afternoon trip started off with another good look at Ruffles (J1). The whales seemed to be more active as we saw 5 breaches and a lot of tail slapping. As well, we were able to listen to the whales echolocating underwater using our onboard hydrophone. At the end of the trip we had a good look at the newest calf in J-Pod.

More photos from our tours on Tuesday, May 30th

May 30, 2006

Today L-Pod returned to Strait of Juan de Fuca!

This morning's tour was lucky today because we saw a lot of activity between Splash (L67) and her calf Aurora (L101) and Hugo (L71) gave us a close look.We stopped at Race Rocks at the end of the tour and saw a mating pair of eagles. One sea lion gave us a show trying to get onto the rocks. They look so graceful in the water – but not on land!

We had a spectacular afternoon today. L-Pod gave us some amazingly sights on the tour. Hugo (L71) and Mega (L41), two large males, were very social while we were in the area. On our trip to Race Rocks we also saw bald eagles, Stellar and California sea lions, Harbour and Elephant seals, cormorants and oyster catchers.

Please note that we always practice RESPONSIBLE whale watching and following strict viewing guidelines (have a look here: www.orcaspiritadventures.com/viewing_guidelines.html). However orcas are very social and curious and there are times where they approach us for a look. Sometimes they will spy hop and look right at the vessels on the water or they may even surface nearby.

May 29, 2006
Today we were out watching J-Pod. We had quite a few orcas interested in our vessel and saw some different behaviours such as breaching, foraging, porpoising and some vocalising. On our way home we saw a lot of harbour seals hauled out on Discovery Island and 2 immature bald eagles. At Chain Island we stopped off to visit the cormorants and the bald eagle resting on their nests. Another great day on the water.

May 28, 2006
Our morning tour went out in search of orcas. We went to Trial Island where we saw adult bald eagles, harbour seals and kelp forests – but no orcas. We then traveled out into open area and searched. We finally found Ruffles (J1) off False Bay and watched him forage for the remainder of the tour. It is always interesting to see orcas fish feeding!

The afternoon Orca Spirit tour found J-Pod to be very active. We had a female orca breach fully out of the water. She was followed with a mini breach by a calf. Absolutely adorable. We also had an adventurous group not discouraged by the windy weather on today’s afternoon zodiac. They enjoyed amazing sightings of J-Pod with lots of spy hopping, cart wheeling and tail slaps.

By the evening trips J-Pod was moving very fast, taking deep dives. The wind had calmed down and it was a beautiful evening on the water.

May 27, 2006
No orcas this morning but we did find whales- Minke whales at Hein Bank! Minke (pronounced 'minky') whales are the smallest of the baleen whales measuring up to 30 feet and weighing up to 10 tonnes. They are known for their bad breath and are often referred to as “stinky Minkes.”
By the afternoon we had orca reports and our Orca Spirit tour watched J-Pod feeding in Rosario Strait. We had great sightings of Mike (J26) and Keet (J33).

May 26^, 2006
Our morning tour found L-Pod subgroup at Sheringham Point traveling up the coast. We also saw Stellar and California sea lions at Race Rocks.
By the afternoon we had reports of J-Pod spread out feeding along San Juan Island.
Not only did we see a lot of whales but it was also a great day for birding. We saw eagles, cormorants and pigeon guillemots.

May 2006
Education Room or Movie Set?
Orca Spirit Adventures learned a little about movie production this month as our education room was transformed into a hospital room for the film Scare Tactics. We want to thank all of our passengers for their patience during the "quiet on the set" times!
Orca Spirit staff found the best part of filming a movie to be craft services - the film crew were very generous with their snacks.
Have a look at our transformation photos.

May 24, 2006

Our 9am tour enjoyed very calm waters and lots of marine wildlife (though no whales). On our stop at Race Rocks we found 8 elephants seals, 2 of which were having interactions with one another. As well, we found many sea lions and harbour seals hauled out on the rocks.

J-Pod was spotted for our afternoon tour! One of the mother’s in the pod can close to the boat to show us the newest calf. As well Ruffles (J1) came right up to the bow of the Orca Spirit to have a look! We then traveled to Discovery Island and found 3 immature bald eagles. Again we found more harbour seals hauled out on the rocks enjoying the sunshine!

May 23, 2006

Today the tours enjoyed J-Pod sightings at 9am, 1pm and 5pm!

The 5pm tour enjoyed a very active group of whales. The whales spent the evening breaching, tail lobbing and spy hopping.

May 22, 2006

L-POD RETURNS!

Today was extremely exciting in the world of whale watching and the Orca Spirit Office, inspite of the gloomy weather! The Orca Spirit was the first boat to see L-Pod this season off Iceberg Point! The return of the largest of the orca pods is extremely exciting. The whales were also excited to be back in home in the straits surrounding Victoria, much to the delight of our 9am passengers. Many of the whales were rolling on their backs and showing their pectoral fins and a calf made numerous close passes by the boat, just as curious about the passengers and the passengers where about him!

Our 5pm tour also got to see the whales just off Discovery Island. The whales were slowly making their way to Trail Island. After viewing the whales, the Orca Spirit made its way through the Chain Islands where we found a couple Harbour Seals and 2 bald eagles on the top of a cormorant nest. A day like today just goes to show that even though the weather is dull, it is still worth it to go out on a whale watching tour!

May 21, 2006

Today turned out to be an incredible day with J-Pod feeding at Salmon Bank for the 9am tour. Also, a resident minke whale turned up to check out the local food supply and the whale watchers, which is always a pleasant surprise.

At 1pm J-Pod moved to False Bay on San Juan Island with Ruffles putting on another good show while the others spent most of the time playing along the shoreline.

The 5pm tour today was really amazing. J-Pod was still in the area and heading east with plenty of breaching. As a bonus, on the way back to the harbour, a humpback whale was spotted by Clover Point. The young whale is one of the first of the season and is always a rare treat on any whale watching tour. It was a perfect ending to a great day of whale watching!

May 20, 2006

Our 9am tour went out along San Juan Island, Henry Island, and Sidney Island in hopes of finding the whales, but had no luck. We did however see harbour seals, Dall’s Porpoises, and Harbour Porpoises.

Our 1pm tour had an exciting tour as they found J-Pod coming back into our area. Ruffles (J1) and Blackberry (J27) made a great pass at the boat while the rest of the crew ate their fill of the local salmon.

May 19, 2006

Another beautiful day with the 9am tour seeing a lot of our local marine wildlife: Dall’s porpoises, a bald eagle, cormorants, seagulls, harbour seals and a stellar sea lion.

Our 1pm trip lucked out and we found J-Pod, proving yet again that we never know where these whales will be next! Even better, the whales were quite active with plenty of spy hopping and breaching. The tour also saw bald eagles (an adult and a juvenile), cormorants, harbour seals, and of course the ever present sea gulls.

May 18, 2006

Another great day for whale watching with J-Pod just off of San Juan Island for our 1pm trip! J-Pod spent most of the time foraging around the island with a bit of tail slapping from the whole group. Ruffles (J1) and Granny (J2) were the main focus of the group but one whale caught a lot of attention by rolling on its back repeatedly giving our passengers great views of its pectoral fins and slapping its tale by the bow of the boat. After watching the whales we headed back and stopped at Trail Island to watch a bald eagle and numerous harbour seals baking in the sun along the rocks.

At 5pm J-Pod was again traveling north along San Juan Island and putting on an excellent show along the way. They were extremely active and seemed very interested in the Orca Spirit! The younger members of the pod spent much of the tour breaching as well as showing off with cartwheels, pectoral slaps, and spy-hops. Along with being active in the water the whales were making plenty of vocalizations heard through the hydrophone for all the passengers to enjoy.

May 14, 2006

A Beautiful Day for Whale Watching!
Our spotter Brenden's first day on the hill and by 9am he spotted a group of killer whales heading east from Trial Island.
It wasn't until the Orca Spirit arrived on scene that we realized this was a large group of transient killer whales. It is very unusual to have such a large group of transients (12-15 whales) travelling together.
By 10am with a report of whales southbound in Rosario - we knew it was going to be a fantastic day for orcas!

May 15, 2006

Brenden came through again. Only his second day on the hill and he spots J-Pod eastbound off Oak Bay Flats. The Orca Spirit spent a full hour alone with the whales this morning (an advantage of our 9am tour).
We enjoyed a lot of social behaviour including tail slaps, breaching and vocalizations.
This afternoon we saw Ruffles (J1) leading the pod near San Juan Island.
It turned out to be one of the nicest days on the water with temperatures soaring over 20 degrees Celsius and little wind.

May 11^th

Today our passengers saw a variety of marine wildlife.
Our afternoon tour started towards Trial Island to see bull kelp, harbour seals and a bald eagle. We then headed to D'arcy Island and Sidney Island to see an eagle's nest and more bald eagles. Finishing off the tour near Spieder Island we saw stellar sea lions and turkey vultures.

May 2^nd

Wonderful evening trip today!
Seas were calm, blue skies with a spectacular sunset – not to mention J-Pod along the west side of San Juan Island.
The whales were grouped together and spent most of the trip resting.

April 30^th

We began our morning trip at Race Rocks today where we observed a number of Stellar and California sea lions. From Race Rocks we headed for Eagle Point on San Juan Island where we met up with J-Pod.

The afternoon trip found J-Pod around 5 miles south of Discovery Island. The whales were generally spread out foraging.

April 26, 2006

What a beautiful Easter weekend.
The passengers on today's Orca Spirit tour were delighted to find Transient orcas near Race Rocks.