Monday, October 29

Today we went out southwest of Victoria harbour to find a humpback whale feeding along with a large group of sea lions and birds in the area. The whale was rolling around, and we saw a couple of tail slaps on the water. It was so neat to see the sea lions swimming around the whale. We also went to Race Rocks and viewed the sea lions and seals and seabirds on the rocks, as well as in the water around that area. The sea lions were quite vocal and there was a large number of them on the rocks. We enjoyed a smooth ride back from Race Rocks into the harbour, the weather was windy but the sun was out!


Sunday, October 28

Biologist Corey joined our Sunday morning tour. Here are a few of his beautiful photos.

Thursday, October 25

As we headed out of Victoria in a Southerly direction the sea was flat calm so we had a good chance of spotting whales that might be in the area. We were going out to the region where we had recently been spotting humpbacks. A passenger in the boat spotted some fins and a check with Brad, the skipper, confirmed that we had Orcas. When we stopped the boat we realised just how many, they were all around us! We were in the middle of a wide-spread group, which appeared to contain individuals from J and L pod. We saw juveniles in the group, some tail slapping and a spy hop. There was also a group of Stellar sea lions in the midst of it all, getting involved with one of the groups of Orcas, and it looked like there was a bit of playful interaction between them from all the splashing at the surface (luckily it was residents we were watching and not Sea lion eating residents - it might have been a different story!). We received a report of humpbacks and so headed out further in to the Strait, where we found 3 humpbacks, surfacing together. We had good views of almost the whole length of the whales, from the bumps on their heads to the undersides of the flukes. WE had a chance for a quick visit to Race Rocks, with only a few seals and sea lions hauled out, but with the sun out shining, flat seas and 2 species of whales in one 3 hour trip, everyone commented on what a great day they had.

Tuesday, October 23

The afternoon trip was a perfect for whale watching, it was a clear day and the sea was flat calm. South of Victoria we stopped to watch a pair of humpbacks at the surface, and spotted a third individual off to the front of the boat. After watching the whales on either side of us feeding for a while, they joined together and all three would surface a number of times before each would throw up its tail and take a longer dive. We also saw a fourth humpback in the area feeding, so there were a number of animals for us to watch. The group of 3 started to show a bit more activity on the surface, with a bit of thrashing from the tail and the fore flippers and a few little playful tail slaps. There were also some stellar sea lions in the area, swimming on the surface in small groups and sticking their snouts out of the water to breathe. We moved on out into the Strait to see if we could spot any other whales such as the Minkes or Orca, but were unsuccessful on this day. A stop off at Race Rocks found plenty more Stellar Sea lions hauled out along with the Californian Sea lions, lots of cormorants, but not so many harbour seals this time.

Here are some of Corey's beautiful photos from Saturday's tours.

Saturday, October 20

The morning trip saw us head South from Victoria to an area where we have observed humpbacks feeding over the last couple of weeks. The first stop and scan of the area found no whales, but we did see groups of Stellar Sea Lions swimming on the surface. We turned to the East and stopped off at Race Rocks to look at the various marine life occupying the shoreline then carried on towards the area we had checked at the beginning of the trip. This time we came across 4 humpbacks, 3 together and one foraging alone. We could hear their breathing, and saw them surface a number of times. We also saw the underside of the tail flukes, providing us with good opportunities to observe how the individual whales are identified. We even managed to have a bit of fun with Corey, one of our naturalists, in using him as a comparison (or not!) to the humpbacks!

The afternoon trip focused on Haro Strait to the East of Victoria. After an hour of travelling we came across Superpod, all 3 of the resident Orca pods J, K and L. We were just off Sidney Island and the whales were all around us with Spy hops, tails slaps, porpoising and breaching behaviours. We saw the white patches of 2 whales under the water and followed them going under us from one side of the boat to another. The Orcas were active and playful, with some activity which looked like they were also hunting for salmon. One individual surfaced right beside the boat without any warning, giving one woman on the boat a bit of a fright!

Captain John captured some beautiful photos of a very active Humpback whale last week.

Wednesday, October 17

This morning we found a small group of humpbacks near Constance Bank. With calm waters and sun shining, we were the only boat with the whales for most of the morning. There was a large number of sea lions and birds in the area feeding as well as the whales. The humpbacks were interacting with sea lions along with feeding. We were able to see the large quantities of both plankton and small fish in the water, that the larger animals were feeding on. One humpback was playing with some bull kelp at the surface, and kept poking it’s head out of the water and moving the kelp around. The whales were making sounds, and rolling around showing their heads and fins. We moved towards Race rocks to see the sea lions (Stellar and California) and harbour seals on the rocks as well as some that were in the water nearby. On our way back to Victoria, we stopped to see the humpbacks again.

For the afternoon tours we went to find the humpbacks we had seen in the morning, a group of at least 5 near Constance Bank. They were feeding, and still interacting with sea lions, rolling and making sounds. We watched one whale feeding as it came to the surface with its mouth open. There were many birds and sea lions still in the area feeding also. We heard of some Transient Orcas nearby, so we headed to see them after watching the humpbacks. The orcas were taking deep dives and heading west towards Race Rocks. We continued to the Rocks, where we saw the Stellar and California sea lions, Cormorants, and Habour seals. Some sea lions were playful in the water surrounding the rocks, and many on the rocks were vocal. We had a calm afternoon on the water with lots of sunshine!

Recent photos:


Monday, October 15

This afternoon we watched a sub-group of J pod, part of our resident Orcas, that were resting and traveling near Trial Island, heading northeast. The Orcas became more active and continued east as we moved on to look for the humpbacks near Race Rocks. There were about 4 humpback whales in the area, feeding and interacting with sea lions. The whales were making sounds, rolling around, showing their heads and fins, and were grouped up at times. We had an amazing time with engines shut down and watching the animals move around us!

Sunday, October 14

This morning we headed south from Victoria. The search for humpbacks was on! After only 20 minutes of searching a humpback whale was spotted. As we got closer we discovered there were two humpbacks surfacing in unison. There were also many Steller sea lions feeding around the boat. We stayed a while to watch the two humpbacks feeding. We left for Race Rocks to see if there were any sea lions left on the rocks or whether they were all on foraging trips as they seemed to be sea lions feeding all around. After a few minutes we came across another two humpback whales and in the distance we could see another humpback surfacing. We soon counted seven humpback whales feeding within a few miles of one another. We were glad to see once we reached Race Rocks that there were still a few Steller sea lions and Californian sea lions to greet us with a chorus of barking and growling.

In the afternoon headed south of Victoria harbour, straight towards the area where we had seen the humpbacks during the morning trip and we weren't disappointed. There were still seven humpback whales within a few miles of one another and the Steller sea lions were still feeding all around the boat. After an hour of viewing the different individual humpbacks in the area we headed for Race Rocks to view the sea lions.

Saturday, October 13

This morning, we headed towards San Juan Island in flat calm waters in search of our resident orcas. It was foggy, but this just added to the west coast experience! Arriving on scene near Hannah Heights, we found two sprouter males including J30 (Riptide). Not only did we get an amazing visual experience, but the calm winds allowed us to hear the whales through the fog before we could even see them. Later in the trip, we were fortunate to spend some time with Ruffles (J1), the oldest whale in the southern resident community. It was a fantastic way to end the trip.

In the afternoon, we travelled to the southern end of San Juan Island, where we encountered the J16 matriline approaching Hein Bank. It was a fantastic experience, as we found the family group in a playful mood. It was a thrill to watch the wonderful antics of the young calf J42, and the many tail slaps of another young orca. All this whale action was framed by the wonderful backdrop of Mount Baker. October whale watching is spectacular, as we also start to see many of the sea ducks that spend their winters here. Today, we saw an incredible amount of white-winged scoters enjoying the shallow nutrient waters of Hein Bank. It was a great afternoon on the Salish Sea.

Captain John got some beautiful Humpback photos with the afternoon tour on Wednesday!