Friday, November 9th

This morning, we headed out into the Strait of Juan De Fuca in search of humpback whales, orca and other wildlife. For the first stop of the tour, we traveled to Race Rocks, the spectacular ecological reserve located southwest of Victoria. Here we watched several Steller sea lions jostling for their favourite spot on the rocks and practicing their territorial fighting behaviours that no doubt serve them well on their breeding grounds which they will return to next spring. We also observed a juvenile bald eagle on the northern most rock. We journeyed west of Race Rocks and than back south of Victoria but did not find any humpback whales. We were thrilled to encounter some speedy Dall's porpoise and had an excellent encounter with these fun little cetaceans before we headed back to the harbour.

Saturday, November 3rd

This morning, we traveled to Constance Bank in search of humpback whales, the fifth largest whale in the world! Just south of Constance Bank, we encountered three humpback whales, including two that were travelling in a pair and being pestered by a mob of playful Steller sea lions. We were entertained by the antics of both the Steller sea lions and the humpbacks, after which we headed to Race Rocks. There we viewed several more sea lions, both of the California and Steller variety.

On our afternoon trip, we headed back to Constance Bank to find the humpback whales. Although they proved to be more elusive this afternoon, we did eventually find a lone humpback whale foraging in the nutrient rich waters among thousands of seabirds. After we watched the humpback whale, we travelled to Race Rocks and its resident wildlife. On our way back to the harbour, we stopped quickly for another look at the humpback whale, which was nice enough to give us a fluke shot!

Wednesday, October 31st

Today we travelled south and west, in beautifully calm waters in the Juan de Fuca Strait. We saw Harbour seals, Stellar and California sea lions, bald eagles, and a great variety of other sea birds. We stopped at Race Rocks to view the seals and sea lions on the rocks and there was a large number of sea birds (mostly cormorants and seagulls) on the rocks as well. On our way back towards Victoria we stopped to watch a couple of Humpback whales feeding. The conditions were great for watching them, and we were able to see their heads and fins as they were rolling around at the surface. The whales were also making noises - which is really interesting to hear! There were large groups of sea lions around them interacting with the whales.

Happy Halloween!