Tuesday, September 16th

T41s and 109’s return

Little did myself (Tim), Kaylin, nor Captain Brad know that when we headed out on the Orca Spirit this morning we wouldn’t even get up on plane before we saw orca. Literally 300m from the Ogden Point breakwall we came across the T41’s (group of 4 mammal-eating orcas). When we got there the family group was very bunched up, changing direction, then we saw two spyhops in a row by what appeared to be T41 herself. It seemed as though she was checking out what it was looking like at the surface so she could decide where the group would go. The four orcas then proceeded to head south and were soon joined up by the T109’s, so passenges were now treated to six orcas travelling in unison together through the flat calm waters just south of Victoria. We got a great look at these amazing dolphins before going on a Humpback search on our way to Race Rocks.
Arriving at Race Rocks passengers were again treated to some active Stellar sea lions, playing in the shallows and some growling and being quite aggressive towards each other. Harbour seals were doing their “banana-like” pose on the low rocks and Californian sea lions were barking how only Californian sea lions know how. After watching these awesome pinnipeds we headed back to where the orcas were, and as they travelled south they changed direction and passengers were extremely lucky to have them surface near the Orca Spirit and thus get some great shots with the Olympic Peninsula in the background. Another great, flat calm sunny trip this morning. Let’s hope the T’s don’t get too far for this afternoon’s trip.

The Orca Spirit and the Pacific Explorer headed out this afternoon to what can only be described as perfect water and weather conditions. The water was so calm and flat it was like a mirror, just spectacular. We headed south-east out of Victoria towards where the T41’s and T109’s were, and arriving on scene they had started to head east, but then decided to change direction and head west, but then they seemed to mill for a while. Perhaps they had found something for lunch? Next thing we knew these six orcas were circling around an area, then we saw some splashes, some rapid direction changes, and one of the juveniles actually appeared to suspend it’s body upside down out of the water, giving passengers a great look at it’s ventral surface. A rare treat! They then went down for a few minutes so while we were switched off just floating in the Strait of Juan De Fuca we popped the hydrophone down and actually picked up some vocalisations from these animals. Transients a generally very quiet, stealth, and only really vocalise when socialising or after they have made a kill, and given that they spend 90% of their time silent and hunting, we were extremely lucky to hear some calls and clicks. We sat there in the sunshine, just waiting for them to surface, and then boom, they surfaced about 50m from our boat! They started moving in small circles and so it did appear that maybe they still had something that they were feeding on, but we didn’t see anything, and this is usually the case as most attacks and the actual consumption of the prey happens underwater. Still, it was just amazing to watch these animals in their natural environment constantly change direction and interact with each other. We should feel privileged to have witnessed the top predators in the ocean go about their daily business, and I certainly do every time I get out there on the water. To watch a wild animal really is a wonderful thing.