September 9, 2006

This morning we started our tour at Race Rocks, where we saw Stellar and California sea lions and Harbor seals in the water and on the rocks. The sea lions were barking and some were being a little aggressive with each other. We then went towards Constance Bank, where we found transient orcas! There were about 10 whales traveling and playing in the waves!

For our afternoon tours we headed out towards Hein Bank, with rough waters. We found transients again, they were resting this time, traveling slow, with a few shallow dives and then going down for a few minutes. Although it was rough waters we had an excellent look at the whales!

September 7, 2006

This morning we went searching for whales and headed off towards Race Rocks and the west coast of Vancouver Island. Before continuing along the shores of beautiful and rugged East Sooke Park, we stopped off at Race rocks to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells (hummm, maybe we didn't really enjoy the fish-breath of the sea lions) of the California and Stellar Sea Lions. As amusing as ever, the sea lions barked, grunted and growled! On the lower levels of the rocks, we also saw some Harbor seals, the favourite food of the transient killer whale. We continued on our trip out west, however, our search was interrupted by a large fog bank that made it hard to see. Near the mouth of the Victoria harbour, a pea-soup thick fog bank appeared as we were heading back. It was very eerie since we could hear, but not see a very large cruise ship that was backing into its berth.

This afternoon, we headed in an entirely different direction. We had heard of some transient killer whales off of East Point, which is the southern most tip of Saturna Island. Our long trip was rewarded with sightings of around 8 or more transients who were in a particularly playful mood. We saw them spy-hop and breach, and there was one particular youngster who felt that she had to slap her tail every time she took a dive. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we enjoyed traveling home with views of the Canadian Gulf Islands, and through the American San Juan Islands.

This evening we rushed up to visit the transient whales from this afternoon, but were thwarted by the distance they had created between Victoria and themselves in the few hours we were not on scene. But all was not lost, we saw many other really interesting sea life, including big horn sheep. Oh yes, I did say big horn sheep! There is an island in the San Juans that has been populated with big horn sheep and deer. We saw hundreds of them; the most our captain has ever seen out at once! After the big horn sheep, we went and visited many sea birds and saw an incredibly big eagles nest. Amazing sun-set on the way back and even though those transients eluded us, it was a wonderful evening!

September 6, 2006

While we were heading out of the harbor this morning 3 transient Killer whales were spotted heading west for Race Rocks. We followed their path west, but unfortunately they were soon hidden by a fog bank. Keeping our spirits high we traveled along the coast of Vancouver Island hoping to come across the whales as they foraged along the shore. We made a stop at Race Rocks to see the beautiful light house and the many seals and sea lions hauled out to keep warm. The fog broke as we headed into Beacher Bay, allowing us to view the rugged beauty of the West Coast, and warm up a bit in the sunshine.

While at first some of the guests aboard the afternoon Orca Spirit tours were hesitant to travel into the fog bank in the Juan de Fuca Strait, they were rewarded with the acrobatics and joviality of the J-Pod whales. J-Pod was previously seen yesterday on the two voyages of the Orca Spirit as they returned from their pursuit of the spawning salmon up Vancouver’s Frasier River. Now on today’s voyage J-Pod was found past Point no Point returning to the off shore waters of the open Pacific to find another school of spawning salmon. On their trip out to sea J-Pod delighted us with spy hops and repeated breaching. An excellent trip and well worth the venture into the Juan de Fuca fog!

Seeing as the previously sighted J-Pod was heading out towards the open Pacific Ocean we focused our efforts on some transient Killer whales seen off of Otter Point for our evening tours. While the seas were choppy and exciting as we ventured out we soon found a small pod of transient Orcas heading west. This small pod was entirely composed of females and even had a small young whale with them. They swam quite close to the boat and seemed to pose for excellent photos. We then returned via Race Rocks and saw seals and sea lions.

September 5, 2006

A thick fog bank awaited us this morning off the coast of San Juan Island. Though the whales eluded us, masked by the mist, we spent some time with some rolly polly Harbour seals and saw many species of marine birds. Once out of the fog, we were surrounded with the beauty of the west coast.

When we started out for our afternoon trip, J-Pod has been spotted traveling south from Vancouver. We crossed paths with the 25 whales in the Georgia Strait. When we first arrived on scene we were excited to see Mike (J26), a 15 year old male, was fishing with his mother and younger sibling. The other 22 whales were resting and continued to do so the whole time we were there. This behaviour always provides great photo opportunities as all the whales rise in unison to take a breath.

Our final voyage of the day was filled with post car moments of the previously seen J-Pod whales. Excellent displays of whale behaviour included dramatic breaching, inquisitive spy hops and some fast paced porpoising. We also had one member of J-Pod swim a half circle around the boat suggesting perhaps she was a curious as we were. The tour finished with some excellent shots of whales surfacing in unison around Turn Point, and an amazing sunset accompanied by a moonlight bridge across the Haro Strait.

Here are some great photos recently taken by Orca Spirit Naturalist Corey.

September 4, 2006

This morning, we had a thrilling encounter with two groups of resting whales north of Lime Kiln lighthouse. It was a wonderful, relaxing way to start an excellent day of whale watching. We spent most of our time with a group of L-12 whales that included one of our favourites, Mega, and concluded the trip with a pleasant trip through the Chain Islets to view the Harbour seals.

The afternoon tours were excellent, as J and K-Pod made their way down from Turn Point. We met up with the whales near Andrews Bay on San Juan Island and were immediately greeted with a fantastic spyhop! Later on during the trip, we watched as a couple of whales foraged near the boat. An excellent pass from a group of 3 whales was a great way to conclude the trip, leaving our passengers happy and content after another excellent day on the water.

September 2, 2006

This morning we started our search for whales with perfect spotting conditions. Though no whales had yet been spotted, we kept our hopes high and all eyes on the water. Our efforts were well worth it as we discovered superpod east of Salmon Bank. The whales traveled north along the west coast of San Juan Island, and our passengers got to view members of all 3 pods!

Our afternoon tours were excellent today, as we spent time with both resident and transient orcas on the same trip. We traveled south to Albert Head where we encountered the T41 group of 3 transient orcas foraging in a small bay south of Albert Head. After several minutes watching these marine mammal-eating predators, we traveled east to San Juan Island where we encountered a group of whales that were very spread out. We watched as the whales slowly made their way south, foraging in groups of 2 to 3 animals. It was a great afternoon in the serene waters of Haro Strait.

September 1, 2006

It was another spectacular late summer day of whale watching off the south end of San Juan Island, as we arrived on scene to find our southern residents! We had some amazing vocalizations and social displays, including breaching and spyhopping. With reports of all three pods in the area, it was another incredible experience.

Our afternoon trip found us offshore of Eagle Point with a group of K's and L's. It was a very entertaining trip with a group of very vocal whales that were foraging and socializing. It was a fantastic trip, as there were many times throughout the trip when we did not know which way to look - we were surrounded by whales in all directions! Some excellent passes provided many excellent photographic opportunities for our passengers. On the return trip to Victoria, we were excited to encounter a small group of transients, the T100's. What an incredible day!

August 31, 2006

What an amazing day on the water! This morning, we traveled west in search of our southern residents. Although we did not find any them, we had an absolutely incredible morning highlighted by sightings of two very rare creatures for these parts, a brown pelican and a fin whale (see photos below)! Today’s sighting of a Fin whale was only the third reported sighting in the history of our industry. We had some amazing passes with this leviathon - Fin whales are the second largest whale in the whale, behind only the Blue whale. We concluded the unbelievable trip with yet another stellar visit to Race Rocks to view our pinniped friends.

Today's second trip aboard the Orca Spirit found us just east of Discovery Island traveling to a group of transient orcas that had been sighted. Just past Discovery Island we were surprised by a fluking humpback whale! We watched the whale for several minutes than traveled to the three transient orcas that included the very well marked male T44, and a couple of females, most likely the T41's. These mammal-hunting whales are always exciting to watch and we had an absolutely thrilling pass with the whales to conclude our orca experience. Satisfied we returned to the humpback whale, watching it forage in a tide rip near a couple of Harbour porpoise. A quick tour through the scenic Chain Islets to watch the Harbour seals, one of the transient orcas' favourite food items, was a great way to conclude another exciting trip.

With news of inbound resident orcas out west, we traveled southwest to Race Rocks to start our evening trip. We had a spectacular visit with the California and Stellar sea lions, and then traveled east in search of the residents. We found a couple of foraging Dall's porpoises just off of Point no Point and then were excited to see a large number of blows in the distance. The southern residents had returned! We spent most of our time with a large group of J-Pod whales. We had some amazing passes that included some percussive behaviour (pectoral and tail slaps) and a few distance breaches. With so many whales around, it is likely that we were witnessing the return of all of our residents as some K-Pod whales were identified too, along with a possible L-Pod male (L78). We watched the setting sun as we returned to Victoria, the end of another incredible day of whale watching!

August 31st - Tour Photos

August 30, 2006

This morning we headed west on the search for transient orcas. To our surprise and delight we found four transients south of Beachy Head. After spending some time with the whales, watching them forage for marina mammals feasting on large bait balls, we headed for historic Race Rocks. This time of year the ‘Rocks’ are covered with noisy, fragrant seals and sea lions.

For our afternoon tours we returned west to watch the transients. We got some fantastic looks at their large dorsal fins.

For the evening tours we went in search for an elusive Humpback whale previously sighted west of Race Rocks. After passing by Race Rocks to take a look at the sea lions battling for the prime haul out sites, we headed to Whirl Bay to see a Bald Eagle’s nest. While spotting for the eagles, a family of Black-tailed Deer were seen on the bluff below the nest. The tours concluded with a beautiful sunset as we made our way back to the harbour.