Thursday, June 7th

This morning our cozy group of guests headed east and then north up the Haro Strait. On our boat ride out we observed a couple of Bald Eagles flying around the Chain Islands and stirring up the flocks of seagulls in the area. We arrived on scene as Ruffles, the 56 year old male orca, was leading J-pod alongside Stewart Island heading north. The entire pod swam by with the new born and mother swimming by at the end. After some nice views of mother and calf we headed back to Victoria.

Our afternoon trip led us in the same direction. We went straight north on the Haro Strait until we met up with J pod around Pender Island. A dozen or so individuals were all surfacing and diving at the same time as they moved slowly along the water, this behavior is known as resting and makes for a great group photo of the pod. Our guests, which included a group of school kids from Edmonton, were greatly pleased with the afternoon encounter.

Wednesday, June 6th

Today during our search for Orcas we covered a lot of area!
On our afternoon tour we headed east to the west shore of San Juan Island. All onboard kept their eyes peeled as we continued north to Spieden Island. As we traveled around the island we were able to get a look at the big horned sheep and small Asian deer that were living and grazing on the abundant grasses. We also enjoyed all the harbour seals hauled out on the seaweed covered rocky shoreline.
On our way back to Victoria we stopped at Mandarte and Chain Islands to get a look at all the amazing seabirds inhabiting them, such as cormorants, pigeon guillemots and seagulls. After no luck heading north east on our afternoon tour, the evening boat began its search southwest of Victoria.
As we were looking for Orcas, we took the time to stop in Whirl Bay and view a large bald eagle and its nest (approx. 10 feet across and 4 feet deep.) From there we went through Race Rocks where we saw, heard, and smelt the California, and Stellar Sea Lions as well as Harbour and Elephant Seals. We then headed offshore and east trying to cover as much area as possible. We went by Discovery, Chain and Trial Islands where we saw many of the other local wildlife. Although we did not find any Orcas, we all enjoyed a day on the waters surrounding Southern Vancouver Island and the other wildlife we were able to see.