Monday, August 18

This morning, the Orca Spirit headed out into Juan De Fuca Strait in search of whales. The transient orca sightings have been heating up in recent days and we were hoping to show our guests these amazing predators. Our tour took us first near Constance Bank then out to Discovery Island where we saw some seabirds feasting on a baitball. Often this is a sign that something larger, such as a minke whale, is nearby. Unfortunately, it was not to be and we continued our tour up the east coast of Chatham and Discovery Island, where we saw harbour seals as well as both mature and juvenile bald eagles. A wide northern arc took us north to Kelp Reef and eventually back through Baynes Channel to Trial Island, where we watched more harbour seals and enjoyed the scenic vista of the Trial Island lighthouse with the Olympic mountain range as a backdrop. Although we did not see any whales this trip, it was another wonderful adventure on the Salish Sea.

Just before leaving for the afternoon trip, we received word that a group of transient orcas, the T30's, had been located near Race Rocks. We ventured out into Juan De Fuca Strait in some fairly choppy seas and were thrilled when we located the group of 4 mammal-hunting orcas - not an easy thing to do in today's sea conditions! It was another wonderful encounter with these whales, who surprised us with an excellent pass. After our exciting transient encounter, we travelled to Race Rocks. Today's pinniped count included two elephant seals, several Steller sea lions and approximately fifteen California sea lions. With the large number of pinnipeds, including lots of cute young harbour seal pups, it is definitely no wonder that more transients are showing up. We stopped one more time in Parry Bay where we watched harbour seals at the Haystack Islets and checked out a bald eagle nest nearby. It was another superb wildlife experience!