Another calm afternoon spent with the T34s, T37, and T37Bs! We've been seeing this group a lot the past week as they've been hanging around Port Angeles up to the mouth of Puget Sound.
We also watched a mother humpback whale and her very active calf! More humpback whales have been coming into the Salish Sea as they travel from Hawaii and Mexico towards Alaska for their summer feeding.
On Thursday afternoon we were lucky enough to catch up with some transients killer whales, the T65As behind Sidney Island. We watched the family zig-zag through the water after which we went to Spieden Island and got to watch some of the unusual residents graze on the cliff side.
**Images captured using a telephoto lens and cropped. All legal and whale wise guidelines are followed during our tours.**
T124C, a lone Biggs orca born in 1992, in Saanich Inlet yesterday. He was difficult to track with his unpredictable, zig-zagged surfacing, but the patience was worth it when he out of no where surfaced near the boat! Motors were turned off, and we were able to have an amazing look at him.
Yesterday our boats headed north to spend time with a lone male orca known as T77A. In the morning, he was seen playing with a buoy. There was concern he was entangled, however, he was simply messing around and completely fine!
Our afternoon trip caught up with him entering Active Pass, then traveled alongside him northwest along Galiano Island. We were able to see downtown Vancouver as we watched him surface.
It is common for a male Biggs orca to travel alone once their mother has passed away. However, T77A is a less usual case of a solitary orca. His mother is alive and well with his 4 younger siblings! Female Biggs orcas often separate from their mothers to raise their own families, while males stay with them for life. T77A is one of the few who has a living mother yet does not stay with her!
Whale hello! We have had the absolute pleasure of viewing both transient and resident killer whales for the past few weeks now. While the season is just underway, we have been viewing some great action out on the water! Recently our guests encountered transient killer whales feasting on harbour seals!
We are looking forward to making your whale watching dreams come true for the 2019 season! Stay tuned for a lot more incredible sightings and make sure to come out with us to see the beauty for yourself.
-BC Whale Tours Crew
It was another breathtaking day in Victoria, B.C.! Our guests were incredibly lucky to encounter both the L and J pods! They came into the Jaun De Fuca Strait to search the Salish Sea for their preferred prey; Chinook Salmon. By the afternoon they reached the coast of the San Juan Islands to began their search. They were also very playful as they socialized with each other by breaching, and tail slapping!
Our guests also encountered several beautiful humpback whales in the Strait. Humpbacks are amazing to view, as they are known for their distinct breaching and surface behavior!
We can't wait for more amazing weather and magnificent animal encounters today!
Happy Hump Day! Its the middle of the week and in keeping with the theme it was a humpback day in the Salish Sea!
Captain Jim, Darren, and Kaegan were all on scene with several humpbacks throughout the day as they rested, and fed in the nutrient rich waters of the strait. Captain Jim caught up with a humpback south east of Race Rocks ecological reserve feeding on small schools of fish. Our passengers got a great view of the whale as it swam straight up from the deep with its mouth gaped ready to engulf its prey, it was an incredible sight and a unique encounter!
The great weather conditions will continue to finish off the week! Stay tuned to see what we encounter next!!
We knew the day was going to be epic when we got early reports in the morning of lots of orca heading east towards Victoria in the Juan De Fuca. it was later confirmed from our morning expeditions it was all the members of the Southern Resident orca population, which of that population it was all members of L pod (roughly 35 orca).
Capt. Russ was the happiest when he got to interact with his favourite member Mega - aka L41. It was amazing to see all of L pod moving towards their usual foraging grounds around the San Juan Islands. Lets hope there is enough salmon around to keep their bellies full and around in the region.
The wind did pick up a little bit, which did make our afternoon expeditions slightly more adventurous. It was amazing to see all of our guests get so excited to encounter this critically endangered population of orca. Nothing but huge smiles and slightly new hair styles for guests who joined our open zodiac expeditions
We did cancel and transfer our guests from the sunset cruise due to the high winds and bumpy sea conditions.
Stay tuned to hear about what encounters our guests experience today!!!
