July 24, 2024, 10:30 am - Humpbacks out and about
We had all of our boats out this morning as we headed into the Strait of Georgia in search of whales. Finding a humpback out here has been pretty reliable lately, and soon we were rewarded with blows. The first whale to be found today was Incognito (BCX2053) by one of our open boats. The other soon followed and we got to see Incognito play around in the waves. We were treated to splashes and some beautiful flukes from them.
Meanwhile, our semi-covered boat came across Valiant (BCX1773) and Strike (BCX1675). These guys were surfacing regularly and doing pretty short dives, which is ideal for whale watching. All of a sudden, Valiant breached out of the water! Then breached again. And again. And again. This whale clearly had tons of energy, and breached for 45 minutes! At one point Valiant resorted to pec slapping because they decided Strike wasn’t reacting the way she should. Strike did indulge in some pec slapping with Valiant, but for the most part, kept doing her surfacing and diving pattern.
We get asked a lot why humpbacks breach. We don’t actually know! It could be for a lot of reasons. It could be that they just have a lot of energy and are feeling playful. They could be doing it to try and knock some of their barnacles loose. Or they could be doing it for communication. It does make quite a big noise, like thunder, and sound travels a lot faster over top and underwater than it does in the air. No matter the function, it’s always a treat to see.
We can watch our whales for up to an hour, so we did just that and then angled towards our next stop: Stinky Rocks! This is a favourite haul out of Harbour Seals and Steller Sea Lions.
Lucky for us, the Strait of Georgia region has the highest density of Harbour Seals in BC! And it’s also pupping season, so there are plenty of little pups scattered around now. At birth, they weigh an average of 30 pounds, as opposed to an adult which is around 150-300 pounds.
We also got to see an assortment of birds on our tour today, including Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures, a Pigeon Guillemot, and Cormorants. We also found a deer on the shoreline looking for a snack! The Salish Sea holds a large assortment of wildlife, and we’re so glad we got to see it before we had to head back to the dock.
All of the photos from today can be seen below! They were taken by Marine Naturalists Hayleigh Hilbert, Lucy Willis, and Vanessa Vereschahen.
The underside of BCX2053 Incognito’s tail. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
Incognito making a fluke waterfall. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
Incognito splashing around. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
Incognito going for a dive. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
Valiant and Strike pec slapping. Photo by Lucy Willis.
The top side of Valiant’s fluke. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Valiant’s tail fluke. Look at those scars! Photo by Lucy Willis.
Valiant’s tubercles! And you can see their blowholes. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Water coming out of Valiant’s mouth! Photo by Lucy Willis.
Valiant chin slapping. Photo by Lucy Willis.
You can perfectly see Valiant’s throat pleats here! Photo by Lucy Willis.
Valiant’s pec fin and their fluke sticking out behind it. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Valiant pec slapping. That bulge is their eye! Photo by Lucy Willis.
Valiant’s dorsal fin. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Valiant backdive. Photo by Lucy Willis.
A beautiful breach from Valiant! Photo by Lucy Willis.
Barnacles grow in multiple places on humpbacks. Under the chin, along the pecs, and on the sides of the flukes. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Harbour Seals on the rocks at low tide. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
These guys have little claws on their front flippers! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A Harbour Seal diving into the water. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A pup suckling from mum. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
This little guy has had this tumor for months, but it doesn’t seem to hinder it at all? Photo by Lucy Willis.
A Steller Sea Lion jumping into the water at Stinky Rocks. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
Airborne! Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
Sea Lions like their personal space… but they’re not good at giving it to each other. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A deer on the shoreline. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
A Bald Eagle tearing away at a salmon. unfortunately, you can see the fishing gear it still had on it to the left. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
Those are eggs! This was a female salmon. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
Beautiful details of this Bald Eagle. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
This eagle actually has it’s eye closed! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.
A Turkey Vulture perched on the rocks. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Turkey Vulture on a branch. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Holding it’s wings out. Photo by Lucy Willis.
A Pigeon Guillemot with a gunnel for lunch. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Looking very satisfied with it’s catch. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A cormorant in it’s nest at the Gabriola Bluffs. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Cormorants in their nests. Photo by Hayleigh Hilbert.