July 15th - Orcas in the Sound

Today we had Orca sightings first thing in the morning! We jumped in our boats and headed for Howe Sound which is just north of Vancouver. The T46’s were spotted in the straight just south of Bowen island, and by the time our boats arrived on scene they were almost at the north end of the island!
This pod was traveling pretty fast, and we later found out why, they were hunting! We got to see some splashing and action as they finally caught their breakfast. After eating they hung out in a bay at the top of Bowen island, socializing with each other and one of them even did a spy hop for us! They started moving west through the sound, which is where we left them in the morning.
In the afternoon we caught back up with the T46’s who were now heading north along the Sunshine coast. They had made quite the trip since we had seen them only a few hours before.
These guys were cruising fast and when we showed up on scene they decided to take a break! they gave us a great show, doing lots of surfacing and some extremely close passes!
After leaving the whales in the afternoon we headed to the Halibut banks and found some female Steller Sea Lions hanging out on the marker. These girls were very lazy today, napping in the sun, but our Naturalist Rebeka got them talking with her best Sea Lion call.
We also stopped by the Cormorant rookeries to see how the babies were doing and managed to see our Seagull chicks as well!

Check out all the cool photos we got from our trips below.

T46E (Camillo), see his distinct notch in his dorsal fin? Photo by Rebeka Pirker (3:30).

T46E (Camillo) and T122 (Centeki). Photo by Ryan Uslu (10:30).

The matriarch of pod T46 is Wake, she was born in 1964, making her 55 years old! She travels with her 2 sons T46D (born 2000), Camillo (T46E, born 2003) and her youngest T46F born in 2012, and sometimes they travel with T122 - Centeki. Centeki is a 37 year old female, born in 1982, but she doesn’t have her own pod, so she spends most of her time with the T46’s.

Wake was actually part of the last live capture of Orcas in the Puget Sound’s Budd Inlet in 1976, but was released. Wake is now a proud great-grandmother! She has had 6 calves, 8 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. One of her grandchildren is the famous White Whale - Tl’uk!

T46D with his droopy dorsal fin. Photo by Rebeka Pirker (3:30).

Family photo. Photo by Rebeka Pirker (3:30).

Sunny scratching time! Photo by Rebeka Pirker (3:30).

Our boats have actually watched these two seagull chicks (photo below) along their entire journey into life. We first spotted them when they were brand new, and as you can see they are quickly growing! It won’t be much longer before they are able to fly on their own!

Momma seagull with her two chicks! Photo by Rebeka Pirker (3:30).

Want to see the beautiful Pacific Northwest’s wildlife with us? Book a tour today! Call us at 250-667-5177 to book over the phone or continue on our website to book online! Happy travels!

Cormorants hanging out on a tree. Photo by Rebeka Pirker (3:30).

T46E (Camillo) in Howe Sound. Photo by Ryan Uslu (10:30).

Join us today for your own whale-filled adventure! We have seen whales EVERY trip since May 9th! Don’t see a whale on your trip? We will give you another trip for free! Call us at 250-667-5177 to book over the phone or continue on this website to book online! See you on the waters!