July 19th was a great day out on the water filled with a ton of whales! We found 2 groups of orca and a total of 3 humpback whales!

The morning trip started out with a journey down south that got interrupted by Yogi (BCY0409). Yogi, and the rest of the humpbacks found in the Salish sea right now, have just made their major migration from either Hawaii or Mexico where they spend the winter and have returned here for the summer to feed. Yogi has been identified spending the winter at the Big Island, Hawaii, in 2005 and 2006.

Yogi arching its back preparing for a dive. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Yogi going down for a deep dive. Photo by Val Watson.

After spending time with Yogi we crossed the Strait of Georgia over to Howe Sound where the T036Bs were travelling through. It was a bit of a bumpy ride but worth it to see the animals playing in the waves!

A couple members of the T036Bs playing in the chop. Photo by Val Watson.

Heading back to Nanaimo we made a final stop at entrance island we found plenty of seals and were lucky enough to spot some young otters on the shoreline as well!

Can you spot the otters here? Photo by Val Watson.

In the afternoon we headed off to a different pod of Orca which were travelling between the Southern Gulf Islands! Again we were pleasantly surprised to hear that a couple of humpbacks were found nearby so we headed over to see them first. They were identified as being Two Spot (MMZ0013) and Strike (MMX0101). There was lots of flukeing action from these two as they kept doing feeding dives. During these dives they will put their tails (or Flukes) out of the water so they can provide more momentum for their dives.

Strike going for a dive while Two Spot surfaces behind. Photo by Val Watson.

Finally, we made it to the orca! This group consisted of the T034s and the T037s. They travelled along the Galiano coast heading north spread out looking for food.

After our time with the orca wow headed back up to Nanaimo where we made our final stop of the day at the Gabriola Bluffs, which is a rookery for cormorants, and you will see the occasional seagull nesting there as well.

Sea Gull with its chicks on Gabriola Bluffs. Photo by Val Watson.

Tons of Cormorants and their chicks on the cliffside. Photo by Val Watson.

After soaking in all the wildlife of the day we headed back to the docks to end this fantastic day out on the water. We are still seeing lots of orca and have more and more humpbacks making their way back up north as well. If you want to join a trip with us for your next adventure you can give us a call at 1-250-667-5177 or book online through our website.

The naturalists managed to get lots of amazing photos during the day, check out the rest of them below!