July 12th - A shy but frequent fluker in the Strait!

We had beautiful on July 12th as Keta set off the dock in search of whales! We headed north from Nanaimo, past Snake Island and out into the Strait of Georgia to scan. The waters were calm and flat, perfect for identifying a blow off in the distance.

We met up with a humpback whale that was traveling in the Strait towards the Gulf Islands. This whale was shy to show its fluke (tail) but it was spending quite a lot of time on the surface to catch its breath in-between dives. We managed to get some photos of its dorsal fin and a partial fluke, but so far we have not been able to match it.

Humpback whale dorsal fins and fluke patterns help us to identify individual whales, which in turn helps us contribute to the large database of individuals that return to or are new the Salish Sea. Data such as first year seen, male or female, age, calves present, etc, really helps scientists document the recovery of these species and hopefully will help keep them around for the long haul.

After visiting with the humpback whale we continued into the Gulf Islands where we saw more harbour seals, bald eagles, cormorants, and of course the beautiful scenery of the Islands. Here are some of the best photos taken that day by marine naturalist Natalie Reichenbacher.