December 19th - 5 Humpbacks off of Snake Island
It was a beautiful December day when we left the harbour on December 19th. It began with a bit of rain, but the sun broke through the clouds which lead to a rainbow appearing not too far from our whales.
Today our whales were spotted near Snake Island - a small uninhabited island about 15 minutes from our harbour. Small colonies of Harbour Seals are regularly spotted sunning on its shores. If you are lucky, you may even see an eagle or two patrolling the coast line, looking for a snack.
Snake Island is a popular spot for scuba divers. The island is close to an artificial reef made from the HMCS Cape Breton (a World War II Victory ship) which was purposefully sunk in 2001. Originally built for the British Navy in 1944 the Cape Breton was in operation from 1953 to 1964. After that, the Cape Breton was also used as a floating machine shop until the end of 1990’s . The ship’s bell was considered special and was used to baptize babies on board from 1959 to 1971. The bell was not sunk with the rest of the ship, and and is currently located in the CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum, Esquimalt, British Columbia.
Our Humpbacks were being camera shy today and were not fluking very often, making ID’ing them tricky. We did spot Niagara swimming with Ghost as well as a mother and calf foraging away with another friend. All 5 of these Humpbacks seemed to be having a restful day today as they foraged and occasionally pec-waved.
Niagara’s mother, Houdini, was one of the first Humpbacks spotted during the event dubbed the “Humpback Comeback” - a handful of Humpback whales were spotted venturing up into our waters after decades of absence due to the whaling era, likely to observe if these feeding grounds were now safe for themselves and their offspring. Since then, our Humpback population has grown rapidly. The Southern BC/Washington population is now thought to be between 300 to 400 whales strong, and the Northern BC/Alaskan population is thought to have a whopping 3000 to 5000 whales.
Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalist Rebecca Stirling.
It has been such a fun adventure exploring our waters during the winter months! If you are interested in joining a tour with us we are still daily adventures on Kula, our covered vessel, who has a heater to keep you comfortable while onboard. Tours are now departing from Nanaimo at 11am! Please note, we will be taking a small break for the holidays from December 23 to January 3.
Happy Holidays!
Niagara with his easy to spot ‘waterfall’ marking.
Humpback diving in front of the mountains.
A raft of Barrow’s Goldeneye.
A Common Murre riding the waves.
Double-crested Cormorant in flight.
Whales are not the only neat things we see on our trips. A Common Merganser paddling along.
Take off!
Gull in flight.
A colony of California Sealions.
Scratch that itch!
A sleepy male Stellar Sealion amongst the California Sealions.