June 19th - Fader the Humpback in the Strait of Georgia

On June 19th we set off into the Strait of Georgia in our search for whales. We ended up location Fader (BCY0195) just off of Thrasher Rock. Fader was foraging when we first spotted them, diving deep in search of krill or small schooling fish. After doing a couple of deep dives, our humpback suddenly became very energetic. Fader began pec slapping (slapping their pectoral fins down on the surface of the water) while swimming on their back for the rest of our trip! They also performed a small cartwheel right at the start of our tour, showing how energetic this particular whale was today.

Immature Bald Eagle sitting on Snake Island. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

This picture displays why it is so important to go slow if you see a blow - can you spot the full grown Humpback whale? Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Fader’s dorsal. Photo by Val Watson.

The tip of Fader’s nose poking out as they cruise on by. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Practicing that backstroke! Photo by Val Watson.

Part of Fader’s fluke and pectoral fin at the same time. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Fader going for a dive! Photos by Val Watson.

Male Stellar Sealion. Photo by Val Watson.

Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Blooper: Our photos don’t always turn out perfect! Remember that cartwheel mentioned at the start of the blog? Well, Naturalist Cheyenne’s camera lens was zoomed in a bit too far when this occurred…

Oops!