February 27th - Pinnipeds and Eagles along the Coast
On the 27th we began our search in the Strait of Georgia, traveling past Five Finger island where we saw plenty of Surf Scoter’s on the water and the rocky shores. From there we zigzagged north along the coast to Parksville and over to Lasqueti Island and then back down to the Winchelsea Islands off the coast of Nanoose bay. We watched the Stellar Sea Lions hanging out on the rocks and basking in the sun until we continued on to Harmac to see the California Sea Lions.
All photos from this trip were taken by Marine Naturalist Rebecca Stirling.
Surf Scoters scooting along.
Seagulls on the rocks in the foreground, a Canadian Coast Guard vessel in the background.
Sadly we did not find any whales on this day, as is sometimes the case when looking for wildlife. Wildlife have their own agendas and lives and they aren’t always where we are. It’s even harder when you factor in that whales can hold their breath for over half an hour and travel at speeds of over 50km/hr, and their range is the entire west coast of BC and Washington! It takes a lot of luck to find them so it’s amazing that we have a 97% success rate on our tours.
We always want to show our guests whales so we make sure to give them a chance to come out again, this time on us. All our guests got a voucher that does not expire to come out again whenever they would like to try again.
A Harbour Seal resting with our Sealions!
An Eagle checking the place out
