March 30th - The Party Keeps on Going
It was another beautiful day on the crystal waters of the Salish Sea as Kula set out to find some whales. There was an early morning report of whales heading South towards Dodd Narrows, we headed South hoping to find them close to home. We checked in and around the Gulf Islands and came up empty when we got a message that they had been seen going through Gabriola Pass towards the Flat Top islands. We made our way out but there hadn’t been an update since, so we weren’t sure if the whales had gone south, east, or north from there. We decided to start south and scoped the shores along Valdez Island. We stopped briefly to see the Steller Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks just south of Gabriola Pass. The winds were just right, and the air was heavy with the smell of sea lions as we watched them barking and fighting amongst themselves. Several swimming around in the water, practicing their acrobatics. A few bald eagles were nestled amongst the chaos, mostly juveniles. They seemed to be snacking on a fish, mostly unbothered by the sea lions activities nearby.
We continued south towards Porlier Pass with no sign of our whales. We turned our attention north, sure that they would not have gotten any further south than we were. Circling wide into the Strait of Georgia we looped back to Thrasher Rock and the Flat Top Islands and began searching North. That’s when we found our whales, spread out and traveling towards Entrance Island. This was a rather large group of Orca, larger than most pods of Transient orca. Our Naturalist got the camera out and snapped a few photos to try and ID who we were looking at. It didn’t take long to see a large male dorsal emerge from the water and a few good photos told us we were watching the T049A’s. Nan and her family were hanging out with a few friends today. Nan is one of our new orca moms this year, bringing her pod count to 7 whales. Nan’s son Noah is always easy to spot and helpful in determining which pod we are with. After figuring out this pod things got a bit trickier.
With so many whales it can be hard to determine the number of animals, as they don’t cooperate and almost never surface as one group. You’re always left wondering if you double counted a whale or missed one. We were able to count all members of Nan’s pod, including their newest addition who looked healthy and full of energy as they chased after their siblings.
Another distinct whale in the group today was T099B Holly. On the way back to harbour our naturalist also ID’d T049B Van and her kids in the group. It wasn’t until we went through the photos to write the blog that we finally ID’d all the whales. T065B Chunk and her family were also in the fray today! 18 whales in total.
T049A - Nan, 1986
T049A1 - Noah, 2001
T049A2 - Judy (Jude), 2007
T049A3 - Nat, 2011
T049A4 - Neptune, 2014
T049A5 - Nebula, 2017
T049A6 - 2022
T049B - Van, 1992
T049B2 - Skylar, 2010
T049B3 - Charchar, 2013
T065B - Chunk, 1993
T065B1 - Birdsall, 2011
T065B2 - Nettle, 2019
T099 - Bella, ~1984
T099B - Holly, 2007
T099C - Barakat, 2009
T099D - 2015
T099E - 2021
This T-party started their morning in Northumberland channel and made their way down into the gulf islands before heading East out of Gabriola Passage and then North along the Shore, where we found them heading towards Entrance Island.
This group was in a social mode as Holly and her siblings rolled through the water, splashing, and playing. Noah was tail slapping the water and hanging out with his aunt Van, while Nan’s newest baby lead the charge and was often practicing their own tail slaps between barrel rolls and diving over their siblings.
You could feel the whales’ excitement and energy in the air as the families mingled, all taking their time to meet the newest member to Nan’s family. It’s interesting to see that Nan’s sister Van was hanging out with her and meeting the newest little one along with other families.
After we left these guys steadily heading north we stopped to take a look at some Seals on Snake Island and then popped down to Harmac to see our California Sea Lions lounging on the logs. We also stopped in at the Gabriola bluffs to see the Cormorants as they begin to get ready for their own chicks to appear in the world. They were busy building nests and getting everything springtime ready.
Enjoy the photos below taken by Marine Naturalist Rebeka Pirker during our adventure on the Sea today.
Juvenile Bald Eagle.
Steller Sea Lions on their haulout.
Another juvenile Bald Eagle.
Tails up and pec slaps!
More fun being had during the T party!
T049A1 Noah slapping his tail!
Noah (left) and T099C Barakat (right) surfacing in front of the coastal mountains.
Gentle surfaces from the orca.
T099B Holly, easy to pick out because of the nicks in her dorsal.
Tails up!
Breach!
Breach part 2.
Tail slap from one of the new calves!
More tail slaps!
Noah going for a dive!
Noah Travelling.
Spy hop!
Noah in front of Entrance Island.
Harbour Seals
It must be spring! We saw these oyster catchers mating during our stop at the seals.
California Sea Lions Hauled out.
A gull enjoying the logs as well.
California Sea Lion
California Sea Lion
California Sea Lion
Cormorant at the Gabriola Bluffs.
Even though we saw this otter in the ocean, it is actually a river otter! These guys are a common sight along Vancouver Islands shorelines.
