June 20th 10:30 AM - T086A's and T124A4's come right to Nanaimo!
We had an early morning report of whales near Gabriola Island so we got our guests suited up quick and headed out in our boat. We barely made it out of the harbour before our captain spotted the blows along the Gabriola shore. The whales made our job extra easy today, coming right to our front door.
The T086A’s + T124A4’s swam by for a visit. This group has been all over the place for the last few days. We had them on the 16th near Crofton and they made it all the way to Saanich before we left them at the end of our evening tour. On the 17th they were back up by us, traveling from Ladysmith in the morning to North of Protection island by the afternoon. On the 18th they were all the way over near Keats island in Howe Sound. Today they are back in our neighborhood and we couldn't be happier. This little mix-and-match family has quickly worked their way into our hearts. Eider with her crooked smile, Tyndall with her easily recognizable dorsal, little Akia who's never far behind mom. All traveling with brand new mom Sabio, T124A4, and her new calf T124A4A. We aren’t sure why Sabio isn’t traveling with her own mom right now, as she would typically be the one to help Sabio raise her first calf. However, Kittiwake, Sabio’s mom, is currently raising her own baby too. Both Sabio and her mom gave birth very close together, making for one very busy pod. It could be that Eider is a trusted family friend, and with Kittiwake’s fins full, she’s enlisted the help of another successful mom to help Sabio raise her calf for the time being.
Our orca were busy speeding off to their next destination, somewhere north, as we left them to go find seals and sea lions. As we made our way to Entrance Island we were stopped by 2 more whales! Humpbacks Zig Zag and Split Fin were feeding along the shores of Gabriola near the Malaspina galleries. These were 2 familiar tails, with both these whales being frequent visitors of our neighborhood. Zig Zag is a known female having brought several calves back to our waters over the years. She is known to winter down in Hawaii. Scuba joined the humpback population in 2019 and Schooner joined us in 2021. Split Fin on the other hand does not have a confirmed gender, although we suspect they may be a male as we have never seen them with a calf. Split Fin was born in 2006 to Big Mama, a rather famous humpback in our waters as she was the first humpback to return to the Salish Sea after nearly 100 years of absence.
With both of these two being Hawaii whales they probably spend a lot of time with each other, and it wouldn’t surprise us if they made the migration to our waters together. We’re excited to see all the humpback pairs forming so early in the season and are curious to see if these two will remain together this season or if they will part ways as the summer progresses.
After leaving our whales for the morning we continued to Entrance Island where there was a large group of Steller Sea Lions hauled out together on the rocks. These animals were very entertaining to watch as they fought amongst each other and getting in and out of the water.
We also got to see some harbour seals enjoying the sunshine at Saturnina Island before travelling through the southern gulf island, through the currents of Dodd Narrows, and along the Gabriola Bluffs before returning to the harbour. We are always grateful when the animals make our jobs so easy! It’s not very often that we see both humpbacks and orca so close to home!
Enjoy the photos of our wildlife taken by marine naturalist Vanessa.
T086A3 Tyndall surfacing in front of Gabriola Island.
T124A4 Sabio and her calf surfacing together.
T124A4A surfacing.
Sabio and calf surfacing together with Pipers Lagoon in the background.
T086A Eider! This matriarchs distinct notches make her easy to spot.
Sabio and her calf again! Being born late last year, this small orca will be glued to their mom’s side for the next while.
The calf showing off its saddle patch!
Sabio leaving us behind as they continue towards Hudson rocks.
Zigzag going down for a dive!
Split fins tail fluke as they also dive.
A large steller sea lion roars at the surrounding ones.
Can you see the wound on his flipper? Could be caused by rubbing against barnacles, fighting with other sea lions, or even from a close encounter with an orca! We will never know.
Dog pile!
A scuffle ensues while a sea lion attempts to leave the water to join the others on the haul out.
A single harbour seal chilling on the rocks at Saturnina Island.
Look how well camouflaged these harbour seals are!
A pair of bald eagles watched us from the top of the tree.
Did you know that in most movies the cry of the Bald Eagle is replaced with one of a red-tailed hawk? Eagles’ calls don’t exactly match their impressive exteriors.
Some cormorants on the Gabriola Bluffs.
Coming in for a landing!