It’s not often that we spot something unique in our waters, but wildlife has a tendency to surprise us. During our tour today, while we didn’t find any whales, we did find plenty of other wildlife. We had some hang-back sea lions lounging at the Halibut buoy. These sea lions have mostly migrated north for the breeding season and will return in September in full force, with plenty of new pups to show off. However, year after year, a handful of females and young males decide not to make the trek. Instead, they abandon the cozy islands they inhabit during the winter, in favour of the buoys along our coast. The Halibut buoy and the UM buoy off of Gabriola Island are 2 of the most popular summer sea lion stations. These ladies (and young boys) haul out enjoying the sun and relaxing on their floating bed, diving in for a bite to eat when they get hungry and then returning back to their stable platform to rest. We aren’t sure exactly what motivates them to move to the buoys, but our best guess is that they off more stable resting sights, as they don’t disappear with high tides.

We also saw plenty of harbour seals who are also in the middle of their pupping season. The pups are super wrinkly and very fluffy when they are born but grow quickly. They only rely on mom’s milk for a few weeks before they are eating fish and invertebrates along the shores. After only 2 months these little water pups are off on their own.

We also spotted a Blue heron, these large birds are often in our harbour or near the seals, stalking fish through the waters. One of the main predators of blue herons is the bald eagle. You would think that Blue herons would avoid eagles because of this, but it’s quite the opposite. Blue herons nest in colonies of up to 500 nests, though our local colonies tend to be much smaller. These colonies can often be found near bald eagle nests. This is because Bald eagles are very territorial about their nesting sights and will chase other bald eagles away, If a blue heron sets up its nest away from a bald eagle they will have to constantly be watching for any bald eagles that fly by. However, if they have a nest near a bald eagle nest it does act as a sort of protection. The resident bald eagles offer protection from other bald eagles in the area, so the nesting herons only have to watch out for one pair of eagles, instead of dozens. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer as they say!

One of the most interesting sights of the tour today was an Osprey. We don’t often get these birds here, and we get photos of them even less often. Osprey are diving birds who will tuck their wings in and dive in talons first. The white underside of the osprey will help to be less noticeable to the fish in the water, with the white blending into the bright sky. Other fishing birds will also have white blended in with their brown feathers, such as the bald eagle, another striking example is the Steller Sea Eagle. They are very dark and have a white tail, legs, and wing bases.

Even though we didn’t find any whales during the trip our guests will be able to try again with their vouchers. Since the wildlife is always on the move and changing every single trip is different so returning guests get a whole new experience!

Photos by Marine Naturalists Janine Van Der Linden and Carmen Murphy.

Steller Sea Lions at the Halibut Bank Buoy. Photo by Carmen Murphy.

Take a look at those claws! Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Harbour seal Saturnina Island Nanaimo Whale Watching — Harbour seal doing a hula dance! Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Pigeon guillemot with a fresh catch. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Cormorants on their nests on Gabriola Island. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Pelagic Cormorants nesting on Gabriola Island. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Double Crested Cormorants on the rocks. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Osprey! They can be recognized by the white underside. Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

Osprey Nanaimo Gabriola Whale Watching Wildlife — Our osprey friend in flight! Photo by Janine Van Der Linden.

July 17th - Wildlife of the Salish Sea

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