It was another short journey to find our whales today, as there were three of them only about ten minutes outside the Nanaimo Harbour, just north of the Hudson Rocks Ecological Reserve. At first, it was just two whales hanging out together, and they made it easy to find them since they were splashing up a storm. We identified them as Vanta (BCX1730) and Nalu (BCY1072) from the underside of their tails that occasionally lifted from the water before they dove to prepare for another set of breaches! This type of surface behaviour becomes more common as the year goes on since the waters of British Columbia are the feeding grounds for humpback whales. They make a huge journey from either Hawaii or Mexico where they breed and have their calves, and then come back up here for food. While they are down south the whales hardly ever eat, and instead rely on energy stores that come from their fat reserves. When they first return to our water that means that they are very hungry and getting to the end of those reserves. They need some time to rebuild them before they start to have extra that they can use for these amazing displays of their speed and power!

Vanta and Nalu continued on with their breaching, pec-slapping, and cartwheeling until suddenly a third whale joined in the fun! This whale was BCX1965! The party with the whales continued on until we had to leave them to their fun due to our hour-long watching limits.

We continued from there to find some other wildlife, and had luck with Harbour Seals, Sea Lions, and plenty of Seabirds too. British Columbia is home to a diverse range of seabird species, and fall migration in this region is a remarkable natural phenomenon. During the fall season, which typically spans from September to November, several seabird species migrate along the coast of BC. These migrations are influenced by a variety of factors, including changes in food availability, daylight hours, and temperature.

The Sea Lions are also migratory, with the two different species that we see going in opposite directions (for the most part). The Steller Sea Lions (the bigger, lighter-coloured ones) will usually go further north up to their breeding areas, whereas the California Sea Lions (smaller, darker ones) will usually go south. During the summer months, the majority of both of these species will be gone, leaving only a few stragglers behind. The Harbour Seals on the other hand spend the entire year here.

It’s always great to see more species than just the whales since every animal in the ecosystem plays a very important role. The naturalists who were onboard during this trip, Aly Kohlman, Cheyenne Brewster, and Vanessa Vereschahen, got some great photos which are included below!

September 27, 2023 - Vanta, Nalu, and BCX1965 having a blast right near Nanaimo

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