October 21, 2023 - Potamus and her calf with a visit from Moresby as well!
An overcast day gave us a great opportunity to get some moody West Coast vibes. This also makes for great photos, and with all the wildlife we spotted today it was perfect!
We spent time with a mother and her calf today, Potamus (BCY0885) and her newest calf BCY0885 Calf 2023. It is always very exciting to see one of our Humpbacks return with a bouncing baby in tow! The reason the young Humpbacks are often more active is because they need to stay warm via motion. Even though they put on about 100 pounds per day from mom’s fat-rich milk they do not have the build-up of blubber like the adults at this stage. So being active allows them to stay at a comfortable temperature, as we know our waters are very cold here in the Salish Sea! Moresby (BCY0324 Calf 2022) is also a fairly young whale, born in 2022. Moresby was born to one of our better-known Humpbacks, Big Mama (BCY0324)! This young whale would have stayed with mom for up to a year, but they can branch off as early as 5 months. Typically we see them stay close to mom’s side for the year, but there is always an exception!
We can speculate all day long what our whales are up to under the surface, but today we saw Moresby lung feeding! Feeding is what our Humpbacks are usually up to. They migrate huge distances every year from Hawaii, Mexico and Central America. They may have been fasting for up to 6 months before arriving in our rich abundant waters! Now, their main focus is building up the fat reserves before heading back to the tropics to breed. Each Humpback will eat around 3000 pounds of food per day, and Potamus having to provide for her calf as well will need to consume about 5000 pounds!
We know the buffet was a success today as we had many Gulls and other birds joining in on the feast. We spotted some Bald Eagles, as well as a Great Blue Heron trying to get in on the feeding action. We were also graced with a visit from the very colourful Harlequin Ducks, always so vibrant! We can not forget our most abundant mammal the Harbour Seals, we found them hauled out relaxing on the rocks. Just around the corner, we could hear them before we saw them, the noisy California Sea Lions made an appearance at a favourite spot on the log booms. Another great day filled with wildlife, you can see for yourself in the pictures below!
Photos by Marine Naturalist Aly Kohlman.
Potamus going for a dive!
Potamus diving with her calf close beside her.
A very bright white pec-slap.
Photo bombed by a gull!
Now we can see it’s Moresby!
Those bumps we can see are called tubercles and are about the size of your fist!
Taking a breath.
Moresby fluking.
Going down!
Moresby diving.
Thar he blows!
An up close look at Morseby’s blowholes and tubercles.
Moresby’s dorsal.
Check out this lunge!
Can you spot the baleen hanging from the top jaw?
The baleen is made from keratin, which is the same protein as our hair and nails!
What a cool view!
Beautiful Bonaparte’s Gulls in flight.
These little cuties can be ID’d by their signature black cheeks when they are in their winter plumage.
Bald Eagle in flight.
This Gull looks a little annoyed by the Eagle.
Probably got sick of being pestered!
A Great Blue Heron perched in the tree.
Colourful Harlequin Ducks.
Harbour Seals keeping an eye on us.
Someone is eating well!
Fuzzy Harbour Seal.
California Sea Lions in all kinds of poses.
Sleepy California Sea Lion.
Sunbathing!