October 22, 2023 - Seals, Sea Lions and Eagles out and about today!

A gorgeous day in the sun, and great lighting for spotting whales! Or so we thought, sometimes they can be very elusive. Today was one of those days, no whales were found in our range. This is one of the most frustrating, yet beautiful things we deal with as Naturalists. The frustration comes, because of course, we want everyone to meet and love our whales just as much as we do. So even on these rare occasions where we don’t spot any whales and all guests will receive vouchers to come out again it can be disappointing. The beauty comes from the fact they are free! The whales are not on our schedule, they go and do what they want when they want! We are very grateful to have a beautiful landscape and bio-diverse waters, so a no-whale day is still exciting.

Today we met up with some of our regular visitors, our Sea Lions. We had both species grace us with their presence. The California Sea Lions, who migrate here from California, and our Stellar Sea Lions, who migrate from Northern B.C. and Alaska. Does anyone know why they migrated here? You guessed it…they want to get in on the late summer/fall food abundance as well! Our Harbour Seals are nonmigratory and stay in the Salish Sea all year long. Don’t get me wrong they still enjoy the feeding frenzy that comes with the migration of their Sea Lion cousins! Also, taking advantage of the rich seas are our birds! Many different species of Gulls, as well as Bald Eagles and Cormorants, were out enjoying the sun and snacks today too!

Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Vanessa Vereschahen.

A California Sea Lion poses as a Stellar takes a nap! Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A pair of Bald Eagles, can you spot their nest? Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Bald Eagle keeping watch. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Take off. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Eye see you! Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A giraffe? No, just a stretching Harbour Seal. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Photo by Aly Kohlman.

A chubby little Harbor Seal. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Cormorants drying in the sun. Can you spot the one that’s not like the other? Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Stellar Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Cuddle time! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Just kidding! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Someone made this male Stellar mad. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Guys I’m under here. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Look at the size difference between these Stella’s. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

I’m leaving! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Just a kiss. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Splash! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

A large male Stellar Sea Lion throwing his weight around. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Stellars out for a swim. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Hi! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Peeking out at us! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.