March 24, 2023 - Pinnipeds, Eagles, Gulls, and a Great blue heron!

Our tour today began with Kula pushing off the dock and heading south, winding between the Gulf islands in search of whales and wildlife.

Our first wildlife of the day was a huge group of sea lions. Interestingly, both of our sea lions have been hauling out on the inside of the Southern Gulf islands this season. While it is common to find our California sea lions snoozing on log booms in the inner islands, our Steller sea lions are usually seen along the edge of the Georgia Strait. This year we’ve been spotting both of them nestled up on the rocks in some of our narrow island passages. While most of our sea lions were snoozing or asserting their dominance up on land, we did see a small raft of California sea lions swimming by, likely in search of lunch!

Our Harbour seals were being quite sleepy today. Most of them were snuggled up amongst the rocks and seaweed on Norway Island, but there were a couple individuals giving us the side eye while they swam around.

Norway Island is the epitome of everything that makes the West Coast special. It is covered in local tree species that our birds love to perch on and nest in, surrounded by rocky outcroppings that our wildlife like to snooze on, and close enough to Vancouver Island that it would only be a short boat trip back if you need anything!
Norway Island is currently for sale - who wouldn’t love to have their own 30 acre island!

Our Bald eagles weren’t being very cooperative for photos today, but we did manage to grab one shot of an adult perched near a younger individual. Bald eagles do not develop their signature white heads until roughly 5 years old, so it is quite common to see these ‘dusty’ brown individuals amongst the older raptors!

We also had a Great blue heron fly over head during our tour. These giant fisher birds have distinct calls that sounds like someone laughing or grumbling to themselves!

While we did not see whales today, we were able to see many other amazing species of the Salish Sea. Not to worry though! We are confident in our ability to show every guest an experience of a lifetime. Today’s guests were provided with Sightings Guarantee vouchers - this means they get to come out again for free!

Today’s photos were taken by Marine Naturalist Val Watson.

Lunch time!