May 26, 2023 - T100's, T123's, T124A's, and T124A1 travelling through Pylades Channel

We left the Nanaimo Harbour on May 26, excited to see what the day would hold for us! We had two shore-based reports that we were looking for this morning, so we started the day by searching. We started by heading south through Northumberland Channel, into Dodd Narrows. Although it was a bit wavy when we left the harbour once we got into the protection of the Southern Gulf Islands, it was like driving on a mirror! Smooth conditions made for easy spotting, and we were sure we could find those orca! We ended up following Stuart Channel South until it turned into Trincomali, and then finally we heard word that another vessel had found been successful in their search! The thing about shore based reports is you don’t always know where they went afterwards, so using teamwork is very important. We started to turn around, but not before getting a surprise visit from a bunch of Harbour Porpoises! There must have been at least 15 of them in a few different groups, but we got some amazing looks at them before they disappeared beneath the surface once more.

After the turn, it was a return journey North, where the orca had just passed through Gabriola Pass! Funnily enough, we had just been here looking for them about an hour beforehand.

After the searching, it was amazing to see 14 black dorsal fins cutting the surface of the water together and the corresponding blows as each whale took a breath at the surface. The whales that we got to see today were:

T100 Hutchins ♀ (~1979)
T100C Laurel ♂ (2002)
T100E Tharaya ♀ (2009)
T100F Estrella (2014)

T123 Sidney ♀ (~1985)
T123A Stanley ♂ (2000)
T123C Lucky ♀ (2012)
T123D Darcy ♀ (2018)

T124A Kittiwake ♀ (1984)
T124A4 Sabio ♀ (2010)
T124A4A (2021)
T124A6 Kasuun ♂ (2016)
T124A7 ♀ (2021)

T124A1 Bonapartes ♀ (1996)

Although, the T123s separated from the rest of the group after a few minutes of watching them and we spent the majority of our time with the T100s and T124As instead! Interestingly, Bonapartes usually doesn’t travel with the rest of her family and instead lives a solo life, but being social creatures having a family reunion isn’t out of the ordinary.

We got to watch these whales as they tried to make up their minds about where they would go from here, as the T123s decided back out Gabriola Pass was the best option, and the others decided to go north, through False Narrows! This very shallow passageway isn’t deep enough for us to be able to take our vessels safely through, but the orca don’t mind the shallows. The 10 orca swam through, likely rubbing their bellies on the ground along the way. We decided to take the safer route, since our time was almost up with them anyways, back around the DeCourcy Island group, and back through Dodd Narrows to where we picked them back up on the other side. It was clear that socialization time was over, and they were in travel mode instead! We stayed with them for the remainder of our hour, then it was time for other wildlife! It was a fun time, with the captain having to work double time since the orca were going in the same direction that we wanted to! We stopped to see the Sea Lions Hauled out on the log booms surrounding Harmac Pulp Mill, who seemed unbothered that their main predator was only a few hundred meters away. Next, we made the stop at the Gabriola Bluffs, drinking in the spectacular sandstone cliff system and the cormorants that are using those cliffs to nest in.

As we turned to head back to the harbour, the orca were right in the way again, so we got to slowly move around them, getting one final look before the tour was over. You never really know what a trip will hold, like today, where our search took us over 60 miles through the Salish Sea, and we ended up leaving the whales not a mile outside the Nanaimo Harbour!

Even with a bit more travel time, you can’t ask for a much better tour than this! All the photos from the day were taken by Naturalist Val Watson and can be viewed below!

Most of the ladies of the T124A matriline! Left to right: T124A4 Sabio, T124A Kittiwake (back), and T124A1 Bonapartes (middle) with one of the youngsters at the rear.

T100C Laurel - look at that intense scarring on his saddlepatch!

Kittiwake in front of T124A7 (back left) and Bonapartes (back right).

T100F Estrella in front of mom, T100 Hutchins.

From left to right: T100C Laurel, T100 Hutchins, T100F Estrella, and T124A1 Bonepartes!

T100C Laurel - can you spot something strange in this photo? Answer in the next photo!

T100C Laurel had a bunch of kelp on his dorsal!

The speckles help these guys camoflauge!

Not only are those teeth good for defense against orca, but they also do a great job scratching that itch!

Pigeon guillimont coming in for a landing!

A couple of Cormorants returning to the cliffs.

Jilann LechnerMay 26, 2023WhalesComment