June 14th, 2023 10:30 - Fin-footed mammals and Birds of Prey in the Gulf Islands
We had our full fleet out and about today as we began our quest for whales. As we scanned the waterways we stopped at a couple of our favourite islands to check out our other wildlife. Today, we spotted Harbour seals, sea lions, Bald eagles, and Turkey vultures!
There were a number of Turkey vultures wandering around the islands today. While many consider these birds ‘ugly’, they are incredibly important for our ecosystem. Turkey vultures are one of nature’s best cleanup crews, helping break down carrion and other waste all over North America. Our vulture population is doing very well, but sadly vultures in other parts of the world are not fairing as well. Currently, 7 of Africa’s 11 species of vultures are highly endangered. Poisoned carrion (both intentionally and unintentionally) is one of the leading reasons for the vulture population decline. Authorities have been using vultures to locate poachers in recent years to help stop the decline of other species, such as elephants and rhinos. Thankfully these populations are now a global focus and people from all around the world have rallied to help try and preserve these species for generations to come.
It is currently pupping season for our Harbour seals, so we are beginning to see lots of adorable pup faces amongst the adults as we observe our seals. Seals are mammals like humans, so they nurse for the first portion of their lives. Seal milk is incredibly rich, being roughly 50% fat. This super-rich milk makes the pups grow incredibly quickly. Seal pups only nurse for 3 to 4 weeks, and at this time the young ones will double in size. Once they are weaned they are taught to forage by their mothers, and shortly after, they will leave their mother’s side and start living their own life. While the average lifespan of a Harbour seal is only about 9 years, there have been cases of Harbour seals living into their 20s in the wild. The oldest known Harbour seal in the world, known as Skinny, just celebrated her 48th birthday at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
”Stinky Rocks”, a small group of rocky islets off of Valdez Island, was another place we checked out. We have one absolutely massive Steller sea lion male that has claimed the Southern tip of the area for his own. Quite often we can see him lumbering along, causing the smaller sea lions to scatter and dive into the water all around him.
Another one of our favourite wildlife stops is to check in on one of our active Bald eagle nests. Typically, eagle nests are attended by two parents (a female and a male) and on average a clutch consists of two eggs. This particular nest has at least one feisty chick in it. Early spotters did originally see two chicks in the nest, but we are uncertain if they are both still present.
There have been some interesting cases over the years of eagles ‘breaking the norm’, such as this trio of eagles raising chicks together. Last year on Gabriola Island, there was a pair of Bald eagles that surprised the world when they raised a Red-Tailed hawk alongside their own Eaglet. One of the reasons we love observing eagle nests is because you never really know what you will see going on from day to day!
Our last stop of the day was to check out the Gabriola Bluffs to see our Cormorants busily attending their nests. This cliffside becomes absolutely filled with these stunning iridescent birds every summer as they gather together to raise their chicks. Today we saw an odd sight - it looked like there were 6 cormorants all squished together in a single nest - that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “full house”!
None of our whales have trackers or tags, which can mean it is sometimes tricky to locate our whales as we mostly rely on sight to spot them. Sometimes they are very elusive and we cannot find them during a trip - today was one of those tours. However, everyone on board was given vouchers and will be able to join us again to see whales at another time!
Today’s photos were taken by Marine Naturalists Val Watson, Cheyenne Brewster, and Aly Kohlman.
Photo by Val Watson.
Big yawn! Photo by Val Watson.
Photo by Val Watson.
Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
A Harbour Porpoise. Photo by Val Watson.
Sleepy California sea lion. Photo by Val Watson.
Stinky Rocks, with the ‘King of the Hill’ (AKA our giant Steller sea lion male) present. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Another chunky male Steller sea lion. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A River otter between the rocks. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Looking for snacks. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A wake of Turkey Vultures. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Turkey vultures and a Bald eagle. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
One of our active Eagle nests - can you spot the eaglet? Photo by Val Watson.
That is an angry looking Eaglet! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Photo by Aly Kohlman.