July 13, 2023, 10:30 - A very Humpback filled morning with Moresby, Zig Zag, and her calf

It was a wonderful morning spent on the water on July 13th. We had two boats that left the Nanaimo Harbour for the 10:30 am departure and headed out to search the Salish Sea. Both boats ended up seeing humpback whales today! One vessel got to spend time with a young whale, Moresby! Moresby is the 2022 calf of a rather famous Salish Sea Humpback; Big Mama. Big Mama was one of the first humpbacks to return to the waters here and Moresby is her 8th calf! Today he was playing with some kelp which had gathered on the tide line, in an activity known as kelping! Kelping is a fun, tactile behaviour for the humpbacks as they let kelp and seagrass drape across their bodies. Other than it feeling good, there aren’t many other ideas as to why the whales will do this behaviour.

While one boat was enjoying watching this playful behaviour from Moresby, the other was seeing playful behaviour from another whale. They spent time with Zig Zag (BCX1193) and her new calf! The calf was playing around with its pectoral fins flopping in and out of the water. It seemed the boat was left on babysitting duty, as Zig Zag herself did longer feeding dives while the calf stayed at the surface to play around. After it got bored, or mom got full, they started travelling south down the Strait of Georgia.

From here, one boat did a quick stop with the Steller Sea Lions that have been hanging out on the Halibut Bank Buoy. the buoy is a great place since it is right on top of the bank. These areas mix the water column when the tide changes since the tidal wave hit this shallower area. This helps mix the water up and introduce nutrients that might otherwise be uncommon. This is probably why the sea lions are hanging out here since the high productivity would draw in their food.

Soon both boats started to head back to Nanaimo, stopping along the Gabriola Island shoreline to get one last look at the wildlife there, cormorants and Bald eagles!
It was a fantastic humpback-filled morning and the naturalists Val Watson and Aly Kolhman got some great photos which can be viewed below.

Moresby’s dorsal fin poking out of the water. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Moresby playing with a branch under a scenic mountain backdrop. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Moresby rolls around in sea grass. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Tail slap from Moresby. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

This behavior of playing in the sea grass and kelp is called Kelping! Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Moresby has a very beautiful white fluke which helps us to identify him! Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Peck slaps look like a humpback waving. Photo by Val Watson.

Zigzag before going for a dive. Photo by Val Watson.

Zigzags 2023 calf going for a dive. Photo by Val Watson.

Photo by Val Watson.

Water dripping off Zigzags fluke as she goes for a dive. Photo by Val Watson.

Notice how Zigzag’s fluke is almost all black and Moresby’s fluke is almost all white. These are features we use to help identify individuals! Photo by Val Watson.

Photo by Val Watson.

Photo by Val Watson.

Zigzag and her 2023 calf going for a dive together. Look at the size difference between mom and baby! Photo by Val Watson.

An elusive harbour porpoise. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Stellar sealions trying to get the best spot on the haul out. Photo by Val Watson.

The circular scarring on this sealion was potentially caused by a cookie-cutter shark, ouch! Photo by Val Watson.

Harbour seal giving us some side-eye. Photo by Val Watson.

A bald eagle with feathers on its beak, this is most likely left over from its lunch. Photo by Val Watson.

Cormorant resting on the branch of a tree. Photo by Val Watson.

Mom cormorant feeding her baby at the Gabriola bluffs. Photo by Val Watson.

Cormorants sunning themselves. Photo by Aly Kohlman.

Ocher sea stars waiting for the tide to come back in. Photo by Val Watson.

Honey combing on the Gabriola bluffs. Photo by Val Watson.

Our beautiful semi-covered vessel Kula. Photo by Val Watson.

The coast guard hover craft enjoying a day out in the Georgia Strait. Photo by Aly Kohlman.