August 10, 2023, 10:30 - A T-party close to home and plenty of humpbacks!
The orca spotted on this morning’s t-party tour included the following:
T137 Loon (~1984)
T137A Jack (2002)
T137B Tempest (2006)
T137D Wright (2012)
T034 Grace (~1969)
T034A Pachamama (2007)
T034B Sonder (2017)
T002C Tasu (1989)
T002C1 Rocky (2002)
T002C3 Lucy (2011)
T002C5 Zippy (2020 calf)
T037 Pizzafin/Rocky III (1979)
T037B Harald (1998)
T037B1 Lance (2012)
T037B3 (2022 calf)
A t-party occurs when multiple different orca family pods spend time together. T parties are always one of our favourites, especially when there are family ties involved. Today we have four different generations of orcas present. T034 Grace is the mother of T034A Pachamama, T034B Sonder and T037 Rocky III, the grandmother of T037B Harald and the great-grandmother of T037B1 Lance and T037B3. Today ended up being a T034 matriline reunion, along with the T002C and T137 family pods.
Each family pod is led by the matriarch and all other members of the family pod are her offspring. The matriarch is responsible for teaching her young how to hunt and socialize with other orcas. Family pods have their own unique sounds that they make, leading scientists to believe that they have names for one another.
This morning our group of orcas were very close to land, appearing within the Northumberland Channel along the coast of Gabriola Island, and performing numerous tail slaps along the way.
Also spotted today were humpback whales. On this morning's tour, we saw the following humpbacks:
Ghost’s 2021 calf, an Unknown, Valiant (BCX1773), and Sherwina (BCY0961)!
Our boats today saw two different groups of humpback whales. One group of two consisted of Ghost’s 2021 calf and an unknown. The best way to ID humpback whales is by getting a photo of the underside of their tail, as it’s unique and acts like a fingerprint to help us determine what humpbacks we are watching. Today our unknown humpback whale was only showing off their dorsal fin, which can be helpful for IDing but not enough to identify them today. Also spotted together today were Valiant and Sherwina. Valiant is a 6-year-old whale that is the calf of a female known as Split Fluke. Valiant has a very unique tail, as he survived an orca attack when he was a young calf. As Valiant grows, his orca rake marks grow with him, creating the appearance that he was attacked by orcas with very far-apart teeth.
Photos during the tour today were taken by Naturalists Val Watson, Aly Kohlman and Des Poier.
Ghost’s 2021 calf. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The underside of Ghost’s 2021 calf’s fluke. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The underside of Valiant’s tail fluke. Photo by Val Watson.
A tail in the air to the left of T034 Grace. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T037B Harald travelling with their new calf. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
From left to right: T137A Jack, T002C3 Lucy, and T137B Tempest. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T137D Wright lifting her tail out of the water. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A tail out of the air beside T137A Jack. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
One of the t-party members on their side showing off a pectoral fin and sideways fluke behind T037B1 Lance. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T037B Harald travelling in close quarters with T034 Grace and T137 Loon. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
From left to right; T137B Tempest, T034 Grace, T137D Wright, and T137 Loon. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A gull who did a fly-by of our boats. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A great look at the young calf! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T137B Tempest in front of her mom, T137 Loon. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
T034 Grace surfacing in Northumberland Channel. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A young whale travelling with T034 Grace and T137 Loon. Photo by Des Poier.
A big t-party photo! Photo by Des Poier.
T002C Tasu travelling with her son, T002C1 Rocky. Photo by Des Poier.
T002C Rocky and T002C Tasu travelling together. Photo by Des Poier.
Some T-party action featuring T137A Jack. Photo by Des Poier.
T037B1 Lance travelling T137 Loon. with Photo by Val Watson.
A very photogenic Turkey Vulture. Photo by Val Watson.
Another big t-party photo! How many whales can you see? Photo by Val Watson.
T037B1 Lance with another surfacing right behind. Photo by Val Watson.
T137B Tempest behind T034 Grace. Photo by Val Watson.
T137A Jack surfacing in front of T034 Grace. Photo by Val Watson.
T037B Harald with her new calf T037B3 and her other son, T037B1 Lance. Photo by Val Watson.
T137A Jack is sporting a few new scars. Photo by Val Watson.
T137A Jack possibly looking for food in the log booms in Northumberland Channel. Photo by Val Watson.
Some cute Harbour Seals on the rocks. Photo by Des Poier.
A Harbour Seal pup suckling on its mom! It’s not molting either, it’s just half dry, half wet! Photo by Val Watson.
Harbour Seals looking curiously at the boat. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
An adult bald eagle keeping an eye on us from the pine tree. Photo by Val Watson.
Actually, two Bald Eagles watching over us. Photo by Val Watson.
A young Cormorant in the water near Gabriola Bluffs. Photo by Val Watson.
A couple of Cormorants on the Cliffs. Photo by Val Watson.
Check out the wingspan on this guy drying himself off. Photo by Val Watson.
Feeding time! Yes, the other cormorant’s head inside the mouth of the other. Photo by Val Watson.
You can see the head of the other one sticking out the neck of the adult. Photo by Val Watson.
Surf birds on the rocks near the Harbour Seals. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A young gull exploring the Gabriola Bluffs. Photo by Aly Kohlman.