September 1, 2023, 10:30 - Elusive whales, but we spent the day with Harbour Seals, Sea Lions and plenty of Birds!

One of the most beautiful things here in the Salish Sea is our Whales are Wild, this means they go and do what they want when they want. This sometimes means we do not get the chance to see them. When this happens all our guests will receive vouchers to come out with us again!

We are so fortunate to have beautiful scenery and a lot of interesting animals here on our coast. The Cormorant for example is a unique bird, these birds do something extraordinary! They can dive over 100 feet or 30 meters to catch their fish! How do they do this? They use their wings just like rudders and paddle with their webbed feet. They can do this because their feathers are not waterproof and they have dense bones, giving them the ability to stalk prey underwater. This also makes them able to maneuver quickly and easily to catch those speedy fish. They also have another secret weapon that makes them efficient hunters. They have remarkable vision under the water. The lens in their eye can change shape, much more than a humans, giving them the ability to focus on fish! Now because those feathers allow the water to penetrate the Cormorant feathers and the skin gets wet, they have to dry off in the sun and wind! Keep your eyes peeled and I’m sure you’ll spot one with wings spread out in the sun doing just that.

Photos by Marine Naturalists Cheyenne Brewster, Des Poier, and Vanessa Vereschahen.

Chubby, fuzzy Harbour Seals. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Beach party! Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Harbour Seals all in a row! Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Stellar Sea Lions. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

Large male Stellar Sea Lion in the middle, can you see the size difference? Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.

A row of Stellar Sea Lions. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

The bridge connecting North Pender and South Pender Islands. Photo by Des Poier.

Photo by Des Poier.

A Gull eying up lunch. Photo by Des Poier.

Cormorant coming in for a landing. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

Cormorants drying in the sun! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.

The Gabriola Bluffs in all their glory! Photo by Des Poier.