October 16, 2024 - Two humpbacks and a pod of orca right outside the harbour!
It was bright and sunny and the waters were flat and calm when we started today’s adventure. Pair that with the fact we got word of both orca AND humpbacks being close to our port, we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day!
We found our first whales very shortly after pushing off the dock - our first whales were a pod of orca! However, we only got a quick glimpse of them before they dove and vanished. This can sometimes happen as our whales are capable of staying under the water for extended periods of time so sometimes we lose track of them. On top of that, all of our whales are free of trackers and tags, so even though we know the general area of where they are, they can easily duck out of sight by changing direction. That’s alright though as we headed out again and found a pair of humpbacks instead!
This duo was meandering slowly together, fluking and diving. We identified these two as Niagara (BCY0057), a well-known 24-year-old male, and Bullet (BCX1658), a frequently sighted female first spotted in 2015. While we usually identify our humpbacks by the underside of their flukes, Niagara has a distinct white patch on the top of his fluke which we can use to identify him - see if you can spot this patch in the photos below!
We are nearing the end of the feeding season for our humpbacks, which means they will be leaving our area very soon. Our humpbacks have two distinct breeding grounds: The Hawaii Breeding Grounds and the Mexico Breeding Grounds. Both Bullet and Niagara are known to go to the Hawaii breeding grounds. We suspect these two will be departing within the next couple of weeks to start their journey there. It’s always sad to see them leave, but we are always excited to see who brings back bouncing new babies next spring!
Once our time with Niagara and Bullet was up we turned back towards Nanaimo to try our luck finding those orca again. We began scanning when they popped up in Northumberland Channel, the waterway that separates Vancouver Island and Gabriola Island! It didn’t take us long to identify these whales as the T099s thanks to T099B Holly’s very distinct dorsal:
T099 Bella ♀ (~1984)
T099B Holly ♀ (2007)
T099C Barakat ♂ (2009)
T099D Puck ♂ (2015)
T099E ♀ (2021)
These 5 whales were making their way steadily towards Dodd Narrows, a small waterway that connects the Southern Gulf Islands to the edge of Northumberland Channel. They weren’t up to anything particular during our encounter - it seemed like they were busy just travelling along. Our Transient orca can travel over 160 kilometres in a single day, so when they have a destination in mind, they can cover a lot of ground (er, water)!
After departing our orca, we headed out to find other wildlife. Northumberland Channel is a great place to check out, as we can find quite a few different species just minutes away from each other. Our first stop was at the Harmac log booms, where we caught sight of three different species: our loud and grumbly Steller sea lions, our barking California sea lions, and a lone River otter! These log booms are a good place for any fish-eating animal to rest as Dodd Narrows, which is just around the corner, offers a nearly endless supply of food. It is common to see our sea lions bounding through the rapids with large salmon in their teeth. They will then slap the salmon on the surface, breaking it into smaller, more manageable bites. At this point Gulls will begin to swarm, picking off any scraps that are bobbing along in the water.
We got a couple of good shots of our river otter and sea lions before turning towards Gabriola Island to head to another one of our favourite wildlife stops. Along the coast of the island is the Gabriola Bluffs, a rocky shoreline where our Cormorants breed. This cliffside is also a nesting area for several Bald Eagle pairs, a Turkey Vulture pair, and even a Peregrine Falcon pair! Once we had our time with the birds we turned back towards Nanaimo which was only a short trip away, wrapping up another great day out on the water!
Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalist Des Poier!
Niagara’s top fluke - he has a distinct white spot as seen here.
Niagara’s fluke. Can you see where he got his name from?
Bullet’s fluke.
Niagara travelling with the tip of Bullet’s dorsal visible beside him.
Niagara diving and Bullet preparing to do the same.
T099C Barakat with his older sister T099B Holly behind him, travelling beside Jack Point.
T099C Barakat - he’s beginning to sprout/go through puberty!
Matriarch T099 Bella.
T099 Bella with her youngest son T099D Puck beside her.
T099B Holly with her distinct dorsal fin.
T099E is getting big now!
T099B Holly and T099D Puck.
T099B Holly with the tip of T099D Puck’s dorsal visible.
T099C Barakat.
Side eye from a large Steller sea lion.
A California Sea lion striking a pose on the Harmac log booms.
A very wet River otter waddles along the log booms.
Cormorants at the Gabriola Bluffs.
A Bald Eagle perching.