The day was calm and sunny as our semi-covered vessel Kula left the dock and headed out into the Salish Sea to see what wildlife would await us. The plan was to head into the Strait of Georgia, the body of water that separates the mainland of BC from Vancouver island in the southern sections, and head over towards the Sunshine Coast.

As we were on our way passing by Five Finger Island, we noticed some large, tan, blobs on the rocky shoreline. From a distance, these could be mistaken for logs, but our experts onboard knew that they had just found a small Steller Sea Lion haul out!

This island was supporting a handful of very large males. The Steller Sea Lions are the Largest Sea Lion in the world, with these big males weighing in at about 2,800 pounds! Today they were pretty entertaining to watch as squabbles broke out, they jumped to and from the water, and we even got to see them lifting their flippers trying to thermoregulate!

While spending time watching these guys we also noticed another set of animals higher up on the rocks. It was a couple of Bald Eagles. If you didn’t know what you were looking at it might be hard to believe that the two birds are the same species. The adult bald eagles are what you typically think of when thinking of these birds since they have the classic white head and tail that is their namesake, but did you know that they don’t develop this until they are 5 years old? Until then they are entirely brown, with more white getting added in as they age.

After a little bit, we left these animals behind and started the search for whales in the Strait. Thanks to some guests onboard, we knew that there were some whales spotted from the Hullo ferry earlier in the day when they were heading to Nanaimo. We headed in the direction of that sighting to see if we would be able to pick them up. After searching the sighting area, and the surrounding area to account for travel, we unfortunately didn’t have any luck and continued the search south to look for other pods.

Along the way, we ended up spotting something in the distance which looked like blows. Soon we saw orca travelling through the water, but looking at our photos, we determined these to be members of the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW), a critically endangered population which we don’t watch. Once we knew they were the SRKW we left them behind to continue their foraging undisturbed.

We continued our search up the east shore of Galiano Island then took Porlier Pass to enter the Southern Gulf Islands, stopping to see some adorable Harbour Seals that were hauled out on the rocks. These guys are pinnipeds, just like the sea lions are, but they are much smaller and less mobile on land. We got to see them all galumph into the water as our boat approached, which is always interesting to watch.

After leaving behind the seals we started the journey north through Stuart Channel, back towards Nanaimo. We headed through Dodd Narrows, up Northumberland Channel, and back into the Harbour. Since the only whales we found today we didn’t stay with, it means that each of the guests onboard will get the chance to come out with us again for free!

Even without spending time with whales, it’s always amazing to spend time in the Salish Sea with all of the other wildlife that calls it home. All of the photos from the tour today were taken by the Marine Naturalist onboad, Val Watson. Please enjoy them all below!

March 4, 2024 - A Salish Sea exploration!

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