We have been super lucky lately to be getting so many double species days so early in the season. A double species day is when we get to see two different species of whale in a single trip. Most of the time, like today, the two species are humpback whales and Killer Whales, or orca, although a Gray Whale will occasionally be thrown in the mix this time of year.

Today we started the journey with one of our vessels searching in the Strait of Georgia, along the Southern Gulf Islands, while the other boat took Dodd Narrows to search the inside passageways. Since there is such a large area to cover spreading the fleet is important, as it allows us to increase the amount of area that is checked for whales. The same goes for communication between companies, since we share sightings there is lots of communication that goes on so that all the boats in the north aren’t searching the same area. This came into play today, as our Semi-Covered boat had the Naturalist call out a sighting! It was a humpback whale and it was getting ready to dive! As we watched it dip below the surface we knew that it meant this whale wasn’t going to surface again for anywhere between 5-45 minutes. This became a waiting game, as we patiently bobbed in the waves, waiting for it to reappear. After no joy, and no luck on the inside from our other vessel another company spotted our whale nearby two others about half a mile from where we were as they were on the way to us!

These whales were cooperating much more, and were even showing off their tails to us! It was easy to ID Europa (BCX0854) and Moresby (BCY0324calf2022) travelling together. We’ve noticed a pattern in the humpbacks that we have seen so far this year, with it being younger whales, and females that had a calf last year. This would logically make sense, given that this demographic would have less to do down in the breeding grounds, and might be inclined to leave earlier. Although this is just speculation, it is an interesting theory! Soon the open boat joined up with the other and also got to watch as Europa and Moresby surface in sync with each other.

Towards the end of our time with the Humpbacks, we received a shore-based report of a pod of orca right along the path that would take us home, so we decided to go check it out. Along the way we also stopped at Sticky Rock to have a short visit with the Pinnipeds that were hauled out there, the Steller Sea Lions and the Harbour seals.

Soon it was back into search mode, and again the Naturalist called out! The orca were spotted towards shore of us. They were spread out across the channel and heading north, towards Dodd Narrows, so soon the family got funneled together by the islands and we could confirm it was the T023s! That means the following 5 whales were present:

T023 Janice/Warmsprings ♀ (≤1964)
T023D Axle/Brighty ♀ (1993)
T023D3 Robin ♂ (2012)
T023D4 Sixx (2015)
T023D5 (2019)

They were in full travel mode, heading quickly into the narrows and passing through the intense current without any issues, they then continued up northumberland channel and we left them heading out into the Strait of Georgia. They had become slightly more playful with each other at this point, with some tail flicks and more exuberant surfaces happening from the youngest member.

We stopped one more time for the Gabriola Bluffs seeing the cormorants nesting in the cliffs, the breathtaking formations in the sandstone, and finally checking in with the nesting bald eagles nearby.

It was a great trip getting to see all of this wildlife and the best moments captured by the marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Lucy Willis are below for you to see!

May 10, 2024 - Double Species Day!

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