May 19, 2024 - T124A2s and T124Ds in English Bay, as well as a mini-humpback land!
It’s always a good day when we get to send our boats out into the Salish Sea and look for wildlife! Today we had two vessels doing this; one open boat and our semi-covered vessel. Both boats started the journey by heading south into Northumberland Channel and then into the protected waters of the Southern Gulf Islands. We searched around here, hoping that something would show up, and it did! It wasn’t one of our boats that found them this time, but boats from Vancouver. The whales were spending time in English Bay, among the large freighters anchored outside Vancouver waiting for their turn to head into the Harbour to load their cargo.
Upon hearing that there were orca on the other side of the Strait, we decided to cross over to see them. Although the wind was dying down, there were still some waves that we had to face to get to the orca. Luckily our expert captains navigated them safely and we saw two pods of Orca travelling together!
We snapped some photos and quickly figured out it was two pods of orca that had been spending lots of time together this year: the T124A2s and the T124Ds! That means that the following whales were present:
T124A2 Elkugu ♀ (2001)
T124A2A Agafia ♂ (2013)
T124A2B Litton ♀ (2016)
T124D Field ♀ (1996)
T124D1 Salish II (2014)
T124D3 (2022)
When we first spent time with them they were quickly heading west among the large ships at anchor, close to the shallows. After spending a few minutes with these whales, we realized that there were a lot of boats around them. To help minimize the impact whale-watching has on the animals, we decided it would be best to leave them for now and explore the area a bit before continuing our watch with the orca when it was less crowded.
Lucky for us, the area just north of where we were is one of our favourites due to the breathtaking scenery of the coastal mountains towering over the Glacially carved islands and coves. We headed in there for a quick break before heading back to where the whales had travelled to. It seemed they were heading south, off the sandbanks east of the mainland that form at the mouth of the Frasier River. These sandbanks are formed by the fast river water picking up small particles as it runs 1,378 km throughout BC. It is the largest river in all of British Columbia! This is also why Vancouver was founded there, as it is an important transport route in BC.
What the whales like about the area is that this river provides an influx of nutrients that are more common in land-based ecosystems and rarer in the ocean, meaning this is a high-productivity area. The high productivity brings animals throughout the food chain here to feed, which is what we thought these whales might have been attempting to do. They were spread out over about a mile, in three groups of two. The Matriarchs stuck with their youngest each, while the oldest kids spent time together further away.
While we were with them, they didn’t have any success, but it was still great to watch them travelling through the waters of the Salish Sea.
Soon our time with them was up, and we started the journey home. The winds had died right down, making it a beautiful trip back. Along the way we spotted something, and then more somethings, it was blows! From their size, we figured it was humpback whales, and sure enough, we saw the small dorsal fins and tail rising from the water confirming our suspicions. It was a mini humpback land! The open boat first found Crackle (BCY0523calf2019) travelling by themself. The semi-covered boat went to the other set of blows with two other whales travelling together: Kelpie (BCY1276) and Spock (BCY1134)! In addition to these whales there was another set of whales to the south of us, and what looked to be another single individual close by. Since we were so low on time, we decided to let the farther whales remain a mystery while we spent time with these three.
After watching these gentle giants move in and out of the water, arching their backs and lifting their tails as they dove, we headed back to the Nanaimo Harbour. Even with some waves early on, it turned out to be a fantastic day! The Marine Naturalists onboard Des Poier and Lucy Willis captured some amazing photos during the tour, all of which can be viewed below!
A very curious little Harbour Seal stretching its neck out to take a peek over the rocks at Sticky Rock. Photo by Des Poier.
Synchronized napping from a couple of Harbour Seals. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Adorable little Harbour Seals on the rocks. Photo by Lucy Willis.
This Steller Sea Lion seemed to be practicing Yoga. Photo by Des Poier.
A lovely cuddle puddle of Sea Lions. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Our Semi-covered vessel Kula with Vancouver in the background. Photo by Des Poier.
T124D Field surfacing with her youngest T124D3 just behind her. Photo by Lucy Willis.
A great look at T124D Field’s dorsal fin and eye patch as she swiftly moved through the water. Photo by Lucy Willis.
T124A2A Agafia on the left and T124D1 Salish II surfacing together. Photo by Des Poier.
T124D Field and T124D3 surfacing together. Photo by Des Poier.
T124D Field with T124D3 just breaking the surface in front of her. Photo by Des Poier.
We believe this is T124D Field surfacing with water coming off of her dorsal fin. From this angle, it’s hard to tell for sure! Photo by Des Poier.
T124A2B Litton with her distinct notch midway down her dorsal fin. Photo by Lucy Willis.
T124D Field in front of T124D3. Photo by Lucy Willis.
T124A2B Litton on the left with her mom T124A2 Elkugu on the right. Photo by Lucy Willis.
T124A2 Elkugu surfacing with a Loon close to her. Given the loon is likely about 0.75m (2.5 feet) long, it puts the size of the orca into perspective. Photo by Lucy Willis.
The Canadian Coast Guard Hovercraft in action! Photo by Des Poier.
We got to see lots of planes taking off, given we were so close to the Vancouver Airport. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Crackle arching their back to dive. Photo by Des Poier.
A small look at the underside of Crackle’s tail flukes, which we used to ID them. Photo by Des Poier.
Some of the underside of Spock’s tail flukes. Photo by Des Poier.
Kelpie has scarring all over their body from a healed skin condition. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Look at all the barnacles on Kelpie’s tail! Photo by Lucy Willis.
Spocks very hooked dorsal fin. Photo by Lucy Willis.
Spock lifting his tail to prepare to dive Photo by Lucy Willis.
A much better look at the underside of Spock’s tail, which was used to confirm his ID! Photo by Lucy Willis.