May 20, 2024 - The T124A2s and T124Ds together still, plus Wiggins and Squirrel the humpbacks!
It was another beautiful, sunny, day when we left the dock on May 20th, and you’re never going to guess where we ended up!
Usually, it’s uncommon to see the same group of whales in the same area multiple days in a row, but for whatever reason this year the orca are loving Howe Sound! There was a shore-based report of whales there again today, so we decided to head in that direction. Just like yesterday, we saw the T124A2s and T124Ds travelling together and they were in English Bay again! The whales seen were:
T124A2 Elkugu ♀ (2001)
T124A2A Agafia ♂ (2013)
T124A2B Litton ♀ (2016)
T124D Field ♀ (1996)
T124D1 Salish II (2014)
T124D3 (2022)
By the time we caught up with these whales, it seemed like they were travelling south towards Sandheads and feeling a bit social. The vast majority of the time we spend with the whales is spent travelling since a single pod of orca might travel up to 100 miles in a single day. They take breaks throughout the day to eat, sometimes to socialize, and to sleep. Although it might not seem like these two pods have travelled much given we found them in about the same area as yesterday, they must have given their direction. Yesterday we left them travelling south, looking like they were heading towards the American Border, and then the shore-based reports this morning had them back deep in Howe Sound. Although it was in a big loop, that’s still a lot of ground to cover!
But why would they be returning to the same spot day after day? Well, orca seem to have some level of routine to their actions, with different pods favouring different areas, so if they are having lots of food here and are enjoying themselves, why not stick around? It just seems strange to us, as there is a major shipping lane and so many large vessels concentrated in this area, but orca can be very hard to understand sometimes. We still love getting these small glimpses into their lives during our tours, even when it leaves us with more questions like this!
After our hour, we left the orca to their travels and started the trip home, but we were interrupted partway across by some humpback whales! From our photos, we IDed two different whales present: Wiggins (BCX1602calf2022) and Squirrel (BCX2183).
Both of these whales are relatively young, with Squirrel being born in 2020 in Alaska, and Wiggins being a 2022 calf from a more northern whale (usually seen along Northern Vancouver Island). Given that humpbacks have high site fidelity (meaning that they return to the same area each year consistently) it’s surprising that some of the younger whales seem to be going against where their parents usually feed. We have seen Squirrel consistently in our waters during the summer since 2021, and Wiggins we saw multiple times last year (2023) as well! These young whales choosing the Salish Sea as their new feeding grounds is a great indicator of a healthy ecosystem that can support all of these giants!
We eventually left these humpbacks behind to their feeding and made a quick stop to see Seals and Sea Lions at Stinky Rock before returning to Nanaimo. The best photos from the day taken by Marine Naturalists Des Poier and Vanessa Vereschahen can be viewed below!
Left to right: T124A2A Agafia, T124A2 Elkugu, and T124A2B Litton. Photo by Des Poier.
T124A2 Elkugu. Photo by Des Poier.
The whole family! Left to right: T124A2 Elkugu (dorsal tip), T124A2B Litton, and T124A2A Agafia. From this photo we are able to ID Agafia from his eyepatch shape, as well as the fact he has a little black freckle in it! Photo by Des Poier.
T124D Field and T124A2B Litton. Photo by Des Poier.
T124D Field. Photo by Des Poier.
T124A2 Elkugu - another whale we can ID from her eyepatch, due to its “pacman”-shaped front tip! Photo by Des Poier.
T124A2 Elkugu and T124A2A Agafia. Photo by Des Poier.
T124D Field and T124D1 Salish II. Photo by Des Poier.
T124A2 Elkugu. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
the right side of Wiggins’ dorsal fin. Photo by Des Poier.
The underside of Wiggins tail as they prepare to dive. Photo by Des Poier.
The left side of Wiggins’ dorsal fin. Photo by Des Poier.
A slightly sideways fluke from Wiggins. Photo by Des Poier.
A lovely fluke waterfall as Wiggins prepares to dive. Photo by Des Poier.
The underside of Wiggins tail. Very pretty! Photo by Des Poier.
Another fluke waterfall from Wiggins.Photo by Des Poier.
What a great look at the ID features on Wiggins’ flukes! Photo by Des Poier.
The underside of Squirrels Tail Flukes. Photo by Des Poier.
Wiggins’ right dorsal. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Wiggins preparing to dive. those pink things are Whale Lice! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A cute little chunky Harbour Seal! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
A California Sea Lion holding his feets. Photo by Des Poier.
Look at the size difference between the large male in the middle compared to the females and Juveniles. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Look at the double chin on this Steller Sea Lion. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Look at his Mane! Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Rawr. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Cormorants on the Dead Tree at the Gabriola Bluffs. Photo by Des Poier.
A couple of Pelagic Cormorants on the Gabriola Bluffs. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
Dinner on the Wing. Photo by Des Poier.
A young Gull on the water. Photo by Vanessa Vereschahen.
the lovely sandstone cliffs along Gabriola Island. Photo by Des Poier.
The Bald Eagles in the nest along Gabriola. Photo by Des Poier.