Humpbackland seems to be in full swing, and so early in the year! We had two vessels out today who both headed into the Strait of Georgia in search of whales. It didn’t take long before we found some! It was just a single whale at first, Valiant (BCX1773), who we were very very excited to spot! There has been lots of talk about Valiant lately, as there was rumours of her being spotted down in the Mexico Breeding grounds with a calf. Being one of our favourites here, we couldn’t wait to confirm if that was true! Unfortunately, during our time spent with her, no calf ever appeared. Instead, Valiant met up with another adult whale: Europa (BCX0854) ! Europa is another known female, seeing as she has brought back multiple calves to the area.

These two were feeding in the area, going in big circles as we watched them. During our time with these whales, we saw a huge splash in the distance! It looked like another set of humpback whales! These two quickly showed us their flukes, it was Moresby (BCY0324 calf 2022) and Spock (BCY1134)! While we were approaching and throughout our time with them, Spock was slapping his tail basically non-stop! While we aren’t 100% sure why this sort of activity happens with our humpbacks, one of the leading theories is that it is used as long distance communication between the humpback whales. This seemed like the case today, as after not too long, we saw Valiant and Europa responding with tail slaps of their own in the distance!

There was one more group of humpbacks that made themselves known in the area, first spotted by their massive blows, and then they also joined in the tail slapping party! The main whale slapping their tail and doing cartwheels through the water was Olympus (BCX2075)! With a great look at her tail and distinct dorsal fin she was easy. She was spending time with Hendrix (BCY1278) and Crackle (BCY1227) today, who were also getting all riled up!

The two groups of whales continued slapping their tails, moving towards each other until they formed one larger group. Somehow during the action one more whale slipped into the group without us seeing where she came from, but it was Pop Tart (BCY1014)! This large group was being very social, with pectoral fins slapping, fast surfaces, and we could even hear trumpeting at the surface from some of the animals.

Even with all the excitement, it was soon time to leave these whales behind to their socializing, and we started heading south in the Strait to see what else we could find.

The open boat came across one last set of whales, but these ones were feeling less social and were concentrating on feeding instead. In the distance we saw Scoop (BCX0870) going for a dive, and closer we got a couple of surfaces with Seabird (BCX1774) who we were able to identify by her very unique dorsal fin markings!

Our next stop was for pinnipeds, with a bunch of small Harbour Seals hauled out on one of the small islands off of Gabriola Island. The harbour seals are some of our favourite because of how cute and quiet they are! IF you are lucky during pupping season, you can hear the seal pups calling out to their moms so she can find them on the beach! Our next visit however, was not a nice quiet experience. The Sea Lions can be very noisy and entertaining, with calls sounding like roars and fighting constantly breaking out amongst the haul-out area! It can be very fun to watch. Today it was the huge Steller Sea Lion males that stole the show, with their aggressive behaviour towards the smaller animals sharing the rocks with them.

Our final stop was along Gabriola Island, where we saw one of the Bald Eagles tending to their nest, while the other was likely off looking for food. Food these days looks like it includes lots of cormorants, as we can see the feathered remains of one on the edge of the nest.

The other draw to the Gabriola Bluffs is the cormorants themselves who are nesting on the sandstone cliffs. These birds are also very entertaining to watch, especially this time of year. You can see them flying in and out of the area, and if you’re lucky they will have some material in their beaks that is destined to become part of their nest. The semi-covered boat was also lucky enough to spot a Peregrine Falcon along the cliffs today!

Throughout this amazing trip, our onboard naturalists Aly Kohlman and Val Watson were capturing some amazing photos, all of which can be viewed below!

May 31, 2024 - Slapping Humpbacks Everywhere We Look!

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