July 8, 2024, 10:30 am - Humpbacks in the Strait
It was another beautiful, sunny day as our boats left Nanaimo and started their search for whales. With a heat wave hitting Nanaimo in the past few days, it was a relief to be heading onto the water with the ocean breeze and spray in the air. We had two boats out this morning, and we spread out to cover more ground in the search. When we start the day we usually don’t know what’s in store for us since the whales in BC aren’t tagged or tracked, outside of visually.
We decided to start searching the Strait of Georgia. Out here you have the chance to come across both species of whales during the travels. Today it was the large bushy blow of a humpback whale that we spotted in the distance! We headed over in that direction and were greeted by this gentle giant lifting their 20-foot tail into the air as they dipped below the surface on a dive.
This was great, given that the underside of this tail is the easiest way for us to ID the humpback whales. As you can imagine with a tail this size, there can be lots of scars, pigmentation, and notches that help us figure out who it is we are looking at. From looking at the photo that the quick-reflexed naturalist got of the whale, we knew this whale was Beak/Nuage (BCX1606)! Beak has a very dark tail, save for the large white streak near the center that looks like a bird’s beak! Typically Beak is what we call a “good fluker” meaning when he dives he consistently lifts his tail high out of the water.
This meant that we got plenty of fantastic looks at Beak’s tail flukes as we spent time with him. Our guess was that Beak was travelling as we were watching him since he was constantly moving in the same direction. Usually, when the humpbacks are feeding they will be less predictable as they are changing direction under the surface in chase of their prey. BC is the feeding ground for these humpbacks, and they have just recently returned from a long journey. Beak is known to spend his winters in Hawaii, as about 80% of our humpbacks do! While they spend time down south there isn’t as much food for them, so they are mostly using their fat reserves for energy and only feeding opportunistically. That means that building those fat reserves back up over the summer months is very important so that they will have more energy when they travel. They head down there since that’s where they breed and have calves. Beak is known to be Male, and at 10 years old, he would be of breeding age for a humpback. This means he will be competing with other males using large physical displays as well as singing for up to 24 hours at a time to impress the ladies! The humpbacks aren’t typically singing while they’re in our waters, they are just looking to fill their bellies!
Soon, it was time to leave Beak to his travels, and we continued on. The boats split, the captains having different favourite places to look for Sea Lions. One headed North to the White Islets and the other headed south, to Stinky Rocks. At both locations, the tours got to see Steller Sea Lions and Harbour Seals sunning themselves on the rocks. At White Islets there was the added excitement of the Baby Gulls that were following their parents around on the rocks!
Both boats started the journey back towards Nanaimo, but one was stopped by more blows in the distance. This time it was two pairs of humpback whales resting at the surface close to each other. When humpbacks are resting, you don’t usually get looks at their tails since they don’t need to dive deep. This was the case with 3 of these four whales, with just one cooperating and showing us their tail. Lucky for us, we were able to look at the dorsal fins of these whales and determine it to be the following whales: Split Fluke (BCX1068) associating with Dandelion (BCY1107) and Crater (BCX1565) associating with Smiley (BCY0995). Since we found these whales so late in the trip, we didn’t spend too long with them before returning to Nanaimo.
The onboard Marine Naturalists Aly Kohlman and Cheyenne Brewster captured some amazing photos during these wildlife encounters, which can all be viewed below!
The underside of Beak’s tail Flukes. See his big white scar? Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
A moon jellyfish in the water while watching Beak. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Beak showing off the detailed patterns on his tail. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Beak’s tail dipping below the surface as he goes for a dive. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Beak making a fluke waterfall with his 20-foot tail. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
Beak lifting his tail to dive. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A big whale needs a big fluke to move them around, as shown by Beak here! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Beak going for a dive. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Sea Lions lazily laying on the rocks. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
A mother and her suckling pup. That’s a big baby! Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
A Sea Lion in the water checking out our boat. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
A Bald Eagle perched in a Arbutus Tree. Photo by Cheyenne Brewster.
There is two sets of Gull chicks in this photo, as well as a parent still sitting on another nest! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Steller Sea Lions drinking in the rays on White Islets. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A pigeon guillemot fishing nearby. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The large sea lion in the middle is an adult male, showing off the Sexual Dimorphism this species is known for! Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Harbour Seals also enjoying the sunshine at the White islets. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A Steller Sea Lion jumping into the water (part 1). Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A Steller Sea Lion jumping into the water. (Part 2) Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A Steller Sea Lion jumping into the water. (Part 3) Photo by Aly Kohlman.
A Steller Sea Lion jumping into the water. (Part 4) Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Split Fluke’s dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Split Fluke has a lot of damage to her tail which makes her easy to ID. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Dandelion’s very distinct dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Crater’s distinct dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Smiley’s distinct dorsal fin. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
An “aircraft carrier” as one of our captains like to call it. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
The bumps on this whales Rostrum are known as tubercles. Photo by Aly Kohlman.
Not sure who’s nostrils these are, but they help the humpbacks get a good lung full of air before going under the surface! Photo by Aly Kohlman.