It felt like an early summer day as the sun shone on us as we boarded our Open Zodiac vessel, Cascadia. As we got all cozy, we zoomed off, eyes scanning for signs of whales.

We began our search to the south, entering Dodd Narrows and meandering around just past Dodd. There had been a sighting of a humpback whale in this area earlier in the day, so we began zigzagging in a search formation. At one point, we thought we caught sight of the whale, so we stopped and waited in case it resurfaced. Unfortunately, nothing surfaced, and we kept adventuring along.

We headed out through Gabriola Pass and briefly paused at Stinky Rocks for our first wildlife sighting of the day. Here, dozens of Steller sea lions were yawning, stretching, snoozing, and eructating. Stinky Rocks is a perfect haulout site, with lots of rocks above the waterline even at high tide. While there is lots of room for the sea lions to spread out, they often bundle up together in a cuddle puddle to conserve body heat.

From Stinky Rocks, we began searching around the Strait of Georgia. We slalomed around, covering as much area as we could, scanning and scanning and scanning. Suddenly, a group of tiny dorsal fins appeared! While these were not the animals we were searching for, they are technically whales! We had located a small pod of Harbour Porpoises quickly travelling along. We snapped a few photos of these porpoises before we continued on our way. Typically, we do not stop with porpoises, as they are generally skittish and aren’t easy to watch, so this was an extra special treat!

We made our way along and fully crossed the Strait. On the Vancouver side, there had been a whale sighting earlier in the day, so we headed over to check it out. We slowly made our way towards Downtown Vancouver, travelling alongside Point Grey, searching for our elusive whale. While we had had no luck here, we didn’t give up hope! We turned around and started making our way south along the coastline, continuing to look around, until we saw the telltale puff of a blow on the horizon!

As we approached, we noted that we could see a blow, a back… but no dorsal fin, meaning this had to be a Grey Whale! We only have a handful of Grey whale sightings every year, so it is always very exciting when we find them on a trip! As we approached, we noted that the little whale was busily foraging in the shallow waters, likely having a late lunch.

Once known as Devil Fish because of their aggressive reaction while being hunted, our Greys are generally viewed as gentle giants. Greys are different from other baleen whales as they are the only known bottom feeders. Humpbacks will feed on schools of fish or balls of krill at the surface, mid-way down the water column. Greys, on the other hand, dive to the depths and sift through the sandy bottoms to feast. This unique feeding style has also caused their baleen to be different from other mysticetes as it is very short - an adaptation that likely evolved from their distinct ‘shovelling’ feeding technique. Greys primarily feed on amphipods (flea-like crustaceans without a carapace), but it is known that their diet becomes more varied as they leave the protected breeding and calving grounds in Mexico and make their way northwards to their summer feeding grounds. Along the way, they are known to feed on herring eggs and larvae, a variety of small shrimp species, and crab larvae.

After watching the Grey forage for some time, it was time for us to say goodbye and to continue on our way. We headed north along the coastline, continuing to look for more wildlife. Once we had gone north, we slowly turned and made our way over to Snake Island. While Stinky Rocks is a favourite haulout for our Steller sea lions, Snake Island is a preferred hangout spot for our Harbour Seals. The seals (affectionately nicknamed “Rock Sausages”) tend to haul out on seaweed-covered rocks and sheltered coves where they are safest. Similar to the sea lions, they spend much of their day napping away. These grumbling little pinnipeds were being extra sleepy today, relishing in the afternoon sunshine.

We departed our seals and began making our way back to the Nanaimo harbour, coming back to land after another great day out and about on the seas!

Please enjoy this trip’s photos taken by Marine Naturalist Cheyenne Brewster.

April 18, 2025 - Our first Grey Whale of the Season!