Whale Blog

K and L-Pod Sightings

July 28, 2010

In the morning we headed west on the Orca Spirit to where we had last sighted some of the Resident Orcas. As we crossed the Haro Stait, we spotted blows off our bow and slowly made our way in to have a look. It was K and L pod Resident Orca members traveling together in a tight group. As we watched them surface, we managed to identify some of the group including the large male Cappuccino. We were also able to witness some very interesting mating displays. On the way back to the harbor, we stopped in to have a look at a Gray Whale off Oak Bay and got some great looks as she stayed near the surface. We also saw two Bald Eagles and some Harbour Seals up on the rocks. A truly eventful morning!

This afternoon we took out the Pacific Explorer and made our way east to the San Juan Islands. We met up with a large group of the L Pod Resident Orca family right along the shore near Lime Kiln. We enjoyed watching them in a resting pattern, grouped close together and surfacing in unison. We headed back to Oak Bay in hopes of meeting up with the Gray Whale and we were pleased to find it surfacing right near a rock where the Harbour Seals were sunbathing. What a beautiful sight!

Foraging L-Pod

July 27, 2010

Today's tours were filled with playful and feeding Orcas. The sunny skies, calm seas and San Juan Island made for a beautiful backdrop for our amazing journey. We came across L-pod as they were breeching and tail slapping, yet taking the time to chase any nearby salmon. We were fortunate enough to watch the L12's, a small family group including 2 grandmothers, 3 adult grandchildren and a new great grandchild. The range of ages and gender of this family make it a great group to view. From there we headed to Oak Bay were we watch as a young male gray whale filtered out food from the muddy bottoms. We also saw a mature and a juvenile bald eagle as they sat atop of rocks on Trial Island’s north side.

Beautiful photos taken by Captain Lyle on Monday's and Tuesday's tours:

SUPER POD!

July 26, 2010

Today was a fabulous whale watching experience. From land lovers to seasoned seadogs, all were thrilled when watching members of J-pod, K-pod and L-pod as they traveled and socialize along the west shores of San Juan Island and Boundary Pass. We were fortunate enough to see J1 (Ruffles) and J2 (Granny) as they slowly past our starboard side, they were then followed shortly behind by L25 (Ocean Sun), L12 (Alexis) and her grandchildren (L41 Mega and siblings). We also watched whales near and far as they tail slapped, spy hopped and breached! Add watching eagles in high tree tops, seals on seaweed beds and lighthouse on rocky points and you have a BC adventure you could have never planned better. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as I did (Biologist Sheenah).

Watching an Active L-Pod

July 25, 2010

This morning, we headed over to Haro Strait to start our search near False Bay. As we neared San Juan Island, Captain Brad spotted orcas near the bay! As we arrived on scene, we noticed several more blows to the south. There was definitely more than L-pod here! It would prove to be an incredible trip as we witnessed several breaches off in the distance and were thrilled by the antics of a young spyhopping orca calf! The waters appeared to be bubbling with salmon as we saw several salmon breaching! Do salmon breach? Anyways, the salmon were definitely a good sign. The vocalizations this morning were absolutely astounding, with calls, whistles, squeaks, and echolocation clicks heard clearly over the hydrophone. The whales were definitely in a social mood. After our orca encounter, we stopped near the golf club to view a bait ball and watch the resident gray whale forage along the shoreline. All in all, it was an excellent trip!

On the afternoon trip, we encountered members of L-pod grouped up in a resting line near Kellet Bluffs. We travelled with them as they made their way north in Haro Strait. We saw a couple of gorgeous spyhops and a fantastic cartwheel from Crewser (L92), and enjoyed the scenic coastline of Henry Island and the tip of Mount Baker as a backdrop. It was another fantastic day of whale watching on the Salish Sea.

In the Company of Orcas

July 24, 2010

This morning, we left on the Orca Spirit and headed for San Juan Island where we encountered members of L-pod foraging off the westside near Hannah Heights. It was a beautiful morning, with flat calm seas in the company of orcas. We had great viewing of several orcas, including L92 (Crewser), a 15-year old male. On the way back to Victoria, we stopped to view some harbour seals south of Chatham Island. We enjoyed the large group of harbour seals, which included some adorable young harbour seal pups. To conclude the eco-adventure, we spent some time with the resident gray whale!

On the afternoon trip, we headed to San Juan Island again, where we spent more time with orcas that were foraging now off the south end of the island and spread out over a few miles. It was a great trip, where guests were able to witness orcas doing what they do best - hunting salmon. Our orca experience was concluded by some fantastic vocalizations as we had a wonderful pass from a male and female. We headed back to the harbour after another wonderful adventure on the Salish Sea.

Our evening trip gave us another example of just how amazing orcas are. We spent some time watching whales foraging before they decided to enter play mode! We watched whales rolling at the surface, and our guests witnessed a remarkable breach! All of this thrilling whale action was made even more spectacular by the wonderful evening light of the setting sun with Mount Baker as a backdrop.

L-Pod Sightings

July 23, 2010

On our Friday morning tour, we journeyed to False Bay on San Juan Island, where we once again encountered L-pod orcas foraging in the serene waters of Haro Strait. It was a lovely encounter this morning, as we enjoyed the orcas hunting in the (hopefully) salmon-rich waters. We enjoyed listening to the vocalizations of the L-pod orcas, before heading to Oak Bay where the gray whale continues to amaze.

On the afternoon trip aboard the Pacific Explorer, we again encountered members of L-pod, this time near the north end of the island. We witnessed some gorgeous spyhops and cartwheels, and this time the whales were more grouped up. Returning to Victoria, we encountered the gray whale in Cadboro Bay. It was a beautiful day on the Salish Sea.

Magnificent Whale Watching

July 22, 2010

Wow, what a magnificent day of whale watching yet again! Our day began with the Orca Spirit heading out to investigate reports of orcas on the southern end of San Juan Island. After a search, orcas were encountered near Salmon Bank. It was L-pod and J-pod making their way north. The Pacific Explorer arrived on scene and encountered the leaders, J-pod, near False Bay. We quickly identified the characteristic dorsal fins of Granny (J2) and Ruffles (J1) among a large group of orcas in somewhat of a resting pattern. As we headed back towards Victoria, we had a wonderful visit with the gray whale off the Victoria golf club.

For the afternoon tour, both the Pacific Explorer and the Orca Spirit headed over to San Juan Island. There we encountered L-pod transiting south. It would prove to be another truly memorable experience as we noticed a minke whale travelling at high speed with the orcas! We had an excellent encounter with Nyssa (L84) and several orcas before stopping to view the gray whale. All in all, it was an excellent adventure on the Salish Sea.

Our evening trip had both our covered vessels going out to view orcas in Haro Strait, where we met up with some L-pod whales near Eagle Point. This incredible trip was one of the most astounding orca experiences that the crew aboard both our vessels have had, and as a result our guests too! We spent the encounter viewing a small group of foraging whales when we noticed a mother and calf off the stern of the Pacific Explorer. We watched spellbound, as the mother orca carried a salmon on its nose, with its calf swimming alongside her! Neither myself (naturalist Corey) or the other naturalists have seen this behavior before. After the orcas swam by the Pacific Explorer. guests aboard the Orca Spirit were also able to witness the amazing dynamic between the mother and calf orca and saw the mother pass the salmon to its calf, where the calf subsequently ate it!

Beautiful Baleens

July 19 & 20, 2010

On our tours the past 2 days we have been enjoying Humpback and Gray whales. Because this is not typically the season for such whales, both passengers and crew have been pleasantly surprised. We watched as a Gray whale filtered food out of the muddy bottoms of Oak Bay Flats, just east of Victoria. The whale was in such shallow waters for feeding, we were able to get a great look at its size and body, including all the barnacles. We also had the pleasure of watching a large Humpback whale south of Victoria's harbour. It too was feeding but instead of the shallow waters, it was feeding just off an underwater sea mound were the water was between 180 ft to 300+ ft deep. We also saw the Humpback roll around and then lift and slap its large pictorial fin on the water’s surface. What an amazing sight! To make sure everyone had a well rounded tour, we stopped by such islands as Race Rocks, Trial Island and the Chain Islands to see the harbour seals hauled out of the rock, a few tours were fortunate enough to also see a Stellar Sea lion swimming amongst the bull kelp and bald eagles atop rocky islands in search of their next ocean meal.

Phenomenal Whale Watching!

July 18, 2010

Today's whale watching was absolutely phenomenal. When we left the orcas last evening, we were hoping they would still be around today, but the whale behaviours we witnessed today were truly beyond our wildest expectations. Our tour this morning took us to Turn Point, where we encountered members of J-pod and L-pod moving north. The spectacular display of breaches, spyhops, and cartwheels were equalled by the wonderful vocalizations we heard on the hydrophone. We left the orcas as they rounded Turn Point and headed east in Boundary Pass. What would this afternoon bring? Before we had to worry about that, we had a nice encounter with the gray whale near the Victoria Golf Club before we arrived back at the dock with both passengers and crew ecstatic about what we witnessed. Please enjoy the photos below!

We left the dock with great news! The whales that had been making their way towards the Fraser River had met up with Ruffles (J1), Granny (J2) and a few other whales that had been making their way towards San Juan Island via East Point. We were in for a truly stellar afternoon tour. By the time we reached the whales, they had made it all the way towards Kellet Bluff. Members of both J-pod and L-pod had been making their way south, but they were in a playful mood! We saw several spyhops, lots of breaches, and some incredible porpoising behaviour. Enjoy the photos attached as words cannot truly express how amazing it is to see the displays we saw today! Our afternoon tour was also fortunate to be able to conclude the whale watching with another visit with the gray whale that both crew and guests have been privileged to see over the last several weeks.

J and L Pod Sightings

July 17, 2010

Our morning trip aboard the Orca Spirit was spent on the waters off San Juan Island. It was a lovely morning spent in the company of J-pod. We had a great viewing experience of Ruffles (J1) and Spieden (J8) as they made their way towards Henry Island. Next, we headed towards the Victoria Golf Club where we encountered a gray whale again! It was a wonderful way to start the day with viewings of two magnificent species of whales.

On the afternoon trip, we had received a report of whales incoming near Sooke. We arrived on scene near Otter Point and discovered whales scattered over a few miles in definite travel mode as they made their way towards Race Rocks. We were able to identify the whales as L-pod, a large group of 40+ whales! We had a great encounter with a number of whales and were fortunate to witness a fantastic breach near the end of the trip.

On the Saturday evening trip. both the Orca Spirit and Pacific Explorer headed over to San Juan Island. We had a magnificent trip that was spent with members of J-pod near False Bay. Guests aboard the Orca Spirit had a great encounter with Doublestuff (J34), a large teenage male that is really starting to sprout the huge dorsal fin. As we watched J-pod and listened to them over the hydrophone, we saw take an abrupt direction change and head offshore. They had undoubtedly heard L-pod! L-pod met up with J-pod and together they left our guests awestruck. One female did a truly astounding spyhop that I am sure our back deck guests will never forget! Several breaches, spyhops and other fantastic acrobatic displays were sight to behold. We were able to show our guests the gray whale on our return to Victoria.