July 23, 2011

Has summer finally arrived? We headed out on a beautiful Saturday morning with beautiful sunny skies and absolutely flat calm seas. We travelled to False Bay aboard the Orca Spirit on the lookout for orcas and other marine mammals. Arriving on scene, it was not long before we spotted the first dorsal fins and quickly identified the L12 matriline. Pacific northwest icon Mega (L41), our oldest and largest southern resident male orca was joined by his sisters Matia (L77) and Calypso (L94), and her young calf Cousteau (L113). Nearby were the L22's, including Spirit (L22) and Skana (L79). On our return to Victoria, a wildlife stop at Trial Island including some great views of sunning harbour seals and an interesting encounter between black oystercatchers and a nearby turkey vulture. We headed back to the harbour, content after another great morning.

By the afternoon, J and K pods had made there way to San Juan Island. It was a wondrous experience again as we enjoyed the company of whales. We had a thrilling pass from Blackberry (J27), and watched as an orca parade passed us by. I identified Doublestuff (J34), Spirit (L22), and Mega (L41) among the many whales we watched this afternoon. With members of all three pods, it was an awe-inspiring experience yet again. A wildlife stop at Trial Island again gave us some wonderful viewing of many rotund harbour seals.