August 7, 2011

Sunday morning started out with sunny skies and calm seas. You really couldn't ask for much more besides orcas of course and today would not disappoint. We travelled once again to San Juan Island where orcas had been encountered off the northern end of the island. During today's trip, we identified members of K and L-pods. We first encountered Skana (L79) travelling with his mother Spirit (L22). We dropped the hydrophone to hear the vocalizations, hearing some wonderful calls and echolocation. Nearby, we spotted several more whales and we headed over to investigate. Noticing a small calf, we were curious to identify who we were looking at. With K25 (Scoter) in the group, it was apparent that we were watching the K13 matriline and the newest K-pod member K44, continuing to look healthy! After a visit with the L2 matriline and a great encounter with Wavewalker, we turned towards Victoria. The harbour seals were great at Trial Island today, we noticed a couple splashing about. We headed back to the harbour after the wildlife stop, content after a lovely morning in the company of whales.

For the afternoon, we again travelled to San Juan Island, where once again there were resident orcas! This afternoon's trip was highlighted by a wonderful encounter with Wavewalker (L88). Guests saw some incredible displays of power as we witnessed high-speed swimming and even a couple of breaches. Lots of foraging was evident this afternoon, both from watching the surface behaviour and by listening to the calls of the orcas over the hydrophone. We watched for several minutes as orcas foraged nearby - hopefully the swimming was good! As we were leaving, we even saw a spyhop! It was an incredible weekend of whale watching at Orca Spirit Adventures!