Killer whales and humpback whales are often seen during our wildlife tours. There are resident whales and transient whales that can be seen feeding and playing in our waters.
Google says: Adult Bald Eagles have white heads and tails with dark brown bodies and wings. Their legs and bills are bright yellow. Immature birds have mostly dark heads and tails; their brown wings and bodies are mottled with white in varying amounts. Young birds attain adult plumage in about five years. In this case “Google” is correct but not always when dealing with birds and animals.
We were off Cracroft Point this summer on a whale watching safari and spotted a humpback whale rolling on it’s back with pectoral fins in the air and as we moved closer saw a number of pacific white sided dolphins having some fun with the whale. Hard to move the boat closer with a camera in my hand so I put it down but missed a picture showing a few dall’s porpoise mixed in with the dolphins. This dall’s and dolphin mixture is even rarer than them playing with humpbacks which happens several times a summer.
These small chunky cetaceans have black and white markings that give them the appearance of a mini Killer Whale / Orca. There have been reports by people mistaking Dall’s porpoises for baby Orca, but the lack of white eye patches and a much smaller dorsal fin is definitely a Dall’s.
Dall’s Porpoise travel in small groups of two to eight animals rarely in larger groups of around twenty-five. They zip about quickly in random back and forth patterns looking for food. As they speed through the water, they throw a rooster tail type of splash. This is quite distinctive as they shoot along just below the surface of the ocean. They are known to travel at around 30 knots (56 kph or 35 mph). With all this speed it can be a challenge getting good photos. For this reason we often stop and they will make passes by the boat and sometimes we get lucky. They are very playful and are at times known to harass humpback whales see tomorrows post…..
Again a nice view of whales or killer whales which are dolphins. Note the photo is clear of other boats which does make it more natural and attractive. Like us on a day on the water the orca are in no hurry just moving slowly down Blackfish Sound. Blackfish being another name use by the locals for killer whales. Killer whale is a “tourist” name as it is much more exciting than orca or blackfish.
In the distance one can see the bow wake of a boat coming our way. I mention this because it shows that on many whale watching days we are in a very large area with little competition. There are not many boats in your photos. Few boats but a variety of whales as tomorrows post will show…
Beautiful scenery marred by a humpback whale in the distance. A perfect day for whale watching calm enough to get good photos but not so much sun that is is impossible to get the photos. I comment about the whale in the distance because if you have read much of our posting you will know that the norm is much closer and this posting was about the scenery.
This post ties in with the posts on June 21st and 22nd. Only in this case it is hard to determine that there is a humpback whale beneath the spray of herring.
Eagles, grizzly bears, sea lions, killer whales and humpback whales are not the only thing we watch trying to catch salmon on our wildlife trips. Their are also sports fishermen and in this case commercial fishermen. This boat is the Ocean Predator which works for the Department of Fisheries doing “test sets” to determine if there are enough salmon in the area to have an “opening” for a commercial fish. We watched them do a quick count of the number and variety of salmon in this set. About seventy-five salmon means there will not be an opening for a while.
It is a nice place for watching wildlife but I would not want to have our picnic lunch to close to the Steller sea lions. There are a few sea lions that remain in our area all year but there are definitely more in the spring and fall during their migration between Alaska and California. The noise and aroma are enough to make sure that we are at least upwind in a quieter location for lunch.
On most days whale watching we have opportunities to obtain both the active and the sedate photos. It is all a matter of being able to position the boat to get the best photo. The only problem is that the whales do not always agree with the guide as to what is the best position so it may take several tries.
Just like that our season has come to an end. I would like to thank all of our wonderful guests and staff who made this year a huge success. I am happy to stay that all of our team is planning to return next season. We are actively taking bookings, with dates starting June 1 2025. Hope to see many of you next season.
The wildlife viewing this season was awesome. A couple highlights that come to mind was the shear number of salmon in our local rivers, as well as the abundance of Resident Orca. With salmon returns being so strong this year, we were happy to see bears in excellent condition. By the end of our season most of the bears had packed on a lot of weight and were getting very “picky” about what parts of the salmon they would eat. Hopefully this will translate into more cubs being born this winter. Another positive was the weather conditions. We had enough rain to keep our fire risks low and it made for some excellent wild berries. The bears took full advantage of this, with the berry season extending far past its normal conclusion. This did mean that we had to work hard to find bears during our summer season, (as they were often feeding on the berries deep into the forest), but moving forward it is excellent that they had such an abundant food supply. The Humpbacks also didn’t disappoint, with great numbers and a few new calves returning with their mothers to feed. After a slower year for resident Orca sightings, this season was one of the best that I can remember. In fact as Im writing this the A62 and A23’s are still being spotted in the area by dedicated biologists. Strong numbers of Chinook and Chum salmon are providing them with a steady food source. There are a lot of positive signs and we are hopeful that 2025 will be another great season.
Over the winter and spring we will be doing some repairs and maintenance. We plan on having a new cedar front deck built in time for the 2025 season, as well as new ceilings and paint in parts of the lodge and rooms. Theres always projects on the go.
Felix, Julien, Ryan, Zack and Myself all look forward to welcoming guest in June. See everyone soon.
Angus Reid
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