Whale Watching

We’re not all about the bears, whales are abundant here too!

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.

Sealion or dolphin?

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Click to enlarge then click again
Click to enlarge then click again
Click to enlarge then click again

Interesting experience on a whale watching day in Blackfish Sound. We were traveling beside a pod of Pacific whitesided dolphins when I look behind the boat and snapped a photo of what might have been a dolphin playing in the wake of the boat. It was the second photo that made it clear it was a Steller Sealion copying the dolphins. This Sealion repeated this proposing action eight or ten times and the guests got some great photos. It was the first and last time I saw this behaviour in my twelve years guiding for the lodge. The whale watching tours are in an area that provides opportunities for photos of orca, humpback whales, minke whales, Steller sealions, harbour seas, dolphins, harbour porpoise, dall porpoise as well as black bears, eagles and a variety of ducks.

 

 

Humpback Lunge

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Click to enlarge then click again

The head on lunge of a humpback whale coming up through a school of herring produces a very impressive photo. This is a definite “Click on to enlarge” to get the detail of the herring in the air and the baleen in the whales mouth. The area of the whale watching tours from the lodge in Knight Inlet has become the summer home of eighteen or more humpback whales. This increased number of whales on the day tours means many more photos such as this one.

 

 

Passing through

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Click to enlarge then click again

The whale watching trips from the lodge on BC’s Minstrel Island travel about fifty minutes to Johnstone Strait and along the shore of Vancouver Island to find orca. The resident (fish eating) orca spend their summers working this area in search of the larger spring salmon. The whale watching guidelines require that we remain a hundred meters (yards) from the orca so if they are coming up the straits the boats will line up parallel to the line of travel for a good view. Engines off we wait for the orca to pass but at times they will do a ninety-degree turn and pass between waiting boats or in this case start to feed on salmon.

 

 

Posing Bald Eagle

eagle posing for a phot
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This is a great pose of a mature bald eagle with a solid white head without any dark feathers and the bright yellow in beak and claws. As common as eagles are on the whales watching and grizzly bear tours it is still difficult to obtain a good picture. The important part is the dark background so that the eagle does not blend with the sky. At times it is hard to find and eagle sitting low enough in the trees to achieve the necessary background.

 

 

Steller Sea Lions

steler sea lions at haul out
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Steller sealions have become common on whale watching tours. With the abundance of herring in the area of the day trips the sealions have started to stay all summer rather than just in the spring and fall on their coastal migration. Several dozen of these large males frequent the small island in Weynton Pass across from Vancouver Island’s Telegraph Cove.

 

 

Black Bear into the beach

black bear hiding on beach
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The black bears we view along the beach whether on a grizzly bear or a whale watching tour or most often on a beach with rocks that can be turned over in search of food.  But they also like the larger boulders because of the number of barnacles and black mussels. They will scrap the barnacles loose with and eat them shell and all. The same goes for the mussels. This is a good source of protein for the black bears.  They do not have access to the salmon rivers in this area because the grizzly bears control the rivers.

 

 

Watching What?

dolphinf
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whales playing with dolphins
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This was the first time I saw this site on a whale watching tour from the lodge. As the pictures show it was a foggy morning and we were in Blackney Passage off Cracroft Point about fifty minutes from the lodge. The other larger boat was also whale watching from Telegraph Cove with a few guests on board. This morning only twenty or so guests were aboard when they often have between forty and fifty. In the first photo there are a number of pacific whitesided dolphins playing and on the right side the large back of a humpback whale. In the second photo you can clearly see a mother and calf being harassed by the dolphins. This harassment continued for about fifteen minutes until the humpback took a long dive and disappeared. It is common to view Steller sealions playing with the humpback whales but a first for the dolphins.

 

Confusion?

orca dorsal fin
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humpback pectoral fin
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On a clear whale watching day these two photos would not be confusing. One of a killer whales approaching the boat and the other of a humpback when it is rolling on it’s side and showing its pectoral flipper. But on a foggy day or from a distance without binoculars many guides have confused the pectoral flipper for a dorsal fin and made a radio call to claim a pod of orca only to have to admit the error. Either picture on it’s own is excellent the confusion is only embarrassment.

 

Humpback Whale Feeding

whale feding on herring
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Click to enlarge then click again
Click to enlarge then click again

These photos represent the opposite of a lunge feed for a humpback whale. The whale watching tour from the lodge travels to an area known as Bold Head that is on BC’s inside passage or route to Alaska. In this picturesque area the whales come to feed on the abundant herring. A lunge feed is when the whales suddenly come up beneath a ball or school of herring with their mouth open and lunge out of the water. In today’s photos the opposite happens. The whale opens it’s mouth as wide and comes up very slowly often spinning in a circle for up to a minute before closing it’s mouth very slowly to trap an many herring as possible.

 

 

Resident Killer Whales

Resident Killer Whales

Excellent picture of the orca we see in the Johnston Strait while on a whale watching safari. The resident orcas (fish eaters) return to the area in late June and remain through late October. Their return corresponds to the arrival of the salmon, which attract the many fishers to the area to try their luck on catching a “Tyee”. A tyee is a large salmon over thirty pounds (13.6 k). Thanks again Karen and Martin for the provided this photo.