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.

Whale Tales (Tails) of Vancouver Island

A tale of two tails. The marine life in the waters of British Columbia is abundant. On most of the lodge whale watching safari we see orca, humpback whales, sealions, eagles, dolphins, Dall’s porpoise, often black bears and other whale watching boats. The other boats are important as they come from Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island and we come from the mainland BC. We are in constant radio contact and share location when anything of interest is located. In this case a tail slap from an orca and a dive from a humpback whale. Different shape and diffidently a difference in size.

 

Humpback Whale feeding

The waters between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia are alive with herring, which are the staple in the food chain. The diving birds and ducks feed on the herring and forces them into “herring balls” which are a tight mass of swirling herring from the size a basketball to the size of a small boat. The duck force them to the surface where the seagulls and eagle dive into to feed. As a guide I try to locate these balls by watching the gulls, then position the boat near the gulls and wait for the humpbacks to come and feed.

 

Sealion porpoise?

The whale safari area around Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island contains many strange and interesting sights. Over the years I have watched many sea lions play with the humpback whales, twice saw cougars on the beach, black bears swimming between islands but this was the first for me, a stellar sealion pretending to be a dolphin. It did about fifteen of these “breeches or porpoises” behind the boat while we were following a pod of white side dolphins on the other side of the boat.

 

BC Orca

The orca in the lodge whale safari area are mostly resident or fish eaters although at times we encounter the transient mammal eaters. The northern resident orca are located in waters north of Campbell River on Vancouver Island and while the transient orca are more often found in BC coastal inlets. This is a female orca as indicated by the shorter dorsal fin. Great shot of the eye patch.

 

Salmon in BC rivers

The river in this case is the Glendale River, which empties into Knight Inlet. Our lodge’s grizzly bear watching tours run up Knight Inlet to the viewing stands on the river. In spite of all the fish in the river this is not an easy picture to take. Fish do not announce their intentions so it is “snap and hope”. Faithful seagulls are waiting for the remains of a grizzly feed or possibly fish eggs drifting in the current.

 

Sealions – Coastal Vancouver Island

The stellar sealions pass through the area, between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia, to and from Alaska in the spring and fall. They gather on the rocky shore in the area of Telegraph Cove by the hundreds to sun themselves and rest after feeding in our area before continuing their trip. This area of BC’s coast is so rich in food for these marine mammals that several dozen in the past three years have started to stay all summer and not make the journey north.

 

Whale Watching Tour

A glassy calm day in the waters of Johnstone Strait which is located between Vancouver and the BC mainland. An interesting photo if you look closely and see the reflection in the water around the eye patch.

 

Humpback whales in BC

Approximately five years ago humpback whales started spend more time in the area between Vancouver Island and British Columbia’s mainland coast. Telegraph Cove and our viewing area has always been popular for orca but now it is common to see a mother humpback and calf. Every summer we are seeing more calves in our viewing area.

 

Resident Orca on a Whale watching safari

The northern resident orca pods contain more than 230 orca in total. The northern pods mean north of Campbell River on Vancouver Island and extending the British Columbia coast. This is a large male resident orca. Good to get a photo with much of the back exposed. The timing is harder than one would think.

 

Whale Watching near Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island

Resident orca spend their summers in the area between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland and are likely to be found near Robson Bight which is part of the Johnstone Strait. A good orca photo will try to capture the bulk of the orca out of the water with their eye patch showing. Success! Wildlife normally viewed on a “whale watching tour” included orca, humpback whales, stellar sealions, seals, eagles, a variety of ducks and frequently black bears. Photos by

Peter Palstring 4-6