Tag Archives: killer whale watching

Lunch Time Visitation 1 of 3

unch with a humpback whale

Picnic lunches while whale watching normally are in the boat. The location of the lunches vary from day to day but often involve being tied to a kelp bed. The first photo provides some perspective as to the closeness of the humpback whale while the second shows that the whale was just enjoying a roll in the kelp bed. On this day we were about half way through our lunch as as you can see there not much boat traffic. With our engine turned off it was a very peaceful area and the whale was just doing what whales do when there is no one to disturb it’s natural behaviour.

unch with a humpback whale

A Killer Whale’s “What’s up?”

spyhopping killer whales

Spy hopping is coming out of the water and staying above the surface the same way a human treads water. Some adult male killer whales spy hop for longer periods of time and get as much as half of its body above the surface of the water. Orcas spy hop to examine its surroundings and it is believed that an Orca can see as well above the surface as it can below. If an Orca hears anything strange, they may spyhop to see what is approaching. This past summer the Whale Research vessel in our area was using a drone for observation and we noticed much more spy hopping while the drone was in the air.

Orca Salmon Fishing

killer whales feed on salmon

As I recall on this day of whale watching we had two boats from Grizzly Bear Lodge in Johnstone Strait with a pod of killer whales. We re off Cracroft Point, in the tide ripe, a favourite place for the orca to feed. This is where you turn off the motor and sit and wait for the orca to “pop up” around the boat and provide photo opportunities and they did.

Anette and family visit 4 of 7

humpback breaching closehumpback pectoral slapping

 

Again the time stamp on the photos show that this breach was three minutes after the previous breach in yesterdays post and the pectoral fin slapping was just one minute after this second breach. Anette managed some incredible photos to save her memories.

Anette and family visit 3 of 7

humpback diving breaching humpback whale

“….and with the young humpback that put on an hour long show of 5-6 breaches and countless tail and fin slaps just for us.” I remember this day as it was also memorable for me as I never tire of my time on the water. This humpback would take a deep dive and then breach almost as if on a schedule. If you notice the back ground hills it is the same from a different angle. I have the advantage of the time stamp that says these photos were taken with in the same minute.

Guide’s delight 3 of 3

humpback whale lunge feeding

This photo was NOT taken the same time as the previous two days posting. If I had seen whales I would not have gone that close to a herring ball. The point of locating a herring ball is to be “close by” when the humpback whales come to feed. “Close by” does not mean sitting on the herring ball as that would not be a comfortable or safe place to be located. This photo is thanks to Gary Wilson from Australia.

Guide’s delight 2 of 3

herring ball

This is a small herring ball near the edge of the boat. The two white flashes are not herring but ducks feeding in the herring and this is why the herring get in a tight ball for defense. So they are now providing food for ducks, seagulls and eagles. The “safe” aspect mentioned in yesterdays post will be shown in tomorrows….

Killer Whales Resting

killer whale young playingIt is mid morning on Johnstone Strait and we came upon a pod of what appeared to be orca resting. I am not sure that I would call this resting as most of the time seemed to have been spent playing. This pod of orca took more than an hour to move a hundred meters (yards). The adults would drift with the current while the young spy hopped, tail slapped and rolled on their backs. Fantastic viewing and I even saved on fuel.

Killer Whales Spyhopping

Killer Whales SpyhoppingThis photo was a little far off for my Olympus TG 4 camera but my guests sure got some great shot. It was a morning that involved allot of activity within the pods of killer whales. There was spyhopping, tail slapping and even the occasional breach which nobody caught on camera. Reason I show this is because it is my first double spyhop.