Humpback Whales & Steller Sea Lions

The Ocean Magic II afternoon trip lead us south of Victoria to view Humpback whales. There were two mother calf pairs a couple miles apart circling near Constance Bank. The mother-calf bond is the strongest in Humpback whale society. Females will have one calf every two to three years and they are about 13 feet long at birth and weigh two tons. A group of Steller sea lions were nearby foraging on the schools of salmon. We then headed over to Race Rocks to view sea lions hauled out resting on the rocks. There were lots of Stellers and the California sea lions were on their favorite boat ramp area. Brant’s cormorants were lined up on the rocky edges fanning and drying their wings in the air.

Humpback Whales & J pod - audio clip

Today was a beautiful sunny day with lots of marine mammals to view on the noon Ocean Magic II trip. First we visited the mother calf pair of Humpback whales near Constance Bank off Victoria. The whales were heading east and taking short dives. Then we headed over to Lime Kiln Lighthouse to meet up with J pod as they traveled and porpoised south along San Juan Island. Mike / J26 and Polaris / J28 were identified as they stopped to forage for prey near the vessel. On the way back across Haro Strait a group of Dall’s porpoises visited the boat for a short wake ride then were on their way.

Dall's Porpoise, Humpback Whales, & J Pod - audio clip

Another amazing fall whale-watch day. The Ocean Magic II noon trip started out at San Juan Island. There were lots of Dall’s porpoises near False Bay ‘rooster-tailing’ (high-speed travel) and then a group came over and surfed our bow wake. The porpoises traveled with us south for a bit before breaking off then we met up with J pod foraging at Salmon Bank. There were lots of fish chases with whales in pursuit of prey. The killer whales were staying in contact using vocal calls and emitting sonar echolocation clicks. We then headed for Constance Bank where we found a mother calf pair of Humpback whales. The two were accompanied by a Steller sea lion. The mother 'tail lobbed' (raised her flukes out of the water and slapped it on the surface) repeatedly as the whales rolled around on their backs. They headed for the stern of the boat and passed by underwater upside down reflecting back the aquagreen waters of the strait. Their enormous girth and long flippers revealed the massive size of these baleen whales. The most breath taking personal moment of the year!

Humpback Whales

Today’s Ocean Magic II noon trip lead us south toward Race Rocks to view Humpback whales. We first found a mother calf pair a couple miles east of the ecological reserve. We then headed over to William Head and found another mother calf pair. This calf was very active at the surface with lots of tail and pectoral flipper slapping behaviours. Another solitary Humpback whale was spotted nearby in the Juan de Fuca strait. We stopped over at Race Rocks to view the many California sea lions, Steller sea lions, Harbour seals, Brant’s cormorants, and Double-crested cormorants. On the way home we stopped to view the first mother calf Humpback whale pair as they passed by the stern and headed south towards the Olympic Mountains.

T10 Group, Humpback Whale, J Pod - audio clip

The morning Ocean Magic II trip lead us southwest of Trail Island, BC, to meet up with the T10 Group of transient, meat-eating, killer whales. There were six animals in total, two adult males and four other whales including 46-year-old female T10. The whales were heading in a southeasterly direction foraging periodically and displaying social behaviours. Reports of a humpback whale then lead us out west toward Race Rocks. The large baleen whale was alone and taking short dives revealing its tail flukes several times. In the afternoon we headed over to San Juan Island to watch southern resident, fish-eating, killer whales. J pod was near Lime Kiln lighthouse spread out in small groups. J1 / Ruffles was further out in Haro Strait while J2 / Granny was closer to the island. The whales were quite vocal using contact calls and sonar echolocation.

Humpbacks & Superpod - audio clip

The noon Ocean Magic II trip started out a couple miles west off Cattle Point, San Juan Island, to view the southern resident killer whales. All J, K, and L pods were reported to be in the area. The groups were spread out foraging around Salmon Bank. Twenty-nine year old male Mega / L41 was identified among the backlit whales traveling north in the calm seas. We then headed west across the Juan de Fuca Strait to view a pair of Humpback whales a mile off Clover Point. Along the way Dall’s porpoises were spotted ‘rooster tailing’ in the strait. The mother and calf pair of Humpback whales took shallow dives and were headed southeast. This was the same pair of whales seen on September 22 east of Race Rocks.