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.

Superpod - audio clip

Today’s Ocean Magic II trip took us out east toward North Pender Island. There we met up with the southern resident, fish eating, killer whales. The superpod was spread out across Swanson Channel foraging north for salmon. The whales were quite active and acrobatic in their fish chases. Baba / L26, Alexis / L12, Polaris / J28, Shachi / J19, and Eclipse / J41 were all identified among the groups. A male and female pair was engaged in mating behaviour. As we watched all the activity, a young whale swam under the water looking up at the passengers as it passed. Wow, some of the best whale watching this year!!

Humpbacks & T100 Group

Today’s Ocean Magic II trip started out at Pillar Point, WA, to view a pair of Humpback whales. Along the way groups of Dall’s porpoises were seen traveling at high speeds, creating ‘rooster tails’ of water. The Humpback whales were a half-mile from shore and were different animals than yesterday. The mother and calf logging at the surface then took short dives as they circled around the vessel at a good distance. Female Humpback whales get up to 50 feet long (15m) and weigh over 60 thousand pounds (30tonnes). Their massive size was revealed by the sound of their loud strong breaths against the calm waters. Humpback whales feed in the summer on schooling fish (herring, capelin, mackerel, and salmon), krill, and other crustaceans then migrate to the warmer waters of Hawaii for the winter. These baleen whales are well known for their long flippers and distinctive head knobs. Each tubercle is a hair follicle with a single coarse hair growing out of the center. Humpbacks are probably the most energetic of all the large whales and are fortunately recovering their territory after being nearly wiped out from the whaling industry. On the way back to Victoria we saw a US submarine being escorted by two coast guard vessels. We then had a nice surprise with the T100 Group of transient, meat eating, killer whales about a half-mile west from the Race Rocks ecological reserve. Sea gulls flew overhead while the family traveled northwest toward Vancouver Island.

Superpod - audio clip

The noon Ocean Magic II trip lead us out through Hughes Passage to meet up with the southern resident killer whales a couple miles from Turn Point, Stuart Island. The whales had just turned south and were spread out north to Pender Island. Groups of animals were engaged in foraging behaviours and others were social and very vocal. A mother and calf pair logged at the surface for a period of time and rested. The calf spy hopped and the mother lunged forward as they continued along their way. We then stopped over at Race Rocks to view the male sea lions battling for prime territory. On the way back to Victoria we stopped to view a mother and calf pair of humpback whales a couple miles offshore. An amazing end to another stellar whale-watching day.

Superpod! - audio clip

Today was one of the most amazing whale-watching days all year!!! All three pods were coming around Turn Point, Stuart Island, creating a superpod when the Ocean Magic II noon trip arrived on scene. The whales spread out and were breaching, speed-porpoising, and foraging south down Haro Strait. Ruffels / J1 and Granny / J2 were traveling together and swam near the vessel. The J16 matriline, Spock / K20, and her calf Comet / K38 were seen off near Henry Island. Flash / L73 was seen near by Sydney Island and the backlit whales in the fall lighting were spectacular sights surrounded by the coastal islands.