T30 Group

Today on the noon Ocean Magic II trip we met up with the T30 group of transient killer whales just west of Race Rocks. The whales were in pursuit of a harbour seal and after the kill continued traveling east in search of marine mammal prey. We watched as the group hunted animals a few more times before we headed over to Race Rocks to view the sea lions hauled out on the rocks. The Stellers were testing each other for the top positions. After visiting the ecological reserve we stopped over at East Sooke Park where there were a couple of harbour seals on the rocky shorelines and turkey vultures soaring in the treetops.

L12's

On the noon Ocean Magic II trip we were bound for Bellevue Point, San Juan Island, to meet up with the L12’s. When we arrived on scene the whales were heading south at a slow pace in a resting line. This is a form of sleep behaviour when the whales switch off half of their brains so they can function to voluntarily respire. Mega / L41 and Flash / L73 were identified among the group. We followed them just south of Lime Kiln Lighthouse then headed west across Haro Strait. We stopped at Chatham Island were a couple of minks, a type of land mammal, were seen along the shoreline.

Superpod!!!

Their back! Today 90 resident killer whales came in from the west. On the Ocean Magic II noon trip we met up with the whales in the middle of Haro Strait. The whales split up into three groups heading north, east, and south. L pod passed by traveling toward Lime Kiln lighthouse. They started to tail lob and breach out of the water as they neared the west coast of San Juan Island. We then headed north to view J pod close along the shoreline speed chasing fish. The oldest members of J pod, Ruffels / J1 and Granny / J2, were traveling close together and turned on their sides to look up as they passed by underwater. Some of the best whale watching this year!!

T30 Group

On the noon trip we headed just north of Race Rocks to meet up the T30 group of transient, meat eating, killer whales. The whales were in full action churning up the water in pursuit of prey. The event looked like a successful kill as the animals were swarmed with birds after the chase subdued. We then went over to the Ecological Reserve where a Steller sea lion came darting over to investigate our vessel. The sea lion circled around the stern looking at all the passengers before heading over to the rocks and kelp beds. Another rare sight was Brown Pelicans, which are usually a bit further south down the coast. We then crossed over to Becher Bay to view Harbour seals hauled out on the rocky shorelines. There were many Turkey vultures circling overhead and perched in the treetops. Another wonderful day aboard the Ocean Magic II.

Transients & Race Rocks

On the Ocean Magic II noon trip we headed south in search of transient killer whales. We found a group of four whales just north of Race Rocks. There was one male, two females, and a calf. The animals were chasing prey, darting back and forth, and then the sea gulls would dive down to feed on any leftovers. They stayed in the same location and then the calf started to repeatedly tail lob and spy hop out of the water. After viewing the whales we stopped at Race Rocks and saw California and Steller sea lions, Elephant seals, and Harbour seals resting on the rocks. A Heermann’s Gull was spotted on one of the many kelp beds in this highly productive and nutrient rich area.

Baleen Whales

The noon Ocean Magic II trip lead us a couple miles from Port Angeles to view a minke whale in Juan de Fuca Strait. These baleen whales are rorquals and have many throat grooves that expand when they take a gulp of fish or krill. The minke was taking long dives and would come up to breath revealing its flat brown head and curved fin. We then headed west to view a gray whale off Crescent Bay. Gray whales are different from rorquals because they have only three to four throat grooves and suction feed along the sea floor. The gray whale would breath at the surface several times then depth sound to the bottom exposing its flukes. This animal had killer whales teeth marks along its side and tail. A couple of harbor porpoises were seen nearby and on the way back to Victoria we saw a group of about six Dall’s porpoises rooster tailing and a Steller sea lion traveling south of Race Rocks. A beautifully calm and diverse marine-mammal day.

Transient Killer Whales

Onboard the noon Ocean Magic II trip we headed over to William Head where we met up with two transient females and a calf. A male could be seen off from the group milling in front of a sandy beach in the distance. We followed the group of three whales heading southwest. The whales traveled tight to the shore and changed direction periodically during their hunting pursuits. A couple of harbour seals popped up by the boat looking panicked and confused. In the evening we caught up with the whales again near East Sooke Park. Adult male T44 and a couple more whales were now with the two females and calf. The animals had changed direction back to the east. The whales speed porpoised and spy hopped out of the water in pursuit of prey. We ended up both trips over at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve and saw several Steller and California sea lions hauled out on the rocks and swimming within the kelp line. An amazing day along the Vancouver Island shoreline.