Inaugural Whale Day Brings Playful Orcas
May 4th, 2024
This past Saturday was the first whale watch for 2024, so hopes and enthusiasm were running high on the Victoria Star.
Soon after our departure from Bellingham , we got a view of some cormorants and gulls at Viti Rocks our go-to first spot on a tour for wildlife. Then we spotted a Steller Sea lion eating a fish out in the water in front of Toe Head Island. It was likely a large male, as his head was massive coming out of the water. We briefly saw him fling his snack around, before diving back down out of sight. We also saw 3 other juvenile Stellers on Lydia Shoal marker in Rosario Strait, that were laying their heads on each other.
Not long after, we were rewarded with Biggs Orcas on the south end of West Sound. There were 4 whales total, and identified to be the T90 matriline (matriarchal family).
T90 – Eagle the matriarch
T90B – Piglet
T90C – Tigger
T90D – Kanga
Luckily we were able to catch them during a hunt, which meant them displaying feeding and prey sharing behavior like milling and tail slapping. This is always fun to watch. They celebrated their meal afterward with an excellent spy hop!
Side note: we rarely see the prey or any gore, and this was no exception. We also got to hear some blows as they approached us at one point.
We were very grateful and satisfied with our first venture out into the islands this year.
A Surprise Humpback and Seven Biggs for our second day out
May 5, 2024
For our second outing this year, we found continued luck out in the islands.
Lots of harbor seals, we affectionately call rock sausages, hauled out on Viti Rocks this morning. We also got eyes on the always majestic eagle.
Captain Jeff then spotted an unexpected humpback in Rosario Strait! This was the first humpback spotted this season. This sort of surprise is always fun, as we tend to locate whales via group communication amongst fellow local whale watchers. Especially for this sighting though, since unlike Orca who hang out here year round, Humpbacks head down to warmer waters to breed, before coming back up to our region to eat. We’re super excited to see humpbacks back in the Salish Sea this season, and will hopefully meet some new calves this year. We identified him as Wormhole and saw some really good tail flukes.
We also got to see Charlie II, a fresh two year old in the 49As who has a cute underbite. We watched two other large males and four females for a total of 7 Orcas spotted. Always a treat to see both toothed whales and baleen whales in one day.
Humpback – Wormhole
T19 – Nootka
T19C – Spouter
Т49А – Nan the Matriarch
Т49А3 – Nat
T49A4 – Neptune
T49А5 – Nebula
T49A6 – Charlie II
We wound up with an excellent kickoff weekend, and look forward to an excellent season this year.
