12 SEPTEMBER, 2008

Today was a beautiful day to be out on the water. The A30’s were sighted off the Sophia Islands this morning heading to the west, their blows could be seen a distance away. They were well spread out and began foraging intensely in the heavy flood current at Blakney Passage, at one point they were seen heading to the west along the Hanson Island Shore and as suddenly they turned back and in a traveling line, passed nearby the boat on their way back to forage again in Blackney Passage. A dozen or more Pacific white-sided dolphins were observed intermingling amongst them. The A12’s were also sighted, they traveled quickly to the east down the VI shore, carried along by the flood current. On the way home, six or more pacific white-sided dolphins came racing along from behind the boat and were soon riding at the bow and passengers enjoyed watching them turning back and forth under the surface of the water. Just when it couldn’t get any better, a humpback whale was sighted foraging near the Stephenson Islands. It was a truly remarkable day in viewing so many marine mammals and sea birds. Other sightings today were: Numerous stellar sea lions hauled out and in the water swimming+++ hauled out harbour seals, common murres,, red-necked phalaropes, rhinoceros auklets, canada geese flying south east, surf scoters, bald eagles, fork-tailed storm petrels, sooty shearwaters, harlequind ducks, oyster catchers, california gulls, glaucous-winged and bonaparte’s gulls.