While at the dock in Alder Bay this morning passengers enjoyed watching as a river otter walked along the walkway prior to diving into the water, it was a wonderful encounter for those who had never seen an otter before and especially one so close! We began our tour by making our way towards Weynton Passage when orcas were reported to be heading to the west abeam the Sophia Islands in Johnstone Strait and as we drew near we could see them moving very slowly, they were resting and taking long dives and as we drifted in the current with our engine off, at one point when they surfaced we could see that they had turned back to the east, grouped together. The orcas were identified as the A36 brothers: A37 & A46 and the All’s small group: All, A56 & A97, the same resident orcas that have been in the area for the past few days. Other sightings today included: dall’s porpoises, a single pacific white-sided dolphin, a stellar sea lion, harbour seals, rhinoceros auklets, common murre, red-necked phalaropes++, california, mew and glaucous-winged gulls, bald eagles and oyster catchers.