An amazing day of marvellous sights, sounds, colours and species!
August 15th
Sightings: Orcas, Humpback Whales, Dall's porpoises, Pacific White-sided Dolphins, Stellar sea lions, Harbour seals, Bald Eagles, Black-tailed deer, Rhinoceros and Cassin's Auklets, Marbled Murrelets, Common Murres, Great Blue Herons, Black Oystercatchers, and Pigeon Guillemot's.
'Wow' was the word of the day as we encountered Orca only minutes after leaving the Alert Bay dock. It was the magnificent I33's and possibly others which consisted of approximately 20 individuals. After spending some precious time with this group we continued exploring the area and came across other groups of Orca traveling in a Northerly direction.
As we travelled along the shoreline, it was special to see Eaglets still utilizing their summer nests, perhaps not ready to leave home as yet. One of our resident Humpback whales known as Inukshuk was seen resting fairly close to shore. At one stage the whale surfaced with bull kelp fronds draped over its entire back. Dolphins and Porpoises joined in the marine mammal parade and hundreds of Harbour Seals took center stage as we drifted close by the islands.
It was a remarkable day with numerous sightings of the many animals who continue utilizing the abundance of this rich and wondrous eco-system.
Seasmoke Whale Watching photo's taken by Dave Jones have been taken with a telephoto lens and cropped.