The ocean was full of treasures!
August 19th
Our sightings: Humpback Whales, Orca, Dall's porpoise, Harbour seals. Stellar sea lions, Bald Eagles, Rhinoceros Auklets, Marbled Murrelets, Common Murres, Red-necked Phalaropes, Black Oystercatchers, Belted Kingfishers and Gull species.
It was a busy day for Seasmoke Whale Watching as three tours went out to play and thankfully the weather was mild. Fog took the day off and so the air was fresh and clear, and the sea welcomed us with tranquility.
The very first sighting of a whale today was one that breached and it was a Humpback. More blows were seen and after making our way to the action, we observed numerous other blows as well as a whale known as Moonstar was bubble-net feeding. The ocean came alive as the current stirred up the sea bringing rich nutrients to the surface. Auklets, Murres and numerous gulls arrived on scene to take part in the feast. They dove into chaos of current and bubbles, then rose again with a beak full of fish. The chorus of varied squawks and shrieks filled the motionless air.
A report of Orcas in the area turned our attention and boat in their direction. Thankfully they were fairly close and it took little time for us to reach them. They too were making good use of the abundance of food in the area. Their buffet consisted of fresh salmon and they were not the only specie hunting this local cuisine. Our guests witnessed an unusual event, as two Dall's Porpoise swam by our silently drifting boat in pursuit of a salmon. All was seen underneath the surface due to the sea being ultra-calm and transparent.
Not only were there Humpbacks and over 60 Orca were in the area, we had a wonderful sighting of Sea Lions. A generous group of Stellar Sea Lions sailed by our vessel, some of them had their flipper poised in mid-air, as they regulated their body temperature. Evidence of Sea Otter was present as a devoured Sea Urchin floated by us in the current and the sounds of Kingfishers and Oystercatchers drifted to us from the forested shoreline. It was a Plethora of sights, sounds and awesome encounters summarized perfectly by one of our guests: "Today the ocean was full of treasures".
Seasmoke Whale Watching photo's have been taken by Dave Jones with a telephoto lens and have been cropped.
These four photo's taken by Robin Quirk have been cropped and taken with a telephoto lens.