The Orca Are Back!

Morning passengers set out from Alert Bay in the MV Seasmoke under bright and sunny skies with picturesque clouds, accompanied by a breeze from the southeast. Once out in the lovely islands that populate this region of the coast, not only were many water fowl such as the Red Necked Grebe, Rhinoceros Auklet and Black Oystercatchers observed, but guests watched as a mother deer with her fawn crawled out of the water onto a rocky ledge in the Plumper Islands.

A mature eagle perched just at the edge of the nest was keeping a watchful eye over its newly born eaglet. This is an active nest, where every year, eagles lay their eggs and their offspring mature into mottled brown juveniles, then eventually sport the characteristic black and white feathers we come to associate with Bald eagles.

Silver and black spotted Harbour seals were seen in the gorgeous Pearse and Stephanson Islands, and the lively Dall’s porpoise bounded through the waves in Weynton Passage and Blackfish Sound. Also in Blackfish Sound, near Orca Lab off the east side of Hanson Island, passengers watched three large and graceful Humpback whales foraging for food with a calf. Humpbacks were rarely sighted until about ten years ago, when they began to the return to the Pacific Northwest in larger and larger numbers, and it is estimated that there are about 100 that visit this region annually.

Afternoon travellers were treated to the sight of five or six ‘black and white’s’, the Northern resident Orca, identified as A35s, swimming south along the shore of Vancouver Island, opposite Hanson Island, grouped together and stopping to feed. These sleek mammals would stay close to the surface, the sunlight glinting off their shining backs, then dive following their prey. Such a joy to see!

On the return, many seals popped their heads up out of the flat-surfaced water, and a lone large Stellar sea lion was seen swimming across Blackfish Sound. In the narrow passage between the Pearse Islands, the Seasmoke slowed so that passengers could see the intensely colourful underwater life, that included many orange sea stars (starfish) that we are glad to see return to our coast in larger numbers, set against emerald green grasses . Another beautiful trip that reminds us how fortunate we are live in such a rich environment, abundant in fascinating marine life.