Monday, June 30, 2008

Superpod! June 30th, 2008.

Tall Ships leaving Victoria.




The pictures above were taken by Ron Bates, MMRG.





All three pods, J, K and L pod were encountered near Salmon Bank today. The Orcas were spread out over a wide area throughout the day and in the afternoon our passengers enjoyed watching mostly members of Kpod.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Humpback Whale and Resident Orcas! June 29th, 2008.





Aircraft carrier and Submarine move through the Strait of Juan De Fuca.









Tourism Victoria Clock Tower



The pictures above were taken during todays tours by Ron Bates, MMRG.


Today we had two Humpback Whales in the area and it is exciting to see these large Balean Whales return to our local waters again this summer. We also had the return of our resident Orcas with members of Jpod, Kpod and part of Lpod returning after spending time out west!

With clear blue skies, incredibly hot temperatures and nice seas, it was a perfect day to be on the water with Five Star Whale Watching:)

Humpback Whale and T14 "Pender"! June 28th, 2008.





This shot shows the 2 indentations on t14's dorsal fin left by a radio collar attached by researchers in April 1976. 

Mt. Baker
Tall Ships off Victoria Waterfront with three cruise ships in the background.


Humpback Breach!



Tail Fluke.

Coho Ferry full of passengers moving across the Strait of Juan De Fuca.
Eagles Nest
Humpback Whale about to deep dive.

T14 "Pender"
The first six pictures above were taken by Ron Bates, MMRG.

Our passengers & crew enjoyed one of the hottest days of the year so far in the company of a Humpback Whale and a famous Transient Orca, T14 "Pender"! During our tours passengers were also able to enjoy the festivities of the Tall Ships Festival, including the afternoon sail past and evenings canon battle.

During our evening tour we first encountered the Humpback Whale (South of Constance Bank) in a slow lazy sleeping mode but near the end of our time with the Humpback it started to wake up and even breached! There was a lot of food in the water and the Humpback looked like it had lunged at one of the bait balls (schools of small fish near the surface) in the area. It took both the crew, passengers and the birds feeding on the bait ball by complete surprise:) I did manage to catch the very tail end of the breach on camera, but we all heard the loud boom as the Humpback hit the surface of the water, it was spectacular!!!!

We then headed to the East where a Transient Orca T14 "Pender", had been reported south of Discovery Island. What a bonus for our passengers, two types of Cetacean in one trip. Not long after arriving on scene we witnessed a very rare behavior for a solitary Transient Orca as "Pender" began to tailslap repeatedly! Usually this type of behavior is to signal other Orcas but there were no other Orcas in the area as far as we could tell. Still whatever the reason it was a magical sight to witness and proved once again how unpredictable wildlife can be.

On our way back to the inner harbor we were able to catch the highlights of the evenings Canon Battle. Another stunning sunset was the perfect finale to an unforgettable day!