Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Transient Orcas and Humpback Whales! Oct 14th, 2008.

Spyhop by T21.
If you look closely you can see blood in the mouth of the nearest Orca in this picture!!

T2's

T2's 




T21 & T20 Transient Orcas
T20 passes by Race Rocks

Steller Sealions at Race Rocks.

Harbor Seals and Sealions at Race Rocks.

Beautiful taill fluke in the sun light!


The picture above and below shows exactly why the Humpback Whale gets its name.

Humpback Whale Tailfluke





Common Murres


This morning we set out as the second boat from Victoria Harbor and headed along the shoreline in search of Transient Orcas. As we neared Race Rocks MPA our skipper "Trev", spotted a blow and then the dorsal fin of a large male and also a female. We soon identified the Orcas as the T20's a pairing of Transient Orcas! Another vessel that was heading over to the 2 Orcas we had found then spotted a second group of Transient Orcas, the T2's. As we watched the T2's there was signs of a possible kill and one animal when it next surfaced had blood pouring from its mouth!

Later after a quick stop at Race Rocks we went to Constance bank and found 2 Humpback Whales. When we first found the Humpbacks they were doing log dives between 6-9 minutes but then started to wake up and be more active. We saw some impressive tail flukes and one of the Humpbacks waved its huge pectoral fin at the surface:)

It was a beautiful day to be on the water and observe the wonders of the Salish Sea!

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