Saturday, November 26, 2011

2011 Season Highlights!












































































Here are a few images showing the highlights of our 2011 Whale Watching Season! This was one of the most consistent season in recent memory for sighting whales. From the end of May we saw some type of whale every day until the end of the season!

The types of whales we saw included Resident (fish eaters) Orcas, Transient (marine mammal eaters) Orcas, Gray Whales, Minke Whales and Humpback Whales:) In the Resident Orcas we had a couple of new calfs to add to the population, which is always excellent news! We saw a large number of Humpback Whales off Victoria again this fall, with the record being 11 Humpbacks during one day:) The return of the Humpback Whales to the Salish Sea is an exciting success story as these whales continue to rebound!

Apart from the whales we saw lots of interesting wildlife including large numbers of Harbor Seals, Stellar & California Sealions, Northern Elephant Seals, Dalls & Harbor Porpoise. The bird sightings in the Salish Sea were amazing with lots of different species of Marine Birds, attracted to the area by the large quantity of bait fish. We even saw Pelicans once again this year off Victoria, as well as Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons, and even the odd Tufted Puffin:)

Thank you to all our wonderful guests that joined our excursions this season, you helped make 2011 one of the most successful seasons for Five Star Whale Watching! We look forward to seeing many of you again in 2012:)