June 12th – Humpback Whale, Transient Orca & Lpod today!

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Andrew

Lpod

Transient Orca

Humpback Whale

It was a triple header day for Five Star Whale Watching with encounters with a Humpback Whale, Transient Orca & Lpod! This is what makes Victoria one of the best destinations for Whale Watching in BC and the world. We found the 1st whale of the day, a Humpback Whale near William Head  Then we found out about a lone & rare Transient Orca (U39) NE of Port Angeles. Late this afternoon we heard Resident Orcas had been spotted and sure enough we had Lpod inbound at Race Rocks! What an awesome day  We also go to see Seal’s & Sea Lions at Race Rocks as well as a Sea Otter!

To see more images from today’s encounters click on the link below;

June 12 – Humpback Whale, Transient Orca & Lpod

June 11th – J & Kpod near Lime Kiln.

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Andrew

J & Kpod

Today we encounter J & Kpod near Lime Kiln! This was the first time we had encountered members of Kpod this season and it was great to see old friends  We got to see several members of both J & Kpod including K 21 “Cappuccino”, J28 “Polaris”, J46 “Star”, J34 “Doublestuf”, J22 “Oreo”, K26 Lobo & K33 “Tika” amongst others. The Orcas were in a playful mood with breaching, spy hops and tail slaps observed. We later heard confirmation from the Center for Whale Research that all of Kpod had been accounted for, which was great news.

Apart from the Orcas we also got to see lots of Seals and Porpoise today as well as Bald Eagles.

To see more images from today’s tour please click on the link below;

June 11th – J & Kpod near Lime Kiln

June 8th – Humpback Whales & a Minke Whale

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Andrew

Today we had a lovely encounter with a Minke Whale near Oak Bay Flats and two Humpback Whales near Salmon Bank! We also got to see Eagles, Harbor Porpoise, Dall’s Porpoise and Harbor Seals during our tours today.

You can see more images from today’s tours at the following link;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152976226952194.1073742260.83152127193&type=3

June 6th PM – Incredible evening with Lpod!

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Andrew

Lpod

This evening we had an incredible encounter with a very playful group of Lpod off the west side of San Juan Island. One particular group with some youngsters was being especially playful with lots of cartwheels, tail slaps and inverted tail lobs! As if that was not enough on our way home we also found the Humpback Whale that we had first found during our afternoon tour This time the Humpback was near Discovery Island and was doing lots of surface feeding. As we entered the harbour we were treated to a breathtaking west coast sunset, which was the perfect way to end an unforgettable day!
You can see more images from this incredible evening encounter by clicking on the link below;
June 6th – Incredible evening with Lpod

June 6th afternoon – Afternoon with a Humpback & Lpod!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Andrew

Lpod

Humpback

This afternoon we had another memorable encounter with both a Humpback Whale & members of Lpod! We were on our way towards the south end of San Juan Island when we came across a lone Humpback Whale west of Hein Bank. After watching the Humpback for a while, including a number of tail flukes as it went on deep dives, we continued on our way to Salmon Bank. At the Salmon Bank marker we spotted two Sea Lions resting on the marker soaking up the heat of the day  We then moved towards Cattle Point where we encountered several members of Lpod! The pod split as part of them moved west towards Hein and part moved north up San Juan Island. It was great to see members of Lpod once again!
You can see more images from this tour at the following link;
June 6th – Afternoon with a Humpback and Lpod

June 6th AM – Morning with Transient Orcas!

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orcas

This morning we had a lovely encounter with two male Transients, near Moresby Island! The two Orcas were identified as TO49C (born in 1998) and TO124C (born in 1992). These two young male Transient Orcas have been hanging around the Salish Sea for a few days now. However, the first time we encountered TO49C a few weeks ago he was traveling on his own, which is not unusual for Transients, especially Males. Apart from the Orcas we got to see Seals & Porpoise during our trip and experienced some wonderful scenery!
You can see more images from this encounter by clicking on the link below;
June 6th AM – Morning with Transients

June 5th – Jpod & a Minke Whale

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Andrew

Jpod

Today we had wonderful encounters with Jpod and a Minke Whale. During the morning all of Jpod was encountered near Middle Bank and they were milling around and looking like they could not decide which direction to travel. Then in the afternoon they had returned to the West side of San Juan Island and were traveling north close to shore. We also saw a Minke Whale lunge feeding on our way home in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day!
To see more images from today’s encounter please click on the link below;
June 5th – Jpod & a Minke Whale

June 2nd - Humpback Whales!

Humpback Whales

Today we had a wonderful encounter with two Humpback Whales North East of Port Angeles! We had encountered these two Humpbacks a few days ago in Boundary Passage, so it was a little surprising to see them off PA. We got to see lots of tail flukes and tail waves as we watched these two travel very close together. The one Humpback seemed to be being very playful and was touching the sides of the other one and then doing head stands as it brought its tail flukes out of the water.

We also got to see Porpoise and Seals.
You can see more images from today's encounter at the following link;
June 2 - Humpback Whales

June 1st – Jpod & Transient Orcas!

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orcas off Victoria

Jpod

What a cracking way to start off Orca awareness month, with both Jpod & Transient Orcas, the TO60’s, south of Trial Island! June is Orca Awareness month in Washington State and we could have not asked for a great example to our guests of what it means to be aware and to protect the Orcas of the Salish Sea We started out with a wonderful encounter with Jpod north of Lime Kiln and got to see most of Jpod including the new babies plus old friends like J2 “Granny”, J34 “Doublestuf” and J28 “Polaris”.

Then as we were heading for home we heard that a pod of Transient Orcas had been reported south of Trial Island. No boat was on scene when we arrived south of Trial but our Eagle Eyed Captain Trev, soon spotted them a little to the south west We soon identified these Orcas as the TO60’s, a group that had been seen a few days earlier. What a nice bonus for our guests as these Transient Orcas moved swiftly west, closer and closer to Victoria. It was as if they were escorting us to our home port!
To see more images from this wonderful day please click on the link below;
June 1st – Jpod & Transient Orcas

May 30th - 2 Humpback Whales!

May 30th – Two Humpback Whales encountered!

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Andrew

Humpback Whales

Today we were lucky enough to encounter two Humpback Whales in Boundary Pass near Skipjack Island:) The Humpbacks had been first reported by a local fishing charter company and luckily we were close by when the report came in. As we arrived on scene the two Humpbacks were bringing up their enormous tail flukes as they went on a deep dive. After a short while they both appeared at the surface side by side and then surfaced several times before tail fluking before another deep dive. We watched as they repeated this behavior for most of our time with them.
Apart from the 2 Humpbacks we also saw Seals, Porpoise and Bald Eagles today.
For more images from today’s tours please click on the link below;
May 30th – 2 Humpback Whales

May 29th – Humpback Whale & a Sea Otter!

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Andrew

Humpback Whale

Sea Otter

Today we had a wonderful encounter with a Humpback Whale “Big Mama” and a Sea Otter! Our adventure began in the morning with “Big Mama” near Blunden Island in Boundary Passage. She did numerous tail flukes whilst we were on scene, much to the delight of our excited passengers who were thrilled to see this famous large Humpback Whale We also got to spend some time at Race Rocks where we encountered a very relaxed Sea Otter!
To see more images from today’s encounters click on the link below;
May 29th – Humpback Whale & Sea Otter

May 28th – Afternoon with Jpod near Discovery!

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Andrew

This afternoon we had an incredible encounter with Jpod near Discovery Island! The Orcas had moved steadily west since we had left them off the west side of San Juan Island in the morning. As we watched Jpod move towards Discovery Island the pod was split into various Matralines and were in a very playful mood. We got to see several breaches, cartwheels, lots of tail slaps and the most Spy hops many of us had ever seen The Orcas were also playing in the kelp beds at the southern end of Discovery and we saw a lot of them with kelp wrapped around their bodies. We also got to see the three new Jpod babies, which is always a thrill!
You can see more images at the following link;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152949484077194.1073742250.83152127193&type=1

May 28 - Morning with Jpod & Transient Orcas!

May 28th – Morning with Jpod & Transient Orcas!

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Andrew

What an incredible morning trip where we encountered Jpod near BattleShip Island heading south, plus two Transient Orcas (TO77A & T124C) off Ogden Point Jpod was spread out and doing lots of porpoising (high speed swimming) and foraging (hunting for Salmon). We had some nice views of several members including J27 “Blackberry”, J26 “Mike”, J28 “Polaris”, J46 “Star” and L87 “Onyx” who performed several spectacular breaches We then got word that two Transient Orcas had been spotted near Victoria Harbour and when we arrived on scene they were right by Ogden Point breakwater! We soon identified the two male Transients as TO77A and TO124C, the same two Orcas we encountered by Saltspring Island the day before. Once again this shows the great distances Orcas can travel in less than 24 hours! Resident Orcas & Transient Orcas during the same trip, what a way to start the day
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152945715227194.1073742249.83152127193&type=1

May 27th - Transient Orcas near Saltspring

May 27th – Transient Orcas near Saltspring Island!

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Andrew

Transient Orcas

Today we encountered 2 male Transient Orcas, TO77A & T124C near Saltspring Island These two large males had been hanging out in the area for the past couple of days as they travelled together looking for Harbor Seals & Harbor Porpoise! Not only did we enjoy the 2 Transient Orcas, we also enjoyed the incredible scenery around Saltspring Island
You can see more images from today at the following link;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152939728112194.1073742248.83152127193&type=1