Week of June 21st, 2021 – Covered Vessel Tours
What a week it has been on the waters surrounding Victoria! Hot, hot temperatures and hot, hot whale sightings too! Humpback whales are back in droves and Bigg’s Killer Whales are cruising the Salish Sea in large groups made up of multiple families in search of seals and porpoises to prey upon.
The week started with lunge feeding humpbacks where we captured great photos of them with gaping mouths, exposing their baleen and pink tongues. Be sure to check out June 21st’s tour album on our Flickr page! Not far from the feeding Humpbacks, we spotted a large group of Bigg’s (Transient) orcas breaking the surface of glassy waters in tight-knit groups.
In the middle of the week we spent a couple of days southwest of Victoria where swells rolled in from the open Pacific and the Humpbacks were taking advantage of the rollers by riding the swells and enjoying a push with the flood tides. We saw breaches, back flops, spyhops, peck slaps, and non-stop fluking! Their food may be close to the surface right now as they are not doing long dives and skimming the surface with mouths wide open. Tours have been filled with cheers, squeals and memories to last a lifetime. Get a glimpse of what guests experienced by checking out our June 25th photo collection on Flickr!
There has been more than jsut whales out there though, with amazing sightings of the first Harbour Seals pups nursing from their mothers at Race Rocks Lighthouse. You can check out the new furry tots in our June 21st photo album! Nothing melts your heart more than a new baby with big eyes all snuggled up to its mother! Jellyfish are everywhere too and easy to spot with their yellow, gold and pink colours shining thrrough the green waters. And from the feathered world we have seen Rhinocerous Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, and Bald Eagles chasing pesky seagulls! Whether it was underwater, at the surface, or in the sky, wildlife has been amazing this week!
To finish off the week, we found large feeding groups of Humpbacks between Victoria and Race Rocks Lighthouse, and more large groups of Bigg’s Killer Whales foraging along the shorelines west of the Capital City. One impressive Humpback out there is named Ocular and is easy to ID because of large growths where its body and tail connect. This five year old was entangled in fishing gear in 2017/2018 and may have developed scar tissue from its injuries. We also spotted a favourite among whale watchers- Poptart! Poptart is the most recent calf born to the famous Big Mama, so we always love to see little Poptart, now independant, back in local waters.
Every day brings new and unique experiences on the water. We never know who or what species we will see on a tour, but nature seems to disappoint! Discover your own adventure by joining us on a tour today!
