Biggs 65As Rosario Strait

Bald Eagles Feast

Our first sighting this morning was a seal carcass or rather what some whales had left behind. The tell is the gut sack and intestines that did not get eaten by some killer whales. I only got the bones in the pics that I included. A juvenile bald eagle flew in and bowled over the adult eagle in the first pic. I thought this was pretty brazen on the youngsters part; however, the adult let it go. Maybe he had already had his fill of meat.

Biggs Killer Whales

The primary sighting of the day was the Biggs 65As in Rosario Strait along with the T124As and 124C, a big male of the group. We were viewing them in middle of Rosario Strait.

At one point, we were well off to the side while the whales were on a dive. I was outside the viewing line of boats as was Soundwatch. They called me on the radio saying they thought I had a whale behind me. About that time, the whole group of whales surfaced in the middle of all of us, including Soundwatch. As a result, we all shut down and enjoyed the moment until they had passed and cleared.

Some say we corral the whales; rather, I believe that it is the whales who control us. Because of the laws we need to follow around the Orca, we shut down. I also believe they think we are their play toys. Because of our laws being what they are, we must shut down when the whales pop up within 200 yards. As a result, we just put a damper on their having fun with us. I don’t sense fear on the whales part at all; instead, it is a mischievous pattern in their personality to mess with the boats.

They have been around us enough to know we do not mean them harm. I have seen them perform for Ken Balcomb’s boats from the Center for Whale Research. They don’t seem to mind when Giles is following behind collecting feces samples either. On the other hand, I have seen Orca slap their tails at a NOAA vessel riding over the top of them attempting to tag the whales.

Wary Harbor Seals

We made our way over to Pea Pod Rocks where a whole lot of seals were very aware of the whales’ presence and staying put on the rocks. therefore ensuring their safety. I think they got the memo that it was a bad day for a swim.

T65A6 &T65A2

The young calf T65A6 is a joy to watch as it lunges out of the water beside mama. The calves have lots of energy, as a result, we get to enjoy watching as they are frolicking around with the pod. Todays time with Biggs 65As in Rosario Strait was no exception. T65A2 is another large male that is a big brother to the calf.

Check out some of my other Photoblog pages at Whale Tales.