T65B's and T65A2 Orca

Which Way Do We Go?

The morning started a bit slow with sightings. A pod was off of Crofton, BC inside Salt Spring Island this morning. I quit keeping track of them and don’t think they were seen. We were with T65B’s and T65A2 Orca milling and multidirectional.

Another pod was located west of Victoria quite a ways, but that was our destination. That is until a report came in that a pod was in Active Pass up north. It was a reliable report but nobody currently had eyes on them. The Spirit of Orca sped up there as fast as we could to join in the search.

T665B’s and T65A2

We caught up with them a couple of miles north of Active Pass in the Strait of Georgia. This pod was the 65B’s, consisting of the Matriarch T65B with her two calves. The youngest T65B2 maybe a year old and her big brother T65B1 born in 2011. That would make him more a juvenile than a calf. The matriarch, T65B has a piece of her dorsal fin missing right at the base.

One other Orca in this group is T65A2, a 15-year-old male cousin. He usually travels with T65A and his siblings. However, today, he was happy to be with his aunt and cousins.

When it was time to head back, we eased away and began looking at more wildlife on the return trip.

Seals and Seabirds

We watched a few seals and pups, including one tiny pup (not pictured) staying close to mom. A Bald Eagle right at the waterline appeared to be keeping a keen eye on the pup. He seemed to be looking for his chance to grab it. That eagle appeared to be having a bad hair day too.

I saw a single Black Oystercatcher foraging and did not seem to notice how close I was. Allowing me to get in a bit closer. There was also a Pigeon Guillemot with a small Sculpin it had caught. With these T65B’s and T65A2 Orca plus the seabirds who could ask for a better day.