Cooperative Search
As we left the harbor this morning, we did not have a destination in mind, meaning no sightings yet. This dilemma soon changed with report of orca fins seen in Rosario Strait northbound. Several of us started a search grid from different directi0ns. The pod we were searching for were the T101’s a pod of Orca with full bellies from the previous days kill of a Gray Whale.
I shutdown near where I thought the Orca might be to scan in all directions. Then someone spotted them from a distance on the far side of an islet from where I was. I headed that direction, and we happened to be the first boat on the scene.
The T101’s are a pod of four animals. Mom and her three sons, two of which have the 6′ tall dorsal fins of a full grown male.
They messed around with a seal, but no kills today. That Gray Whale was more than they could consume. When I got on my computer to edit and publish pics I noticed a divers flag. It was from a yacht that was anchored up as the whales were swimming by. I wonder if there was really a diver down and what a shock that would be to be face to face with such a huge creature. There has never been a person hurt by an orca in the wild but still. I remember being startled when I came face to face with a wolf eel while diving.
Humpback named Monarch at Monarch Point
We also spent time viewing a Humpback Whale named Monarch. When one of my colleagues was relaying position, I heard Monarch and had to ask if that was the whale or the point. It turns out it was the whale, but he was about a mile from Monarch Point when we got to him, so you can see why I questioned it.
We saw some Stellar Sea Lions on the afternoon tour.
Bald Eagles and Black Oystercatchers
We saw a mated pair of bald eagles. The female had, what I later learned when editing photos, the head of a Ling Cod. I am not sure how she ended up with it, but she had been swimming. Her mate was sitting on a rock above her, complaining that she was not sharing. He was ticked off at her.
There were several Humpback Whales around today. In the afternoon, I made my way towards another one, and as it turned out, it was Monarch we were viewing. On the way to the Orca, we saw another pair but kept going towards the T101’s. A pretty nice day even though there were no kills because this pod of Orca with full bellies was not starving for sure. The Humpback Whales were a treat to see more cetaceans in the straits.
I had shot a few photos of the Bald Eagles and Black Oystercatchers to complete to this beautiful day on the water. One of the afternoon photos shows an Orca in the Strait of Georgia with Vancouver skyscrapers in the background.
Check out some of my other photo blog pages at Whale Tales.
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