Biggs and Humpbacks
Our day started with learning there was a single Orca within the islands and nearby. My first tour was a private tour with a family from Philidelphia, PA. I learned that the orca was T65A2, a 15-year-old male. He is a son of T65A. Recently, he has been spending much time with his aunt and cousins in the T65Bs. This day was spent watching Humpbacks and Biggs whales, and I cannot think of a better way to spend a day.
15-Year-Old T65A2
We began viewing T65A2 north of Flattop Island and observed him as he traveled over to Johns Island and on to Stuart Island. About that time, the United States Customs and Border Protection helicopter started hovering over the whale and us. We left him there and headed out to find some humpback whales.
Three Humpback Whales
We caught up with Pete Hardy, who had located three humpbacks. They were Big Mama, Heather, and Raptor. Later on another humpback whale, I was not able to identify.
We also saw several sea birds and harbor seals with their pups on both tours today.
Two Philadelphia Familys
The second tour was also a private tour with another family from Philadelphia, which was pretty cool. Two families from the same town show up on the same day for back to back trips.
T18 and T19’s
On the second tour, we headed north to meet up with T18 and the T19s consisting of T19, T19B, and T19C. T19B and T19C are both adult males with impressive six-foot-tall dorsal fins. We observed them along the Tumbo Island inside channel until they reached Whinyville Protection Zone.
Whinyville Protection Zone
This area is off-limits to vessels because it is a “critical habitat protection area” for the Southern Resident Killer Whales. It does not matter that there are not any Southern Resident Killer Whales within hundreds of miles of here. Whinyville is a bunch of clifftop houses and owners on Saturna and Pender Islands with enough money to sway politicians to give them, in essence, property rights well out into Boundary Pass’s navigable waters.
It is worth mentioning here that local Whinyville residents were also in Tumbo Channel with a skiff and sat in front of the orcas’ path, then as they passed the boat, the operator fired up and started following the whales which not legal anywhere in Washington or British Columbia. Their pic is in this post.
More Humpbacks
After the whales entered the protection zone, we made our way over to view a humpback whale that was close by. After a few surfacings of the humpback, we then went back to get a couple more views of the orca. We caught up with them at Java Rocks, and it looked like they were making a kill, but we did not see any evidence of it. I pointed out some young seal pups and Black Oystercatchers before we departed for home.
On the way back we transited Johns Pass and saw the Camp NorWester TeePee’s the kids’ sleep in while at camp.
It was such a beautiful day on the water with perfect weather. It was too hot for me. I was wearing a short sleeve vented shirt, and I was still sweating. Still, any day on the water is an excellent day, and viewing Humpbacks and Biggs Whales makes it even better.
Check out some of my other photoblog pages at Whale Tales.
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