Have You Seen Any of These?

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Resident Orca, Transient Orca, Pacific White Sided Dolphins, Dall's Porpoises, Minke Whales, and Humpback Whales

Reports for the past two days include Resident Orca, Transient Orca, Pacific White Sided Dolphins, Dall's Porpoises, Minke Whales, and Humpback Whales. My apologies for omissions in the reports. I was caught without pen and paper or too busy on numerous occasions and although my memory is good, it seems too short.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

Northern Resident Orca:

July 28:

5:30 pm A12 and the two A36 brothers were mid Johnstone Strait between Boat Bay and the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve.

Around 2:30 pm Orca were headed into Nodales Channel. (I believe I was told it was A12 and the A36 brothers, but this is where my memory got short, or at least I questioned it due to the above report. They would have had to travel very fast back up the Johnstone Strait – SM)

1:15 pm A23's and A30's were Eastbound by Lizard Point, Malcolm Island, Queen Charlotte Strait. By 2:30 pm they were already heading down Blackfish Sound towards Johnstone Strait.

10:30 am A12 and the two A36 boys were heading West by Naka Creek, Johnstone Strait.

July 27:

7:30 pm Orca by Hanson Island heading West.

1 pm A23's and A24's Eastbound by Adam River, Johnstone Strait.

12 pm A12 and 36's headed in Nodales Channel being harassed by Dolphins.

Hi Susan! We had a great day out on the water today on our first official Whalewatching Adventure of the year. Started with the A-36s and A-12 Easting into Nodales Channel at about 1145 am. (continued report under Transient Orca – SM)
Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures


Transient Orca Breach July 27, 2011
Photo by: Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures

9:15 am A12 and A36 brothers were at Camp Point heading East with 4 to 5 Pacific White Sided Dolphins harassing them.
AJ, Oak Bay Hurricane

Orca: Could be either Resident or Transient:

July 28:

10:30 am 5 Orca Eastbound down Johnstone Strait by Kelsey Bay.

9:30 am 2 to 3 Orca Eve River, Johnstone Strait Westbound.

8 am 5 Orca Westbound by Black Bluff, Malcolm Island close to Port McNeill.

Transient Orca:

July 28:

3:45 pm Transient Orca including T20 and T21 were Southbound in Seymour Narrows.

July 27:

7:30 pm 8 Transient Orca were Southbound by Rebecca Spit, Quadra Island.

4 pm Transients including T20 and T21 were by Octopus Islands heading to Beazely Pass.

2 pm 8 Orca Southbound by Quadra Island from Hole in the Wall including T20 and T21.



Transient Orca T124A3 July 27, 2011
Photo by: Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures

(Continued from Resident Orca Report)
Then a report of Orca westing thru the Hole In The Wall, so off we went! We found who I believe to be T-20, T-21, T-124, T-124E, T-124A1, T-124A3 plus 2 others I believe. I have enclosed a couple of photographs for you. Very active today, kelping, taillobbing, cartwheels, multiple breaches......it was incredible!
Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures



Transient Orca T124 July 27, 2011
Photo by: Nick Templeman, Eagle Eye Adventures

Minke Whales:

July 28:

7:45 pm a Minke Whale was feeding in the kelp beds out by the Sophia Islands, upper Johnstone Strait.
Larry on the Lukwa, Stubbs Island Whale Watching

July 27:

2 pm Minke working the currents at the top of Weynton Pass, Johnstone Strait to Blackfish Sound.

There were a few other Minke reports – apologies, not noted when or where. SM

Humpback Whales:

July 28:

9:30 am 2 Humpback Whales were in the Robson Bight and one of them started singing. (This is very early in the season!-SM)
Overheard on Radio

8 am Humpback Whale by Donagal Head, Blackfish Sound.

July 27:

8:45 am Humpback Whale heading East by Telegraph Cove possibly to meet up with the Humpback Whale in front of Alert Bay.

Pacific White Sided Dolphins:

July 28:

Around 2 pm 12 Pacific White Sided Dolphins around Cinq Islands, Discovery Passage, just above Campbell River.

8 am 'some' Dolphins and Dall's Porpoises were close by the Humpback by Donagal Head.

Numerous small groups of Dolphin and Porpoise sightings scattered throughout the other whale sightings.


From Farther South:
Submitted by: Susan Berta and Howard Garrett, Orca Network, Whidbey Island, WA

July 27
4 pm - We just watched 6 Orca hunting harbor seals on Kanem & Violet points (Protection Is. Port Townsend). There were 3 lunges for shore and one seal corralled by at least 5 Orca! The group had one large male and two small Orca of about 1/3rd of the size of the large male. They were heading east when last seen.
Sue Thomas, Protection Island NWR

July 26
J's and K's visited Saturna's East Point from 7:45 am until about 8:45 riding the tail end of an ebb tide, heading towards Haro Strait. Extremely active and playful non-stop for as long as I could see them -- multiple double and triple breaches observed, and just about every other acrobatic maneuver -- cartwheels, headstands, you name it. In the range of about 30+ whales, led by J2 -- almost all visiting the kelp beds at the lighthouse passing as close to shore as possible. I can't say that there was too much obvious foraging, but J2 and two others, well ahead of the rest, doubled back after coming around Boiling Reef and headed into the channel that runs in the middle of the reef where the current is strongest, and seem to busy themselves there for three or four minutes before continuing on their way. I continued to watch them until around 9:30 when they disappeared behind Monarch Head. Not a single boat of any kind the whole time that I can recall.
-Miles Ritter Saturna Island

July 26
At 7:30 this morning I saw a blow when I was almost to the Bremerton Shipyard parking lot. I parked and looked out over the water and saw another blow between the parking lot and the floating mothballed ships. The body with a very small dorsal fin came up and it looked smooth and black. I believe it was a Minke. It was about 8 minutes between blows and did not see it again.
Looking at google images, it did look like a humpback... the small fin looked like a ridge but was pointed inthe back. Very slow, but strong and graceful movement.
To answer your other questions... I could not see any white and the blow was very visible, about 3' diameter and maybe 8' tall.
Thank You, Andrew Doerr
With a visible blow and a pointed dorsal fin this sounds like a humpback, but a small gray whale died on a beach in Bremerton this morning, so it's possible that's what it was.


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