Have You Seen Any of These?

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Orca, Gray Whales and Pacific White Sided Dolphins - Lots of Sea Lions Too.

Whale and Dolphin activity appears to be up everywhere. With the proliferation of food, both the fish and meat eaters have plenty to chose from.
We are busy working on doing a few updates and found that we had glitch with our toll free, which we believe is now fixed. We are still waiting to hear about the maps promised us of all the sightings. There will be more information in the next report.
People have been asking about all the Sea Lion activity in our waters. They are busy feeding on the abundant herring in the area and use co-operative efforts to feed on them. When they have nice full bellies, they quite frequently hang about in what we call rafts and cool off by holding their flippers in the air or play. Sometimes we receive reports of Orca when it's actually Sea Lion flippers. When the water is calm, they have a great ability to fool us, so keep your eyes open and remember to give us a call!
Susan MacKay & Lynne Cracknell, Whales and Dolphins BC

Call 1-877-323-9776 or Email your report.
Every sighting report is valuable
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?

Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Powell River, March 23, 2014
Susan MacKay, SG Images


UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES


March 25:
12:20 pm: Orca off the Hump, just off the Cape Mudge Lighthouse on Quadra Island, hunting Seals.
From Radio.

March 23:
12:50 pm: Seven plus Orca (one male) foraging at the Hump, near the Cape Mudge Lighthouse, Quadra Island.
(Original report from Fisherman)
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.

March 23:
5:20 pm: There are Orca being very playful in front of the ferry. Campbell River. They are southbound.
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.

March 22:
9:45 am: Three Orca southbound off Westview towards Grief Point, Powell River, tight to the shore from my sister and granddaughter, Nyla.
Judy Brant, Powell River

March 22:
10 am 3 Orca moving pretty quickly towards Grief Point. There were no big dorsals (males) and they were tight to shore. There's lots of sea lion activity and they didn't seem too concerned, but they were even tighter to shore.
Liz Douglas, Powell River


PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS

Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Powell River, March 23, 2014
Susan MacKay, SG Images

March 24:
6:45 pm: There are around 200 PWS dolphins foraging around between Texada Island and Rebecca Rocks.
Steve Grover.Powell River.

March 24:
7:30 pm: By the way, the Dolphins are still out there! They are heading back towards Texada now.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

March 23:
2:52 pm 3 to 5 Porpoise or Dolphins – smaller than Orca for sure, feeding just off the anchored sailboat by the sea walk.
Shirley Randall, Powell River

March 23:
2:55 pm 5 smaller animals (turned out to be PWS Dolphins) angling back and forth towards the viewpoint.
Liz Douglas, Powell River

March 23:
3:20 pm: PWS Dolphins reported in Powell River. Going to check.
3:40 pm: Initial report had 3 - 5 which I stopped to look for and saw from the viewpoint. Found 30 plus coming quickly from below VanAnda, Texada. They flew by making a bee line North-West towards Vivian Rocks. Waiting a bit to see if there are any more coming around Grief Point or if they're being chased by Orca.
4:00 pm: Another 20 or so between Vananda and Grief Point, moving slow.
5:20 pm: Never got close enough to either group for a really good photo – thank goodness for telephoto lenses. The first group were moving fast and I lost track of them, the second group turned back down Malaspina, foraging. I went back to the harbour!
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Powell River, March 23, 2014
Susan MacKay, SG Images

GRAY WHALES

March 21:
12:30 – 2:00 pm: Gray whales farther off the coast today, about 1/2 to 2 miles from the lighthouse past Mara Rock. (That's about 5 miles out of Ucluelet, on the West Coast.) Lots of Grays going by, but not in such a hurry, so many tails up as they dived. It was great here today, also, frost first thing this morning, but wonderful sunshine all day again. Very calm waters out there in the open, maybe one meter swells but very far apart. And no wind really. A non typical Spring day in Ukee!
Don McBain, North Vancouver visiting Ucluelet

March 20:
12:30 – 2:00 pm: About half a dozen Gray whales east and west of Mara Rock, travelling west on the northern migration. They were motoring so all we could see was blows, of course, heads, and a couple of backs.
Don McBain. North Vancouver visiting Ucluelet.

Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Powell River, March 23, 2014
Susan MacKay, SG Images

LINKS IN THE NEWS:


Thanks to Michael Stewart who sent us this next video, a graphic encounter between excited boaters, exhausted sea lions, and hunting Orca – all off the coast of Prince Rupert a few days ago.

Another link to the same event, this time from the Telegraph newspaper in the U.K!
?v=10152001039285547http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/10719399/Family-capture-rare-close-up-footage-of-killer-whale-hunt.html#disqus_thread


Some great overhead footage courtesy of the CTV News helicopter showing a large pod of Pacific White Sided Dolphins chasing herring in the Strait of Georgia on March 21st.

Pacific White Sided Dolphins
Powell River, March 23, 2014
Susan MacKay, SG Images

Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Call 1-877-323-9776 or Email your report.
Every sighting report is valuable!

We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Orca and Dolphins in Squamish photos, Gray & Humpback Whales, and many Links in the News

Huge flurry of activity with the meat eating Transient Bigg's Killer Whales chasing Pacific White Sided Dolphins into Howe Sound and near Squamish. They did capture at least one – see photos and links in the news below. There are some other Orca reports that may be Transient Bigg's sneaking past at dusk. Gray Whales are arriving back to the West Coast of Vancouver Island as are some Humpbacks, all probably working their way to their Summer feeding grounds.
Rumours (no reports received directly) of some fish eating Northern Resident Orca being spotted near the Great Bear Rainforest as well as at least one Humpback Whale near the top of Johnstone Strait. There are many other Links in the News in this report covering a Humpback entanglement, sonar and whales, Species at Risk Act, stranded Dolphins and more.
Lynne has been helping compile all the reports for a while now and it's overdue that her name is added properly.
Susan MacKay & Lynne Cracknell, Whales and Dolphins BC

Call 1-877-323-9776 or Emailyour report.
Every sighting report is valuable
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?

Transient Bigg's Killer Whale
Captures a Pacific White Sided Dolphin
Squamish area of Howe Sound
March 15, 2014
Photo: Shawn Kokko


UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES

March 18:
7:50 pm Seven Orcas possibly Biggs headed North just off the kelp bed by Hidden Harbour, Campbell River, at 7:50 pm. They were moving fast. We saw 2 large dorsals and 2 calves. The seals that usually hang around here were gone for a bit and just came back yesterday. Jeanne, Campbell River

(These may have been some of the same Orca that had been in Squamish. Based on the photos I've seen, I believe the T60's plus others, possibly T123's, were there and were rumoured around Blackfish Sound March 19th – Susan MacKay)

March 18:
5:15 pm: Five whales were seen heading north slowly about 100 yards offshore off Schooner Cove BC. There was one large male, two females (I believe) with small dorsals. One calf. One smaller male, larger dorsal than the two whales that had the calf between them.
We have had two other sightings in the past month with killer whales southbound.
We have had more sightings in the last two months than the past five years combined, along with more sea lions, herring balls with bald eagles landing in the water, floating for ten to twenty seconds then lifting off. The water in front of our home in Schooner Cove (near Nanoose Bay) seems to be more active this winter/spring.
Robert Wigmore, Schooner Cove.

Transient Bigg's Killer Whales
Blind Channel near Squamish
March 15, 2014
Photo: Sharon Shales

GRAY WHALES/ HUMPBACK WHALES

March 19:
Day: Lovely sunny day, but windy and cold in the wind. Not too rough but only two Gray Whales in about the same area as yesterday. (see report below) Hope to get out on the outside tomorrow.
Don McBain, North Vancouver

March 18:
12 pm - 4:30 pm: The Grays ARE in Barkley Sound! Got into Ucluelet at 11:00 am and was out at 12:00 with Jamie's Whaling Station. We saw three Gray Whales off the north side of Forbes Island, lots of sea lions, and maybe 100 eagles were in and out of the trees on the Island, going after the herring. I haven't seen that many eagles in one spot for years. On the way back in we came across a Humpback also! More tomorrow, I hope, as I will be going out at noon again.
Don McBain, North Vancouver


PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS

Pacific White Sided Dolphins
English Bay, Vancouver
Photo: Earl Paxton

March 16:
12:00 pm: Pacific White Sided Dolphins in False Creek today! I have been watching 3 small pods of PWS dolphins from noon until 3 pm this afternoon. They travelled back and forth from English Bay Beach to beneath the Burrard Street bridge, mostly just hanging round the foot of Jervis Street. I estimate about 20 – 30 in the 2 pods that came in and about the same in a 3rd pod that seemed to remain about 500 metres out towards the buoys. They came to within 30' of the beach. VERY cool to see them in the city. Lots of spectators enjoying the rare sight. I'll send some pics as soon as I download off my camera.
Earl Paxton, West Vancouver.

March 16:
1:00 pm: Hello, I was walking around Vanier Park today March 16 around 1:00 pm and watched 4-6 either porpoise or dolphins swimming into False Creek and then what appeared to be the same group coming out again. As I could not distinguish between either dolphin or porpoise cannot say which it was but lots of other spectators saw them.
They were too far away for me to determine the dorsals but they appeared “silverish” and were leaping so I believe they must have been the Pacific White Sided Dolphins. Quite a thrill.
Carol Attenborrow, Vancouver, BC


March 10: (rec'd 15th)
6:45 pm – 7:30 ish We saw the (PWS) dolphins as well on March 10th,; jumped in our boat and they were no longer in the V as our friends down at Atrevida had stated, but in a long drawn out line, went on the West side of Major Rock and then veered northwards as if heading towards Mary Point (Cortez Island). I got a few shots (none submitted) along with many gulls and cormorants in the sunset sky. Gorgeous but cold!
Christine Hollmann, Terracentric Adventures, Lund.

Pacific White Sided Dolphins
English Bay, Vancouver
Photo: Earl Paxton

LINKS IN THE NEWS


This has been a very exciting week with lots of Dolphins turning up in numbers in places where they are not often seen, and quite often with Orcas in close pursuit. Lots of sightings offshore in Vancouver, and also in the Squamish area. We even made the National News! There are a couple of different links to these stories posted below:






Brenda Petersen's article on the effects of Sonar on Whales:

On the East Coast some unlucky Dolphins became trapped in the ice and came to a tragic end. Link to that story here:

Article and commentary on Species at Risk, Humpback Whales and Enbridge by Caitlin Vernon, the campaigns director for Sierra Club.

Officials Search For Entangled Humpback Whale In Hawaii:

California’s Orca Welfare and Safety Act, introduced last Friday by state Assembly member Richard Bloom, D–Santa Monica, has sent shock waves throughout the media and the captive-marine-mammal industry. The bill would make it illegal to “hold in captivity, or use, a wild-caught or captive-bred orca for performance or entertainment purposes.” It also would ban artificial insemination of captive killer whales and block the import of orcas or orca semen.
This article offers possible outcomes for the 10 whales that are in captivity at SeaWorld. Very thought provoking and well worth the read no matter what side of the fence you're on:

Transient Bigg's Killer Whale
Captures a Pacific White Sided Dolphin
Squamish area of Howe Sound
March 15, 2014
Photo: Chris Charpentier

Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Call 1-877-323-9776 or Email your report.
Every sighting report is valuable!

We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
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Saturday, March 15, 2014

Orca Chasing Dolphins and Other Cetacean Sightings Updates

Orca, both Resident and Transient Bigg's have been spotted in a few different places. Transient Bigg's Killer Whales were seen following a group of Pacific White Sided Dolphins today up by Squamish. We've posted a news link under Links in the News. There are rumours of Northern Resident Killer Whales at the top of Johnstone Strait, but we don't have any specific reports to provide in our update. The huge group of Pacific White Sided Dolphins from a while ago have split into smaller groups, 80 to 200 in numbers, and seen in places from Squamish to Lund. We believe that some of the Unidentified Orca are Transient Bigg's either following or attempting to herd some of the Dolphins. It's great to get reports of those shy little Harbour Porpoise as well and look forward to hearing more from everyone. It's just about time for the Grey Whales to start up the coast as well as Humpback Whales to start showing up. Keep your eyes open and please remember to call or email your report in to us.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

Call 1-877-323-9776 or Email your report.
Every sighting report is valuable
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?


March 15: 11:30 am
Transient Bigg's Killer Whales following Hundreds of Pacific White Sided Dolphins
near Squamish. Photo by Mandy Jensen
Global TV report link in Links in the News below.

UNIDENTIFIED KILLER WHALES


March 14:
I was in Nanaimo and I spotted 3 groups spread out over about 2 km for a total of 12 – 15 Orca. They were heading south east and were about 1 km. off Neck Point. Kind of funny as I am on my way to Sointula to hopefully get some photos of whales!
Geordie Harrower, Roberts Creek.

March 14:
2:30 pm: Orcas spotted, two groups, off Winchelsea, in front of schooner Cove Marina, near Nanoose Bay. One group had 6 and the other had 3, heading southbound towards Nanaimo.
Mike, Nanoose Bay

March 13:
9:30 am: There are Orca heading northbound, mid channel, off Cape Mudge Lighthouse, on Quadra Island. There are 3 or 4 of them. Reported by a fishing guide.
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.

March 10:
Four Orca spotted heading east one km. out front of Davis Bay, off the White Islets on the Sunshine Coast.
Geordie Harrower, Roberts Creek.

March 9:
11:50 am: There are half a dozen or so Orca at the Subtle Islands, which are between Cortes and Quadra Islands. (watching from shore on Quadra)
Jared Towers, Dept. Fisheries


PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS

March 15: 11:30 am
Hundreds of Pacific White Sided Dolphins followed by Transient Bigg's Killer Whales in Squamish. Photo by Mandy Jensen
Global TV report link in Links in the News below.

March 11:
7:45 am: Large pod of Pacific White Sided Dolphins are heading up through the Ragged Islands (Copeland Islands) off Lund. I missed them, but Murray and the crew saw them, no photos.
Gordie Coles, Lund / Savary Island

March 10:
4:30 pm: 200 or so Pacific White Sided Dolphins passed quickly by Beach Gardens. They should be in front of the viewpoint soon.
Andrew Bryant, Powell River

March 10:
4:45 pm With Andrew still on the phone, I looked out to see the 200 or so PWS Dolphins in front of Powell River motoring fast northward.
5:30 pm: After speeding past Westview, the PWS Dolphins stopped briefly to forage at the Powell River Mill, and then continued more slowly towards Mystery Reef off Savary Island.
6:20pm: I can still see the dolphins, and they are spread out between Dinner Rock and Savary Island's Mace Point. There's a couple of hundred for sure.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC.

March 10:
6:15 pm: There are 70 to 80 Pacific White Sided Dolphins off Atrevida Reef northbound. They are travelling in a vee line, like geese, heading towards Lund.
Kim Lisberg (sp?), Powell River

March 10:
7:00 pm: The dolphins are headed towards Major Rock. They are too far away from Savary to get a photo.
Rick Thaddeus, Savary Island



HARBOUR PORPOISE

Porpoise
Geordie Harrower, Roberts Creek

March 14:
5 pm: I went out on my boat yesterday at 5 pm with the sole intention of watching these porpoise. I stopped the boat and drifted and waited. Sure enough they were there. I saw 2 groups of about 5 or 6 again right offshore of Whitecliff park in W Van. After watching them carefully for an hour I now almost certainly believe them to be harbour porpoise, not Dall. They came within about 30' of the boat. I'll keep u posted!
Earl Paxton, West Vancouver

March 12:
6:30 pm: I saw two groups of Dall's (?) porpoise yesterday off Whitecliff Park, West Vancouver, around 18:30 hours. I travel between Fisherman's Cove in West Van to Gambier Island 2-3 times a week in my 19' boat and see these guys every other trip. Yesterday there were 2 in one group (100' offshore from the park lookout), or at least that's all we saw. The other group, about 5 or 6, was about 1/2 km. further south east. Although I've only ever seen 3 before on any given day, I was excited to see so many at once. Unfortunately I was in a hurry so couldn't stop and watch. They are in the same area every time. They seem quite elusive and unfortunately tend to move away from the boat as I pass through. (This is very consistent with Harbour Porpoise activity rather than Dall's Porpoise - SM)
Earl Paxton, West Vancouver.

UNIDENTIFIED BLOW

March 9:
1 pm Single large blow seen three times North-West between Rebecca Rocks and Harwood off Powell River. I watched for quite a while and did not see a back or tail flukes. I thought I had seen a blow earlier also, but put it down to sea lions. This second set of blows was just too much to ignore. It may seem silly to post this report, but we are attempting to track animals and this would give some indication of movement if and when a more definitive sighting is reported.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

LINKS IN THE NEWS

March 15: Hundreds of Pacific White Sided Dolphins followed by Killer Whales in Blind Channel (yes, another Blind Channel) near Squamish: http://globalnews.ca/news/1210716/gallery-orcas-hunt-dolphins-in-blind-channel-near-squamish-b-c/

The Canadian Navy has been cleared of blame in the 2012 death of a baby southern resident killer whale, but several experts have questioned the verdict and have asked for the investigation to be re-opened. The link to that story is below:

One animal rescued, but hundreds more needing help! The Vancouver Aquarium's Rescue Team has freed a Sea Lion whose neck was stuck in plastic packing material but estimate that there are hundreds more animals similarly trapped. Our shorelines are littered with debris that is harmful to fish, mammals and birds. Here is the full story on the rescue:

Search and Rescue personnel from West Vancouver were treated to an amazing display of dolphin agility as they performed their routine training exercises out in Howe Sound. Here are some links to that story:

Thanks very much to Michael Stewart, Powell River who sent us this link to some truly amazing video of Orca getting up very close and personal with a speed boat in the Pacific Ocean! We had posted a shorter version of this a while back, but thought this longer version was worth the link.

Japan has finally admitted that a percentage of the funds intended for tsunami victims and reconstruction have been diverted to fund their whaling fleet:


Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Call 1-877-323-9776 or Email your report.
Every sighting report is valuable!

We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
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Thursday, March 6, 2014

A few Sightings Reports and Links in the News

Brief and distant appearance of some Orca are the main report. It's been quite a while since the reports have been so few and far between. Where are they? This report is up to and includes March 6, 2014 with a few photos taken earlier.
The herring have started to spawn, based on the radio chatter and sea lions are around, mostly closer to Vancouver Island, but some have popped up along the mainland shore. This would indicate that there are fish for the Resident Orca as well as the meat sought by the Transient Bigg's Orca. It's a bit early for us to see any of the larger whales such as Grey's or Humpback, but there is word of them either having overwintered or starting to show up just across the US border. Rumour also of some of the Northern Resident Orca showing up in the Blackfish Sound area, then heading back out to the West. The Pacific White Sided Dolphins appear to have scattered somewhere since the last reports of Orca chasing and following them. Some Harbour Porpoise were seen in larger numbers than these shy animals usually travel in.
Keep your eyes open and please remember to call or email the sighting in. A few reports below are after the fact, which is better than not at all.
Although reports are slow, there are many things in the works in the background and I apologize for not having the time to keep everyone informed and post more updates. The automatic email feed has still been an issue and taken far too much time to try to sort, so for now, to ensure subscribers receive the post, it will be sent out manually again. Apologies if you receive it twice, but it would mean that it's finally fixed!
Finally, there are a number of very interesting Links in the News below and for those of you in Powell River, since the article appears to have been missed on line, the Peak newspaper photo of NRKW A42, Sonora's calf A103, Albion was from 2014 not 2013 as was printed. Thanks to all who asked about it.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

Call 1-877-323-9776 or Email your report.
Every sighting report is valuable
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?


NRKWs A8/42's Powell River
January, 2014
Susan MacKay, SG Images

Whale, Dolphin and Porpoise Sightings
(in date order this report)

March 3:
4:00 pm: There are some Orca in front of Campbell River, southbound. At least 4 of them.
Jen Furst, Campbell River Whale Watching.

March 3:
4:00 pm: 4 Orca southbound in front of Campbell River.
Aaron Webber, Campbell River Whale Watching.

February 27:
3:17 pm: There are some Orca in Menzies Bay/ Seymour Narrows. Can't tell how many there are, I'm on land.
4:29 pm: There are 4 whales at least, didn't see them when I went back...will be back in a couple of minutes and try to get a direction but they were milling last time I saw them.
5:00 pm: Okay – got 'em! They are still in Seymour Narrows milling. And I'm going with northbound – looks like they just went through the Narrows. Yes, northbound.
Leif Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching.

February 19 (rec'd February 28):
Around 10:30 am 5 Orca off the West side of Texada, between Comox and Texada. The ferry Captain pointed them out, but they were quite a ways off – just blows. Someone had said they were sending the report in to us (Sherri is on the board of Wild Ocean Whale Society WOWs), which is the only reason I didn't call you myself. I even know better – rather get the report ten times or more than not at all!
Sherri Wretham, Powell River

February 17 (rec'd February 21):
Some nice sightings of cetaceans Monday morning off Roberts Creek Pier on the Sunshine Coast. 6 – 8 Orca, suspect transients, out about one mile, and the largest pod of Harbour Porpoises I have ever seen close to shore. 20 plus. Coincidence? Nice treat. I stand-up Paddle Board all year long and have seen Harbour Porpoise more than ever this year. But today February 21 from the Pier is the largest group (Porpoise) I have ever seen.
Geordie Harrower, Roberts Creek.

A66, Surf of the NRKWs A8/42's Powell River
January, 2014
Susan MacKay, SG Images


Links in the News

Captain Dave Anderson of Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, California, at great personal risk, has recently filmed and edited a 5-minute video that contains some of the most beautiful, jaw-dropping, footage ever taken with a drone from the air of a huge mega-pod of thousands of common dolphins stampeding off Dana Point, California, three gray whales migrating together down the coast off San Clemente, California, and heartwarming close-ups hovering over a newborn Humpback whale calf snuggling and playing with its mom as an escort whale stands guard nearby, filmed recently in Maui.

Drones have helped capture some of the Internet's most incredible videos, but we think this one might go down as the sweetest. (This is part of the above fuller featured clip)

Humpback Whale- Powell River
Nov 2013
Susan MacKay, SG Images

This next short piece of footage shows an interaction between a blue whale and killer whales—where it looks as though the orcas took a nip out of their much bigger relative! The video was filmed off the coast of Monterey, California, by Monterey Bay Whale Watch. They mentioned that it is rare to see Blue Whales in the Californian waters in March, as they usually arrive in the late spring or early summer. http://www.livescience.com/43879-killer-whales-attack-blue-whale-video.html

Whales win big in Federal court

Dozens of fossilized whales, seals and other marine animals have been discovered piled up in an ancient tidal flat in northern Chile.

Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby has provided the Federal Government with a legal opinion following the outcries of the public for Canada to stop serving as a trans shipment destination for the trade in endangered whale meat between Iceland and Japan. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ottawa+pressured+stop+transhipments+whale+meat/9570277//story.html

Rescuers cut hundreds of feet of fishing line from emaciated whale off Hawaii.

Humpback Whale
Sept. 2013
Susan MacKay, SG Images

Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Call 1-877-323-9776 or Email your report.
Every sighting report is valuable!

We are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
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