1000 Pacific White Sided Dolphins
grouped up in the lower Georgia Strait, including a link to video of
them in Links in the News. A few Transient Bigg's Orca made a brief
appearance, and although I'm pretty sure there are more around, only
one current report of a Humpback Whale and one inadvertently missed
October report. News of another Northern Right Whale sighting is very
exciting. Report and photo below. This is the second sighting in BC
waters in 61 years!
There are fewer sightings reports
coming in due to fewer boats on the water and some rough water making
it difficult to spot Whales, Dolphins or tougher yet to spot
Porpoise.
Reminder to please call or email your
sighting report in. They are all valuable!
Susan
MacKay, Whales
and Dolphins BC
Have
you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every
sighting report is valuable
TRANSIENT
BIGG'S KILLER WHALES
Transient Bigg's Killer
Whales
November 1, 2013
Steve Grover, Powell
River
November 2: (rec'd Nov. 3rd)
Between 1 – 3 pm 6 Killer Whales in
front of Campbell River by Dolphins Resort. They were headed North
then turned South. (Late report from a Facebook friend.)
Nick
Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions
November 1:
1:07 pm 4 to 6 Orca including 1 big
dorsal fin half way across Malaspina Strait from Texada angling South
towards Stillwater. Could see them only for a short time from Albion
Point / Myrtle Rocks area.
Jim Southern, Powell River
November 1:
Approx. 11 am Hi Susan, I managed to
get a few marginal shots of the Orca off Grief Point but couldn't get
a more accurate count for you. My friend Julien was so excited as it
was his first time to see Orca in his life and you know me, I always
get excited seeing them too. The Orca seemed to be hanging around in
the same place for about 30 minutes and might have possibly been
feeding. We saw no breaching or porpoising behavior though! Thanks
for giving me the heads up on them.
Steve Grover, Powell River
Transient Bigg's Killer
Whales
November 1, 2013
Steve Grover, Powell
River
November 1:
10:15 am At least 6 Orca including a
calf are Southbound in front of Powell River. They immediately
disappeared behind a tree, from my vantage point, so called Steve
(above) to get a better count. The whales ran beside a tug and tow
for a while and reappeared briefly a couple of times before hiding
behind trees again.
Susan
MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC
HUMPBACK
WHALES
+(800x513).jpg)
Humpback
Tail Flukes
October
14, 2013
Ray
Hogan
November 1: (rec'd Nov. 2nd)
3 pm Just saw a massive Humpback Whale
leaping way out of the water. So cool! Was on the mainland side of
Welcome Pass, just South of Sechelt. (From my brother-in-law.)
Nick
Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions
October 26:
1:30 pm 3 Humpback Whales just off
Earl's Cove ferry, Sechelt peninsula. Some Steller sea lions behind
them.
Michael Stewart, Powell River
PACIFIC
WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS
Pacific White Sided
Dolphins
2013
Nick
Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions
November 1 and November 3:
Nov. 1: 10 am & afternoon
Various members of our family had the good fortune to see and follow
a group of dolphins this weekend that numbered in the hundreds.
The first sighting was in the Strait of
Georgia Friday morning around ten am, mid channel south of Point
Roberts. We watched as hundreds of these animals schooled together
playing and jumping.
Second sighting occurred in the
afternoon in the same general area.
Nov. 3: 2:30 pm The third
sighting occurred today around 2:30 pm. A school estimated to number
in excess of 400 animals was observed travelling east along the US
Canada border between Stuart Island and the south coast of Saturna
Island. They were travelling at a high rate of speed. We observed
them make at least four course changes as they moved through Boundary
Pass towards the Strait of Georgia.
I have never seen such a large school of dolphins in these waters before. It was a real thrill.
Mark Kroeker
I have never seen such a large school of dolphins in these waters before. It was a real thrill.
Mark Kroeker
NORTHERN
PACIFIC RIGHT WHALE
Northern Pacific Right
Whale
October 26, 2013
John Ford, DFO
(Facebook photo)
October 25 & 26:
Friend and colleague Brian Gisborne
discovered a rare North Pacific right whale last Friday, October 25,
while conducting a whale survey for the Pacific Biological Station!
The whale was on Swiftsure Bank off the entrance to Juan de Fuca
Strait, mixed in with a group of humpback whales. Graeme Ellis, Robin
Abernethy and I joined Brian the next morning and we found the whale
again near the same location. It looks like a big old whale with a
nasty looking but healed injury on its rostrum, likely from a past
entanglement. This is a different individual than the one found off
Haida Gwaii last June, and is new to the North Pacific right whale ID
catalogue (less than 30 whales in that catalogue). Needless to say,
we're all pretty amazed to have two North Pacific right whales in BC
waters four months apart after more than half a century without any
confirmed sightings!
John Ford, DFO Pacific Biological
Station
IN
THE NEWS
November
1: 1000 PWS Dolphins were spread out from the ferry
that runs from Tsawwassen to Galiano Island.
Someone managed a video clip that was shown in the news broadcast.
This is unusual to see that many Dolphins in the lower Georgia
Strait.
Quickly added link that was missed of a couple of fishermen rescuing a stranded Transient Bigg's Killer Whale in Alaska in September 2013....amazing video:
Have
you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every
sighting report is valuable!
Whales
and Dolphins BC is officially the non-profit Wild
Ocean Whale Society
(WOWs)