Transient
Bigg's Orca are around, but behaving quite stealthy then suddenly pop
up in numbers. Humpback Whales are working their way down the coast.
Pacific White Sided Dolphins are back into the inlets North of Powell
River and Campbell River. We have no reports of Dall's or Harbour
Porpoise this time, but have one report of a Minke Whale and Northern
Resident Orca. Of Note, the Humpback Whale known as 'KC' has spent
all summer travelling between Kelsey Bay, mid-Johnstone Strait and
was last seen in Powell River, presumably heading down the coast now
in preparation for heading off to the winter breeding grounds. It was
great to get a photo to enable identification. There were vague
reports of other Humpbacks in the Powell River and Sechelt areas.
With the whale watching season winding down for the companies, we'd
like to remind everyone that we monitor these animals all year and we
need your sightings reports please!
Susan
MacKay & Lynne Cracknell, Whales and Dolphins BC
Have
you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every
sighting report is valuable!
TRANSIENT
BIGG'S KILLER WHALES
 |
| T90's remnants of a satellite tag on dorsal |
Transient
Bigg's Killer Whales
October
4, 2014 – 5 photos including a new calf!
Nick
Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions
Oct
4:
10:00
am: Report of four or more Killer Whales northbound somewhere by
Campbell River, between Cape Mudge village on Quadra Island and
Campbell River.
11:15
am: So we have the Transient Bigg's known as the T101's and T102's,
the T090's, and others – looks like 11-12 animals, bucking the
flood tide at Cape Mudge.
11:45
am: The main gang just did an official 180 degree turn south. Males
of Transient Bigg's T101's still northbound on the Quadra shore abeam
the Cape Mudge light.
2:05
pm: Leaving the Transient Bigg's Killer whales doing donuts 1.5 miles
S/W of the green can buoy. I think they are waiting for the tide
change. Have seen 5 big circles like this, then they always continue
on a westerly track to Cape Mudge. Amazing encounter – we have
Transient Bigg's T101's, and T102, T049A's, T090's, possibly others.
So
– I believe it is the T049B's and T049A's today, with the T090's
and T101's, T102.
Nick
Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions.
Oct
4:
11:12
am: Found 10 or more Orca mid channel northbound, off the Cape Mudge
Lighthouse on Quadra Island.
11:45
am: The main group just did an abrupt turn south.
Jos
Krijnen, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Oct
2:
5:10
pm: 8 Orca southbound at Dinner rock, NW of Atrevida Reef, (no
sign of them from Powell River yet - SM).
In
addition: Second hand report that some of these Orca were in Galley
Bay, in Malaspina Inlet earlier, and that there was a Humpback whale
off Lund around 4:30 pm.
Nicole
Robertson, Powell River.
Oct
1:
12:00
pm: Two Killer Whales reported southbound in Bute Inlet at Fawn
Bluff.
Aaron
Nagler, Sonora Lodge.
Oct
1:
1:40
pm: Perfect day! Four Orca at the mouth of Bute Inlet, coming out.
2:20
pm: Two male Orca mid strait southbound in Calm Passage. Two Orca –
one sprouter, (juvenile) and one female southbound in Drew Passage.
These are the Transient Bigg's T36B's.
2:42
pm: All four grouped up and heading south in Calm Passage, hugging
the shore of North Rendezvous Island.
Jack
Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Oct
1:
3:51
pm: Transient Bigg's Orca T101's and T102's between South Rendezvous
Island and Read Island, favouring Read. Leaving the scene.
Garry
Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Oct
1:
5:00
pm: Leaving Orca in Whale Passage, southbound Sutil Channel.
Jen
Furst, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Sept
30:
10:45:
Orca outside Squirrel Cove, northbound, slowly. There are 5 or 6 of
them, heading for Lewis Channel.
Aaron
Webber, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Sept
30:
11:00
am: I received a text last night saying that there had been a pod of
Orca in front of Refuge Cove in Lewis Channel a few days ago. So they
have been hiding back there the whole time!
1:00
pm: My brother in law texted from Tug that Killer Whales went east
into Teakerne Arm along the south shoreline. He reported one big fin
and one small one but I would assume possibly more around with
earlier report.
2:00
pm: From VHF: Split in gangs with one gang of 4 heading south slowly
from Teakerne Arm, and first just a male and female, but now another
4 Killer Whales heading north as well from Teakerne, towards the top
of Lewis Channel.
Nick
Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions.
Sept
30:
1:14
pm: Got them coming out of Teakerne Arm. They are the Transient
Bigg's T36B's.
3:56
pm: Orca in Pryce Channel southbound.
Jack
Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Sept
30:
3:45
pm: 2 Killer Whales easting in Deer Passage on the Raza Island shore,
and 2 easting on the Redonda Island shore – Jack and soon Garry on
scene.
Aaron
Nagler, Sonora Lodge.
Sept
30:
4:47
pm: Two Orca entering Ramsay Arm, above Desolation Sound.
Fabien
Minfray, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Sept
30:
7:00
pm: Left the two Orca going into Ramsey Arm an hour and a half ago,
around 5:30 pm: The four northbound ones had split up. Jack left the
other four near the bottom of Lewis Channel earlier.
Garry
Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Transient
Bigg's Killer Whales
September
30, 2014 - 3 photos
Garry
Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
NORTHERN
RESIDENT KILLER WHALES
Oct
5:
1:39
pm: NRKW's known as the A34's off Cracroft Point, top of Johnstone Strait right now, just
running up to Telegraph Cove.
Geord
Dunstan, Discovery Marine Safaris.
HUMPBACK
WHALES
Oct
1:
10:47
am: One lone Humpback whale quietly feeding off Donkersley beach
(just south of Powell River), in approximately 40 feet of
water...started watching him around 10:00 am, he is still contentedly
floating and feeding an hour later, not sounding as it is too
shallow. With the calm water I hear the blow before he barely
surfaces.
Laura
Johnson, Powell River.
(Oct
2: I
spoke with Laura and got some photos – the whale was K.C! - S.M)
Oct
1:
6:09
pm: I just watched a single Humpback whale travel west towards Powell
River about 1/2 mile east of Myrtle Rocks. It was only ~200 meters
off shore!
Bob
Betty, Powell River.
Humpback
Whale BCY0291 'KC' or 'Kelp Creature'
October
1, 2014 – 2 photos
Laura
Johnson, Powell River
Received
Oct 1::
We
took a video of a lone Humpback whale feeding off Boiling Reef (next
to East Point, Saturna Island) on Sunday Sept 21 at 3:45 pm.
Patrick
Hunt, via email.
MINKE
WHALES
On
September 27th, around 3:30 pm, beach combing on Gowland Point on
South Pender Island, we saw a lone Minke whale surfacing – 7 times
just offshore as it headed east into Boundary Pass. We were about 50
metres away, but it was certainly too large for a dolphin or porpoise
and combined with the small dorsal fin we were reasonably sure on the
identification.
Graeme
Langille.via email.
PACIFIC
WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS
Oct
5:
12:00
pm: Pacific White Sided Dolphins at Ripple Point, near Seymour
Narrows in Discovery Passage, northbound.
Aaron
Webber, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Oct
5:
12:24
pm: Approximately 200 Pacific
White Sided Dolphins in Frederick Arm, between Loughborough and Bute
Inlets,spread out and foraging. Report from Aaron
Nagler, Sonora Lodge, via Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and
Bear Excursions.
Oct
4:
8:35
am: About 1000 Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Greensea Bay, just
north of the Cinque Islands.
3:55
pm: Couple of hundred Pacific White Sided Dolphins at McMullen Point.
(from
radio)
Oct
4:
4:00
pm: 300 Pacific White Sided Dolphins frolicking at McMullen Point, in
Discovery Passage.
Garry
Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Oct
3:
9:00
am: Report of Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Kanish Bay, between
Bodega Point and Granite Point in Discovery Passage.
12:00
pm: 100 Pacific White Sided Dolphins at Granite Point mid channel,
foraging.
12:50
pm: Leaving the Dolphins at Green Sea Bay, north of the Cinque
Islands, foraging.
Fabien
Minfray, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Oct
2:
8:43
am 100 Plus Pacific White Sided Dolphins Eastbound by Sonora Point,
Nodales Channel.
9:50
am: Same Pacific White Sided Dolphins now in southern Denham Bay,
milling.
Aaron
Nagler, Sonora Lodge.
Oct
2:
3:35
pm: 100-120 Pacific
White Sided Dolphins milling in Kanish Bay, Discovery Passage.
(from
radio)
Pacific
White Sided Dolphins
October,
2014 – 4 photos
Garry
Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
Oct
2:
3:58
pm: 150 Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Kanish Bay, frolicking.
Garry
Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Oct
2:
4:35
pm: Leaving Pacific White Sided Dolphins, same location.
Fabien
Minfray, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Oct
1:
8:43
am: About 100 Pacific White Sided Dolphins easting at Sonora Point,
in Nodales Channel.
Aaron
Nagler, Sonora Lodge.
Oct
1:
5:02
pm: 50 Pacific White Sided Dolphins at Penn Islands, near Read Island
in the Strait of Georgia.
Fabien
Minfray, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Sept
30:
9:50
am: 200 plus Pacific White Sided Dolphins mid strait Kanish Bay,
Discovery Passage, foraging.
Jack
Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Sept
29:
8:50
am: 20 Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Seymour Narrows, milling.
9:09
am: 150 Pacific White Sided Dolphins at No Name Creek, Campbell
River, moving slowly northbound.
4:00:
150 Pacific
White Sided Dolphins leaping and having fun at 45 point. Additional:
16 Grizzlies, 2 sets of triplets, and leaping Dolphins on the way
back!
Garry
Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Sept
29:
5:15
pm: Pacific White Sided Dolphins are mid strait between Kanish Bay
and Eagle's Cove in Discovery Passage.
Leif
Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching.
LINKS
Here
is a great link to some video showing Humpback whales breaching and
having lots of fun in Monterey Bay:
Rare
White Orca Sighting off the Russian coast:
Have
you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every
sighting report is valuable!
We
are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society