Transient Bigg's Orca
everywhere! And so many photos. We have reports of Killer Whales,
Pacific White Sided Dolphins, Dall's Porpoise as well as Harbour
Porpoise, and even a Grey Whale report from Tofino, but still no
Humpback Whales. Is it due to the seismic activity? It's been a
question for years that has yet to be answered.
We also have been
hearing about a few of the branded Sea Lions. If you do see one, we'd
love to get the information please. These brands are large and quite
visible usually comprising of three numbers and a letter. A photo, if
possible would also help since often they are difficult to read. We
are now compiling more information on these animals. Some of them
return to our areas every year from Oregon, California and Alaska.
Susan
MacKay & Lynne Cracknell, Whales
and Dolphins BC
Have you seen a whale,
dolphin or porpoise?
We
are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
Transient
Bigg's off Savary Island
Photos
were too late for previous posting
April
17, 2015- 6 PHOTOS
Gordie Coles, Lund /
Savary Island
2015
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our Report.
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Shellfish Festival, Lund
Harbour
May 23 & 24
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May 28 & 29
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River:
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Other locations and
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TRANSIENT
BIGG'S ORCA
April 25:
1:43 pm: Report of
Transient Bigg's Orca at Churchhouse, Campbell River Whale Watching
are on the scene. They are somewhere in Calm Channel, possibly
northbound. There are apparently 3 big fins in the mix and
approximately 12 whales in total.
Nick Templeman,
Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions.
April 25:
1:30-2 pm 5-6 Orca were
just off Crescent Bay, almost to Favada Point, by the NW tip of
Texada Southbound after hanging around feeding on something for half
hour or more. We were just walking when we spotted them. (from
photos submitted ID's of T049A's - SM)
Micheline Macauley,
Texada Island
Transient Bigg's
Killer Whales – T049A's
April 25, 2015 - 5 PHOTOS
Micheline Macauley,
Texada Island
April 25:
3:52 pm Leaving the
Orca at Dent Rapids, Northbound. Definitely had the T002C's and will
look at photos of others. Nick ID'd some of the others as T023's.
Garry Henkel,
Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
April 24:
4:40 pm: At least 7
Transient Bigg's Orca by Viner Point angling towards Francisco Point,
on the hunt.
5:05 pm: More animals
off Marina Island, breaching. At least 3 big fins.
5:47 pm: At least 15
Transient Bigg's Orca in total. There are three calves, one being
yellow. They are in between Marina Island and Rebecca Spit on Quadra
Island, moving slowly southbound. Leaving the scene.
Fabien Minfray,
Campbell River Whale Watching.
April 18:
3:59 pm: Transients at
Hein Bank in Juan de Fuca Strait. No more details yet.
Josh McInnes,
Victoria.
April 18:
Sad news. There is a
report of a deceased Killer Whale which has washed up on the the
shore near Fort Bragg California. Looks like it is an Offshore Killer
Whale.
Josh McInnes,
Victoria.
April 17:
7:55 am There are about
6 Orca and a sea lion off Lund heading towards the Raggeds (local
name for the Copeland Islands).
8:30 am The Orca were
jumping out of the water and landing on the poor sea lion. I bet it
hurts!! I think they're teaching the young ones. There's one big male
for sure.
9:50
am They just off Mace Point, Savary Island looking like they're about
to head towards Powell River. (Photos
included here were missed in the previous update, so we've included
the report as well - SM)
Gordie
Coles, Lund / Savary Island
April 17: (rec'd 18th)
One of our volunteers
Maggie LeBanc through Camosun College Environmental Technology in
Victoria BC was out with a group of Transients this morning. We got a
call at 8:45 am of Transient Bigg's Killer Whales between the Inner
Harbour Victoria and Trial Island, slowly heading east. We were able
to ID the whales as the T065A's, T075Bs, T075C. The other day Candace
Emmons with NOAA Fisheries noticed a new calf in the T075B's/T075C.
This calf was associating with both females throughout the encounter.
Today, the calf spent the majority of the time with T075B. We are
confident this calf belongs to T075B, making it T075B2!
Josh McInnes,
Victoria.
Transient Bigg's KWs
– T002C's & T023's
April 25, 2014 - 5 PHOTOS
Garry Henkel,
Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
UNIDENTIFIED
KILLER WHALES
Most
are likely Transient Bigg's
April 24:
7:50 am: 4 – 5 Orca
northbound in front of Powell River, Sunshine Coast.
Liz Douglas, Powell
River
April 24:
8:00 am: Three Killer
Whales swam by Marine Avenue in Powell River heading north at 8:00 am
this morning. Photos below.
Michelle Pennell.
April 24:
8:20 am: 3-5 Orca close
to shore, still moving northbound past the Ferry Terminal in Powell
River.
Geri Kinrade, Powell
River.
April 24:
8:43 am: A family of
Orca heading south around Penticton Street now, close to Grief Point
at Powell River. It looks like 5, 1 male at back, possible juvenile,
possible smaller and a couple of females.
Janet Southcott,
Powell River.
April 24:
8:43 am At the same
time as the above report came in, I heard that there were Orca on the
hunt in by the Powell River Mill sorting yard.
Radio
April 24:
10:33 am 8 Orca
including one tiny calf and one big male southbound and moving
quickly by Myrtle Rocks, just south of Powell River proper.
Jim Southern, Powell
River.
April 23:
11:00
am: Several Orca were sighted on the Inside Channel/north side of the
Trail Islands, by Sechelt.
It
was my wife Karen who saw them from Wakefield beach. She said she
could identify 3, maybe 4 and possibly a young one. It was rough that
day, but they were tucked beside the north most Trail Island and were
surfacing regularly (not breaching ). She said she lost sight of them
as they headed towards Halfmoon Bay, but then they turned and came
back. She lost sight again in the wave action and figured they headed
north.
Dave
& Karen Heskin, Sechelt area
Orca by Powell River
April 24, 2015 - 4 PHOTOS
Michelle Pennell
April 23:
11:30 am: We spotted 2
Orca, feeding and hunting just north of the Trail Islands, they were
in view for about twenty minutes as they made their way towards
Sergeants Bay. One of the Orca had a very large fin.
Judy Marusiak, West
Sechelt.
April 22:
7:00
am: I saw a few Orca, possibly 4 or 5. One
or two go down, another couple pop up, you look back and see the
first two again and think are those the same ones...hard to count for
sure. 1.5
miles north east of Entrance Island yesterday, heading west, I think.
I saw them on two separate flights, one at 7:00 am and again at 8:30
am.
Michael Grattan,
Pilot for Harbour Air.
April 21:
8:30
am: Orca in Dodd Narrows between Gabriola Island and Vancouver
Island, southbound. At least three including a calf. They were by
Gabriola Island first and then moved through the Narrows.
Check
out the video:
Chad Giesbrecht,
Gabriola Island
April 21:
1:00 pm: I wanted to
report a sighting of a pod of Orca between Hernando Island and the
southern tip of Cortez Island. It looked like about ten adults,
feeding (and/or leaping and splashing) in one area for at least 30
minutes, then heading south towards Vancouver Island.
Sarah.
April 20:
3:44 pm: Orca off
Sliammon Village, between Powell River and Lund, by Atrevida Reef.
About 8 – 10 of them no direction visible.
Susan MacKay, Whales
and Dolphins B.C.
April 19:
1:48 pm: Orca off
Powell River sea walk slowly Southbound.
2:00 pm About ten Orca
just southbound by Grief Point, Powell River. I
even had to borrow binoculars since the car and boat was about 2 km
away and I was walking! I did see at least one big male and they
moved as if they were on the hunt. Most likely Transient Bigg's.
Susan MacKay, Whales
and Dolphins B.C.
April 19:
4:35 pm: Have a solid
report from my friend of Killer Whales southbound past Refuge Cove,
West Redonda Island, right now. No numbers or ID's yet.
4:55 pm: He is with two
females and two young Orca, and across on the Cortez Island shoreline
there is another big group with one big male in the bunch.
Nick Templeman,
Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions.
April 19:
6:54 pm: Three Orca
heading north in Active Pass, between Mayne Island and Galiano
Island.
Josh McInnes,
Victoria.
Transient Bigg's
Orca
April 25, 2015 - 5 PHOTOS
Jos Krijnen, Eagle
Eye Adventures
SOUTHERN
RESIDENT KILLER WHALES
April 21:
3:30 pm: The Southern
Resident Killer whales J-pod off the west side of San Juan Island.
Josh McInnes,
Victoria.
April 19:
3:00
pm: Southern Resident Killer Whales J pod heard on the Lime Kiln
hydrophone. (Lime
Kiln hydrophone is located at Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan
Island.)
Josh McInnes,
Victoria.
GREY
WHALES
April 25:
We followed the coast
and found three juvenile Grey Whales foraging just 200 yards off
shore. Watched them for a while and then a huge bull came right over
near the tour boat and gave us a great show.
Lynne Cracknell,
Sayward
PACIFIC
WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS
April 22:
9:43 am: A couple of
hundred Pacific White Sided Dolphin between Fawn Bluff and Clipper
Point in Bute Inlet.
Geord Dunstan,
Discovery Marine Safaris.
April 20:
2:23 pm: Large pod of
Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Knox Bay, West Thurlow Island.
Fabien Minfray,
Campbell River Whale Watching.
April 20:
2:51 pm: 25 Pacific
White Sided Dolphins in Elk Bay, just north of Campbell River on
Vancouver Island.
Leif Nordman,
Campbell River Whale Watching.
April 18:
4:36 pm: 6 Pacific
White Sided Dolphins at Whiterock Passage, which leads NE from Hoskyn
Channel to Calm Channel.
Garry Henkel,
Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
DALL'S
PORPOISE
April 19:
4:00
pm: I paddled around Harwood Island today with Claudia Boelcke, Janet
May and Lot Spartham and when we were about one third of the way back
to Gibson's Beach from the Island, Claudia spotted four or five
Dall's Porpoise. At the time I took these pictures we were not sure
what they were but they definitely had the white spot on he top of
the dorsal fin. We did not see the white on the body. They didn't
stay long as sea kayaks don't have bow waves. I only saw three but
Claudia is sure there were four or five. The group split in two
directions after it had come up in front of us a few times. The
kayaker in the foreground of the photo is Claudia Boelcke, who saw
them first.
Heather Harbord,
Powell River.
(There
were Orca in the same area earlier, presumably chasing the Dall's.
S.M.)
April 18:
11:20 am: A few Dall's
Porpoise at Orange Point, near Campbell River on Vancouver Island.
Fabien Minfray,
Campbell River Whale Watching.
Dall's Porpoise off
Harwood Island
April 19, 2015
Heather Harbord,
Powell River
HARBOUR
PORPOISE
April 24:
(no time given) Around
15 Harbour Porpoise all feeding together off Crescent Bay, Texada
Island.
Micheline Macauley,
Texada Island
April 18:
3:53 pm: 4 Harbour
Porpoise at the mouth of Bute Inlet.
Garry Henkel,
Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
LINKS
Biologists
with Fisheries and Oceans Canada are planning to dissect the body of
a young Grey Whales that washed up on Wickaninish Beach near Tofino,
Vancouver Island, this week:
Large
numbers of Transient Bigg's Orca appearing off Vancouver Island:
Removing
Humpback Whales from the endangered list would ease the way for
increased offshore drilling:
2015
Summer Fundraising Raffle:
ALL
PRIZES ARE FOR TWO PEOPLE EACH
Early
Bird Draw June 21, 2015:
1. Aboriginal
Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours PLUS Large Print of
Award Winning Photo as seen on the cover of BC Magazine Fall 2014
2. Stubbs
Island Whale Watching Tour PLUS return BC Ferries Pass
including car
3. Campbell
River Whale and Bear Excursions Tour
Final Draw July
26, 2015 at Powell River SeaFair:
1. Pacific
Coastal Return Flight to/from Vancouver - Comox or Powell River PLUS
Vancouver Whale Watch Tour
- Campbell River Whale Watching Tour PLUS 2 Nights Accommodation
- Discovery Marine Safaris Tour
- Eagle Eye Adventure Tour
Full 2015 Summer Raffle
Details available at: http://whalesanddolphinsbc.com/events-and-raffles-2/2015-raffle/
Have
you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every
sighting report is valuable!
We
are the non-profit Wild Ocean Whale Society
For
our DONATEpage click here