OK, I know it’s been awhile since I posted on the Western Prince blog.  It’s not from lack of wildlife though.  So let’s recap the month of October so far.  As anyone who knows me is aware, my favorite month to see whales is Setpember.  Well, October is shaping up to be as good if not better than September at this pace!

Most times when people come out with us, they are hoping to glimpse some of the amazing wildlife found in this area.  Especially orcas.  And while it has been a good summer for orca sightings, October has proven to be a great month for viewing more than one kind of whale!  We’ve had lots of encounters with our Resident pods (J, K, and L Pods), a few encounters with random groups of Transient (mammal feeding) Orcas, and amazingly–quite a few encounters with humpback whales!  Humpbacks used to be more plentiful in the Salish Sea, but were very nearly wiped out during the days of whaling (especially with the BC whaling station in operation).  Folks used to say that we used to have a “resident” pod of humpbacks.  Well, 2011 is proving to be a banner year for humpbacks here, with sightings of not just one, but many times 2 or more.  Several humpbacks were seen over multiple days going back and forth in the same area, most likely foraging.  Here are a few pictures from recent encounters:

Which brings us up to today (SUNDAY, October 9th).  We started the day on the Western Explorer with no reports of any type of whale in the area.  Cloudy skies looked ominous, but we were hopeful.  By the time we left the dock, we had a report of “a large group” of orcas out west but heading into the area.  They were just at the outer range of the Explorer, but we hoped the flood tide would push them in further.  As we headed south, the skies began to clear and the seas were quite calm.  Which made viewing the 30 or so Stellar Sea Lions on and around Whale Rocks much easier.  Soon we were headed out west towards Victoria, BC when we had a report of 2 Pacific White-Sided Dolphins!  WOW!  We found them playing and leaping out of a boat wake, and this was my first encounter all year with these playful dolphins!

Soon it was time to head further west to see the orcas.  Under crystal clear skies and warm sun, we finally found them foraging and going every direction around the Constance Bank area south of downtown Victoria, BC.  We dropped our hydrophone in and we got to listen in as J Pod was vocalizing like crazy.  J8 Speiden and J30 Riptide were our first two whales to ID.  We also saw J34 Doublestuff as he was chasing after two juveniles as if to play with them.  These two little guys put on quite the surface active behaviors, everything from tail lobs to backward swimming to spyhops and even a few breaches!  It was so beautiful.  The calmness at the surface was broken by loud blows when the whales would come up to exhale.  Then down they’d go and we’d listen to them underwater.  Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Friday Harbor.  We searched on the way home for the two humpbacks that had been reported at Constance Bank as well as the two humpbacks also reported at Hannah Heights, but couldn’t locate either group.  Dozens of porpoises were zipping about in the currents at Middle Bank.

Did I mention I love October whales?

John Boyd (JB)
SSAMN Marine Naturalist, Western Explorer