Written by Alison
on Jul 12, 2023

Whale Report: June 28, 2023 AM – Orion the Breacher

Whale Report: June 28, 2023 AM – Orion the Breacher

June 28, 2023 AM – There was a bit of a chill in the air, but still a gorgeous sunny day to explore the Salish Sea.  We headed north with our first stop at the Cactus Islands.  There we encountered several Harbor Seals hanging out in the Bull Kelp.  We also had several Pigeon Guillemots flying around using their bright red, webbed feet as rudders.  From there we headed into Boundary Pass and stopped at a red channel marker where two Steller Sea Lions were hauled out.  Next we ventured into Canada to follow up on a report of 2 humpback whales.  As we rounded the north end of Tumbo Island in the Strait of Georgia we started to see blows. And then out of the blue one of the whales did a huge breach.  Humpbacks can easily reach 45 feet in length and weigh up to 80,000 pounds so to see one breach is mind blowing.  Captain Ivan quickly got us situated in a good position and lucky for us the whale identified as “Orion” breached another 5 times!  He was traveling with a known female named Raptor.  Was he trying to impress her??  I guess we will never know.  He continued on with 2 chin slaps, a cartwheel and a couple of tail slaps.  In the end Raptor was not impressed and they went their separate ways.  In the photos, Raptor has the darker tail fluke and Orion has the white areas near the tips of his fluke.  Captain Ivan took us on the scenic route home.  We cruised by the Bell Chain Islets, went through Georgenson Pass seeing several of the Canadian Gulf Islands along the way back to Friday Harbor.  Wow, what a day!

 

Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: @Alisonengleart – Website: www.alisonengle.com

Western Prince Wildlife Adventures – Instagram: @Westernprincewildlife – Facebook: Western Prince Whale Watching

Written by Alison
on Jul 12, 2023

Whale Report: June 28, 2023 AM – Orion the Breacher

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