Humpbacks at our Doorstep

What an interesting day! The MV Seasmoke barely left the Alert Bay dock when immediately blows from Humpback whales were spotted just off Johnstone Strait in Pearse Passage. We saw several within the first ten minutes of the tour and in the distance one Humpback was vigourously slapping its tail and making huge splashes! Although it was tempting to stop there and watch these wonderful beasts as they surfaced for a breath of air then made their shallow dives again, reports of the black and white Orca near Donegal Head off Malcolm Island took us into Blackfish Sound.

Initially waters were choppy with a wind from the southeast, but soon changed to flat calm and silver. On our way, we slowed to observe a number of juvenile Bald eagles in flight in the Stephanson group of islands. Our skipper was amazed to see so many in one place - at least eight of them and figured they were practising flying. It looked like flight school with these youngsters taking off and landing while comically bumping into each other all to and from the same small islet with adult eagles looking on.

As we approached Blackfish Sound we spotted groups of two and three Orca scattered throughout the area. They were varied in size from youngsters and females, right up to the large males with their enormous dorsal fin. These are the ‘A’ pod that have been staying in our area for the past two weeks - feeding on salmon in these rich waters. Blows from Humpbacks were spotted here and there, and we even saw one Humpback that was resting on the surface. They will shut down half their brain to sleep, and keep awake enough to continue breathing. Finally the whale moved, curved its back and went down for a long dive. Sooty Shearwater were also out in very large numbers feeding on a bait ball of little fish.

After taking time to watch the whales, we headed back towards the Plumper Islands where from a distance we could hear the distinctive braying and grunting of the golden brown Stellar sea lions. As we approached their favourite rock, we could see them crawling over one another, juggling for a suitable space on a small bit of real estate, or swimming in front hunting for fish. There were probably well over one hundred of them grouped together while a huge male that could weigh up to three tonnes, sat on his own rock and scratched just like an enormous dog.

We spotted Harbour seals lounging on the rocks in the Pearse group of islands in a spot where they are not usually seen and they were in a variety of colours from black with white spots, to a light grey and even a golden colour and Dall’s porpoise popped up afterwards. We returned under a misty rain which didn’t spoil the amazing experience of seeing nature so near to where we live.