Sightings to Mar 9 – Dolphins and Gray Whales Update
Again it has been very slow around this area, but I wanted to share a wonderful Pacific White Sided Dolphin sighting report and experience from one enthusiast. This encounter happened on March 6th around 2:30pm by Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver:
DB wrote:
“I was scuba diving and about a pod of 7 came to check me and my dive buddy out….I have been diving for over 3 years and this was the height of my diving experience to see Dolphins up close and personal.”
And additionally:
“I wouldn’t say they did anything out of the ordinary. I felt they were just curious about what we where. I am not sure if some of my scuba gear was making an odd sound that got their attention. I know when they came up to us they were directly in line with me. I would say about maybe 10 feet away. When they took off they head straight out into Howe Sound. The pod seems to consist of 1 main Dolphin who was in the lead. The other dophins seem to hang back from her. Two were right under her fins. The other looked larger and hung back more. I am sure if I had a camera I might have been too excited to even use it.”
Wow, what a truly great experience. Perhaps the mother was showing her young theses odd looking contraptions on the divers’ back. They are such intelligent animals.
Dolphins have become more frequent in the Howe Sound and Sunshine Coast areas over the past number of years. I believe a lot has to do with the clean up and recovery of our waterways which, in turn, has meant a recovery of their food sources. The last Howe Sound sighting prior to this, that I recall hearing about, was late this past autumn. Perhaps this March sighting is a sign that they’ll head back up the Sunshine Coast soon. Last year we had almost daily sightings around Powell River all fall and winter. This year, all whale, dolphin or porpoise sightings have been few and far between.
Update on Gray Whale movement from even farther South: There are two Gray Whales in the North Puget Sound area of Washington. They will continue to slowly return to their Northern feeding areas over the next few months usually via the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Southern Resident (fish eating) Orca were also spotted in the Haro Strait area.
As for my usual sightings report: Still nothing to report to March 9th. which really must change soon – I hope!
2 Responses
Can someone confirm what I saw? Two days before the Earthquake, from my window overlooking Howe Sound, many pods of dolphins and what looked like whale or orcas, which swam in pairs and looked noticeably larger than the dolphins. Every day since the quake I have seen what look like very large whales swimming out in Howe Sound, and dolphins have been hanging around Whytecliff Park, very close to Shore. Has anyone else seen this, and is there any idea what kind of whales the big black blob ones I see swimming out there are? My binoculars are not that good, so I cannot see them close but can tell they are whales with some kind of dorsal fin it looks like.
I was out in Howe Sound today (mar.23/11) and saw 5 pacific white-sided dolphins near Horseshoe Bay. These dolphins have been back in Howe Sound for the last 2 years due to the resurgence of the Squamish herring run (which I think has a lot to do with The initiative by Streamkeepers)Great to see these magnificent animals!
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