Dolphins, Transient Orca and Harbour Porpoises

A publication of Wild Ocean Whale Society (WOWs)

Dolphins, Transient Orca and Harbour Porpoises

June 4:
8:45 pm Around 60 or more Pacific White Sided Dolphins were in a foraging / feeding pattern with the occasional leap thrown in at the top end of Texada. They headed into the Strait noses pointed towards Comox.
Thanks to the heads up from Steve G.

June 4:
Email received at 8 pm:
Hope you got everything done on Savary today.  A great day to be on the water.  We got everything done over in Courtenay and had a nice lunch.  On the way over I saw about 20 Lags (short for the latin name Lagenorhunchus obliquidens or Pacific White Sided Dolphins – SM) milling about and a few jumping right in front of our houses at about 8:15am.  On the way home at around 3:45 I saw 3 Harbour Porpoises  near Rebecca Reef.  They only came up twice and then disappeared when the ferry got close. A few sealions around too, some right in the middle of the Georgia Strait and one tried to fool me into thinking it was an Orca by lying on the surface and lifting a flipper into the air
Steve G.

June 4:
7:40 pm 10 to 20 Pacific White Sided Dolphins in front of Westview, Powell River. Why couldn’t they have shown themselves when I was actually on the water? I had run between Savary and Powell River, looking, but only saw them once I was ashore – figures!
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

June 4:
Around 7 pm One lone Harbour Porpoise appeared and quickly disappeared, as they usually do with boats around was between Mystery Reef, off Savary Island and Harwood Island.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

June 4:
3:45 pm 60 Pacific White Sided Dolphins at the South end of Mittlenatch Island in a foraging / feeding pattern.
Garry, Aboriginal Journeys

June 4:
1:50 pm Garry found the 5 Transient Orca who seem to have a preference for staying in and around that area. They were found by Viner Point, Read Island heading slowly towards Quadra Island across Sutil Channel. At 3:30 pm they were last reported close to the Cape Mudge Lightstation.
Garry, Aboriginal Journeys

June 4:
11:45 am 5 Orca in Sutil Channel around Penn Islands. from Commercial Fish Boat
information forwarded by Garry, Aboriginal Journeys

June 4:
8 am Around 60 Pacific White Sided Dolphins were spotted between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale from the ferry.
Robin H.

June 3:
Jen had 200+ Dolphin between Elk Bay and Okisollo Passage, south bound at 10:30 am.
8 Dalls at Calm Channel at about 1:00 pm

June 3:
Around 8 pm Approx. 40 Pacific White Sided Dolphins between Texada and Vivian Islands. Seen from the Comox ferry.
Brian & Midge D.

June 3:
7:25 pm Two groups of Pacific White Sided Dolphins in front of Powell River, Westview area slowly working Northward. One group was around 20 animals the other was larger – maybe 60 or so.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

June 3:
6 pm Large number of Pacific White Sided Dolphins in four distinct groups off the top of Texada Island. The majority stayed out on the Strait side of Texada but between 20 to 30 headed towards Grief Pt. moving relatively quickly southward.
Susan MacKay, Whales and Dolphins BC

June 3:
Around 3:15 pm Dolphins spotted from ferry in the Strait off Texada Island towards Comox – no numbers.
Brian and Midge D.

June 3:
11:30 am 5 Orca in Whale Pass by Sutil Channel from a boat, possibly commercial, over the radio. The tours tried to locate these whales, but only found Dalls Porpoises.

June 3:
9:30 am Large group of Pacific White Sided Dolphins spread out from Chatham Pt. to East Thurlow Island in Johnstone Strait.
Jeff, Fog Horn, Painter’s Lodge

And from farther South:
June 3
On the 2:30 Kingstone to Edmonds Ferry today (Friday 6.3) I observed 3 breaches of what appeared to be a juvenile Humpback.  It was traveling east to west toward Kingston.  I though Minke for a while, but when it breached, the flippers looked too big.  Any confirmations?

Rick Huey, WSF Biologist

Submitted by: Susan Berta and Howard Garrett, Orca Network 
June 3 
The clear, sunny day brought out the normally elusive harbor porpoise...and Mt. Rainier! The massive volcano, which is over a hundred miles away, was in the backdrop of as we headed through Cattle Pass. There we saw a minke whale, harbor seals, steller sea lions and many harbor porpoises. Once in the Strait of Juan de Fuca we sighted at least two other minke whales alongside many birds. Near Spieden Island a juvenile bald eagle ate a decaying seal while many others were in the top of trees or soaring above.
Kirsten, San Juan Safaris, San Juan Island, WA
Submitted by: Susan Berta and Howard Garrett, Orca Network 

 

 

One Response

  1. Hyo says:

    Very nice time log. Looks like it was a lot of fun.

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