Bigg’s Killer Whales, Herring and Links in the News

With the herring spawn started, it was only a matter of time before we started to see some Cetaceans close by. Great ‘spawn’ report below. Lots of chatter on the radio about it too. The Orca, some unidentified, finally did make their presence known. Also a couple of links in the news.

Draw to be held in Powell River March 16, 2013

All contributions till midnight March 15, 2013 are being entered in the draw.

The winner of the cruise for two can transfer their winning to another party, should they wish. 

Good luck to all!

Although Beazley the cat would love to draw the name, it was decided that he’d probably either pull more than one name, or not pull a name at all. So, we have a young, non-contributor from out of town coming to pull the name. There will be photos and, barring technical difficulties, a video clip of the draw.

Society, budgets, and official charity status are all being worked on. It’s time consuming work to produce all official and legal documents. This has caused the delay in reports being posted and responses to emails. There have also been glitches with Facebook postings. Please bear with me and continue to pass on sightings; they are all important. The web site and domain name has just been renewed for three more years. Thank you!

4:50 pm T18/T19/T19B and the rest of the gang are by Walcan, Campbell River still Northbound. left them at Brown’s Bay still Northbound at 5:30 pm. They did a cool, over 10 minute dive, at slack tide on Ripple Rock. Never seen that before….

4:25 pm 4 Orca Northbound by April point across from Campbell River. Nick found them and said they’re T18/T19’s. These are the best photos I got today. They were far away. Thank god for my zoom lol

8:33 am Hi Susan … there are some Orcas reported off of Harmac (Nanaimo) right now ..I’m at work there and I have a camera so I’ll see if I can get a shot of them.

February 25 (Rec’d Feb 28)

I got a note yesterday from one of my friends at the Bay. (Brown’s Bay, just NW of Campbell River) She woke up to a Pod of Orca some morning this week in the Bay…So they are not all in the strait… Think it was Monday.

In the meantime, a Denman “sighting”, if you will. Not whales sadly, but the herring spawn began this week on March 3. A sure sign of spring around these parts. Here are a few photos. Feel free to share one or all or none wherever you wish. Hope to get some more wildlife instead of just fishing fleet shots before the spawn is over. The sea lions, seals, eagles, and sea birds come in droves for this event. Unfortunately they weren’t in the immediate vicinity of the fleet when I was out with my camera. I honestly wonder why the herring spawn doesn’t bring in the Biggs. It is a sea mammal buffet.

Additional information heard through radio chatter is that there have been huge schools of herring in Comox harbour, Qualicum, and mostly over on the Vancouver Island side of Georgia Strait.

Marine Protected Areas and Protecting our oceans: On February 5, 2013, the federal government’s environmental watchdog released a report suggesting that Canada has a long way to go to protect our coastal ecosystems and oceans. Canada has only protected one per cent of our oceans, while Australia and the United States are well on their way to meeting ocean conservation goals (at 40 and eight per cent respectively). Video clip and more on the David Suzuki Foundation website at: http://action2.davidsuzuki.org/spend-a-little-save-a-lot

The longest of the video clips of Orca, sea lions and surfers in close to shore off the West Coast of Vancouver Island. There were reports on the news that these Orca were hunting the sea lions, but I have yet to see sea lions swimming towards and with Transient Bigg’s Killer Whales….. They usually get as far away and as high up onto rocks as they can when T’s are in the neighbourhood and on the hunt. They all, except for the surfers, appear to be chasing herring close in to shore. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOtntDW0KnM

Whales and Dolphins BC needs your support through sightings information, volunteering, and financial contributions to ensure continued growth and web presence. To assist with fund raising, there will be a Random Draw for a 4 day, 3 night Cruise for Two! Every $5 worth of Donation enters your name for the draw. Support and you could win this cruise! Draw date: March 16, 2013