A few Sightings Reports and Links in the News

Brief and distant appearance of some Orca are the main report. It’s been quite a while since the reports have been so few and far between. Where are they? This report is up to and includes March 6, 2014 with a few photos taken earlier.

The herring have started to spawn, based on the radio chatter and sea lions are around, mostly closer to Vancouver Island, but some have popped up along the mainland shore. This would indicate that there are fish for the Resident Orca as well as the meat sought by the Transient Bigg’s Orca. It’s a bit early for us to see any of the larger whales such as Grey’s or Humpback, but there is word of them either having overwintered or starting to show up just across the US border. Rumour also of some of the Northern Resident Orca showing up in the Blackfish Sound area, then heading back out to the West. The Pacific White Sided Dolphins appear to have scattered somewhere since the last reports of Orca chasing and following them. Some Harbour Porpoise were seen in larger numbers than these shy animals usually travel in.

Keep your eyes open and please remember to call or email the sighting in. A few reports below are after the fact, which is better than not at all.

Although reports are slow, there are many things in the works in the background and I apologize for not having the time to keep everyone informed and post more updates. The automatic email feed has still been an issue and taken far too much time to try to sort, so for now, to ensure subscribers receive the post, it will be sent out manually again. Apologies if you receive it twice, but it would mean that it’s finally fixed!

Finally, there are a number of very interesting Links in the News below and for those of you in Powell River, since the article appears to have been missed on line, the Peak newspaper photo of NRKW A42, Sonora’s calf A103, Albion was from 2014 not 2013 as was printed. Thanks to all who asked about it.

March 3:

4:00 pm: There are some Orca in front of Campbell River, southbound. At least 4 of them.

March 3:

4:00 pm: 4 Orca southbound in front of Campbell River.

February 27:

3:17 pm: There are some Orca in Menzies Bay/ Seymour Narrows. Can’t tell how many there are, I’m on land.

4:29 pm: There are 4 whales at least, didn’t see them when I went back…will be back in a couple of minutes and try to get a direction but they were milling last time I saw them.

5:00 pm: Okay – got ’em! They are still in Seymour Narrows milling. And I’m going with northbound – looks like they just went through the Narrows. Yes, northbound.

February 19 (rec’d February 28):

Around 10:30 am 5 Orca off the West side of Texada, between Comox and Texada. The ferry Captain pointed them out, but they were quite a ways off – just blows. Someone had said they were sending the report in to us (Sherri is on the board of Wild Ocean Whale Society WOWs), which is the only reason I didn’t call you myself. I even know better – rather get the report ten times or more than not at all!

February 17 (rec’d February 21):

Some nice sightings of cetaceans Monday morning off Roberts Creek Pier on the Sunshine Coast. 6 – 8 Orca, suspect transients, out about one mile, and the largest pod of Harbour Porpoises I have ever seen close to shore. 20 plus. Coincidence? Nice treat. I stand-up Paddle Board all year long and have seen Harbour Porpoise more than ever this year. But today February 21 from the Pier is the largest group (Porpoise) I have ever seen.

Captain Dave Anderson of Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Safari in Dana Point, California, at great personal risk, has recently filmed and edited a 5-minute video that contains some of the most beautiful, jaw-dropping, footage ever taken with a drone from the air of a huge mega-pod of thousands of common dolphins stampeding off Dana Point, California, three gray whales migrating together down the coast off San Clemente, California, and heartwarming close-ups hovering over a newborn Humpback whale calf snuggling and playing with its mom as an escort whale stands guard nearby, filmed recently in Maui.

Drones have helped capture some of the Internet’s most incredible videos, but we think this one might go down as the sweetest. (This is part of the above fuller featured clip)

This next short piece of footage shows an interaction between a blue whale and killer whales-where it looks as though the orcas took a nip out of their much bigger relative! The video was filmed off the coast of Monterey, California, by Monterey Bay Whale Watch. They mentioned that it is rare to see Blue Whales in the Californian waters in March, as they usually arrive in the late spring or early summer. http://www.livescience.com/43879-killer-whales-attack-blue-whale-video.html

Whales win big in Federal court

Dozens of fossilized whales, seals and other marine animals have been discovered piled up in an ancient tidal flat in northern Chile.

Toronto lawyer Clayton Ruby has provided the Federal Government with a legal opinion following the outcries of the public for Canada to stop serving as a trans shipment destination for the trade in endangered whale meat between Iceland and Japan. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ottawa+pressured+stop+transhipments+whale+meat/9570277//story.html

Rescuers cut hundreds of feet of fishing line from emaciated whale off Hawaii.