Killer Whales, Humpback Whales, Dolphins and a Minke Whale
Transient Bigg’s Orca are around, but behaving quite stealthy then suddenly pop up in numbers. Humpback Whales are working their way down the coast. Pacific White Sided Dolphins are back into the inlets North of Powell River and Campbell River. We have no reports of Dall’s or Harbour Porpoise this time, but have one report of a Minke Whale and Northern Resident Orca. Of Note, the Humpback Whale known as ‘KC’ has spent all summer travelling between Kelsey Bay, mid-Johnstone Strait and was last seen in Powell River, presumably heading down the coast now in preparation for heading off to the winter breeding grounds. It was great to get a photo to enable identification. There were vague reports of other Humpbacks in the Powell River and Sechelt areas. With the whale watching season winding down for the companies, we’d like to remind everyone that we monitor these animals all year and we need your sightings reports please!
Susan MacKay & Lynne Cracknell, Whales and Dolphins BC
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every sighting report is valuable!
TRANSIENT BIGG’S KILLER WHALES
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| T90’s remnants of a satellite tag on dorsal |
Transient Bigg’s Killer Whales
October 4, 2014 – 5 photos including a new calf!
Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions
Oct 4:
10:00 am: Report of four or more Killer Whales northbound somewhere by Campbell River, between Cape Mudge village on Quadra Island and Campbell River.
11:15 am: So we have the Transient Bigg’s known as the T101’s and T102’s, the T090’s, and others – looks like 11-12 animals, bucking the flood tide at Cape Mudge.
11:45 am: The main gang just did an official 180 degree turn south. Males of Transient Bigg’s T101’s still northbound on the Quadra shore abeam the Cape Mudge light.
2:05 pm: Leaving the Transient Bigg’s Killer whales doing donuts 1.5 miles S/W of the green can buoy. I think they are waiting for the tide change. Have seen 5 big circles like this, then they always continue on a westerly track to Cape Mudge. Amazing encounter – we have Transient Bigg’s T101’s, and T102, T049A’s, T090’s, possibly others.
So – I believe it is the T049B’s and T049A’s today, with the T090’s and T101’s, T102.
Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions.
Oct 4:
11:12 am: Found 10 or more Orca mid channel northbound, off the Cape Mudge Lighthouse on Quadra Island.
11:45 am: The main group just did an abrupt turn south.
Jos Krijnen, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Oct 2:
5:10 pm: 8 Orca southbound at Dinner rock, NW of Atrevida Reef, (no sign of them from Powell River yet – SM).
In addition: Second hand report that some of these Orca were in Galley Bay, in Malaspina Inlet earlier, and that there was a Humpback whale off Lund around 4:30 pm.
Nicole Robertson, Powell River.
Oct 1:
12:00 pm: Two Killer Whales reported southbound in Bute Inlet at Fawn Bluff.
Aaron Nagler, Sonora Lodge.
Oct 1:
1:40 pm: Perfect day! Four Orca at the mouth of Bute Inlet, coming out.
2:20 pm: Two male Orca mid strait southbound in Calm Passage. Two Orca – one sprouter, (juvenile) and one female southbound in Drew Passage. These are the Transient Bigg’s T36B’s.
2:42 pm: All four grouped up and heading south in Calm Passage, hugging the shore of North Rendezvous Island.
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Oct 1:
3:51 pm: Transient Bigg’s Orca T101’s and T102’s between South Rendezvous Island and Read Island, favouring Read. Leaving the scene.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Oct 1:
5:00 pm: Leaving Orca in Whale Passage, southbound Sutil Channel.
Jen Furst, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Sept 30:
10:45: Orca outside Squirrel Cove, northbound, slowly. There are 5 or 6 of them, heading for Lewis Channel.
Aaron Webber, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Sept 30:
11:00 am: I received a text last night saying that there had been a pod of Orca in front of Refuge Cove in Lewis Channel a few days ago. So they have been hiding back there the whole time!
1:00 pm: My brother in law texted from Tug that Killer Whales went east into Teakerne Arm along the south shoreline. He reported one big fin and one small one but I would assume possibly more around with earlier report.
2:00 pm: From VHF: Split in gangs with one gang of 4 heading south slowly from Teakerne Arm, and first just a male and female, but now another 4 Killer Whales heading north as well from Teakerne, towards the top of Lewis Channel.
Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions.
Sept 30:
1:14 pm: Got them coming out of Teakerne Arm. They are the Transient Bigg’s T36B’s.
3:56 pm: Orca in Pryce Channel southbound.
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Sept 30:
3:45 pm: 2 Killer Whales easting in Deer Passage on the Raza Island shore, and 2 easting on the Redonda Island shore – Jack and soon Garry on scene.
Aaron Nagler, Sonora Lodge.
Sept 30:
4:47 pm: Two Orca entering Ramsay Arm, above Desolation Sound.
Fabien Minfray, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Sept 30:
7:00 pm: Left the two Orca going into Ramsey Arm an hour and a half ago, around 5:30 pm: The four northbound ones had split up. Jack left the other four near the bottom of Lewis Channel earlier.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Transient Bigg’s Killer Whales
September 30, 2014 – 3 photos
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
NORTHERN RESIDENT KILLER WHALES
Oct 5:
1:39 pm: NRKW’s known as the A34’s off Cracroft Point, top of Johnstone Strait right now, just running up to Telegraph Cove.
Geord Dunstan, Discovery Marine Safaris.
HUMPBACK WHALES
Oct 1:
10:47 am: One lone Humpback whale quietly feeding off Donkersley beach (just south of Powell River), in approximately 40 feet of water…started watching him around 10:00 am, he is still contentedly floating and feeding an hour later, not sounding as it is too shallow. With the calm water I hear the blow before he barely surfaces.
Laura Johnson, Powell River.
(Oct 2: I spoke with Laura and got some photos – the whale was K.C! – S.M)
Oct 1:
6:09 pm: I just watched a single Humpback whale travel west towards Powell River about 1/2 mile east of Myrtle Rocks. It was only ~200 meters off shore!
Bob Betty, Powell River.
Humpback Whale BCY0291 ‘KC’ or ‘Kelp Creature’
October 1, 2014 – 2 photos
Laura Johnson, Powell River
Received Oct 1::
We took a video of a lone Humpback whale feeding off Boiling Reef (next to East Point, Saturna Island) on Sunday Sept 21 at 3:45 pm.
Patrick Hunt, via email.
MINKE WHALES
On September 27th, around 3:30 pm, beach combing on Gowland Point on South Pender Island, we saw a lone Minke whale surfacing – 7 times just offshore as it headed east into Boundary Pass. We were about 50 metres away, but it was certainly too large for a dolphin or porpoise and combined with the small dorsal fin we were reasonably sure on the identification.
Graeme Langille.via email.
PACIFIC WHITE SIDED DOLPHINS
Oct 5:
12:00 pm: Pacific White Sided Dolphins at Ripple Point, near Seymour Narrows in Discovery Passage, northbound.
Aaron Webber, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Oct 5:
12:24 pm: Approximately 200 Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Frederick Arm, between Loughborough and Bute Inlets,spread out and foraging. Report from Aaron Nagler, Sonora Lodge, via Nick Templeman, Campbell River Whale and Bear Excursions.
Oct 4:
8:35 am: About 1000 Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Greensea Bay, just north of the Cinque Islands.
3:55 pm: Couple of hundred Pacific White Sided Dolphins at McMullen Point.
(from radio)
Oct 4:
4:00 pm: 300 Pacific White Sided Dolphins frolicking at McMullen Point, in Discovery Passage.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Oct 3:
9:00 am: Report of Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Kanish Bay, between Bodega Point and Granite Point in Discovery Passage.
12:00 pm: 100 Pacific White Sided Dolphins at Granite Point mid channel, foraging.
12:50 pm: Leaving the Dolphins at Green Sea Bay, north of the Cinque Islands, foraging.
Fabien Minfray, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Oct 2:
8:43 am 100 Plus Pacific White Sided Dolphins Eastbound by Sonora Point, Nodales Channel.
9:50 am: Same Pacific White Sided Dolphins now in southern Denham Bay, milling.
Aaron Nagler, Sonora Lodge.
Oct 2:
3:35 pm: 100-120 Pacific White Sided Dolphins milling in Kanish Bay, Discovery Passage.
(from radio)
Pacific White Sided Dolphins
October, 2014 – 4 photos
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours
Oct 2:
3:58 pm: 150 Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Kanish Bay, frolicking.
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Oct 2:
4:35 pm: Leaving Pacific White Sided Dolphins, same location.
Fabien Minfray, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Oct 1:
8:43 am: About 100 Pacific White Sided Dolphins easting at Sonora Point, in Nodales Channel.
Aaron Nagler, Sonora Lodge.
Oct 1:
5:02 pm: 50 Pacific White Sided Dolphins at Penn Islands, near Read Island in the Strait of Georgia.
Fabien Minfray, Eagle Eye Adventures.
Sept 30:
9:50 am: 200 plus Pacific White Sided Dolphins mid strait Kanish Bay, Discovery Passage, foraging.
Jack Springer, Campbell River Whale Watching.
Sept 29:
8:50 am: 20 Pacific White Sided Dolphins in Seymour Narrows, milling.
9:09 am: 150 Pacific White Sided Dolphins at No Name Creek, Campbell River, moving slowly northbound.
4:00: 150 Pacific White Sided Dolphins leaping and having fun at 45 point. Additional: 16 Grizzlies, 2 sets of triplets, and leaping Dolphins on the way back!
Garry Henkel, Aboriginal Journeys Whale and Grizzly Bear Tours.
Sept 29:
5:15 pm: Pacific White Sided Dolphins are mid strait between Kanish Bay and Eagle’s Cove in Discovery Passage.
Leif Nordman, Campbell River Whale Watching.
LINKS
Here is a great link to some video showing Humpback whales breaching and having lots of fun in Monterey Bay:
Rare White Orca Sighting off the Russian coast:
Have you seen a whale, dolphin or porpoise?
Every sighting report is valuable!
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