Orcas

Today was our chance to look for Orcas in the Johnstone Straight. The pods had been hard to come by this year and yesterday’s outing produced no sightings. The journey out produced good views of Black Bears (a mother and cub, and what was probably a male.) We stopped and  watched them for quite a while as these were Michelle and Sam’s first sightings.

We then got the bad news that a pod had been sighted heading fast south well out of our range. Nearly all sightings lately had been of the same three pods which swam together in a single pod. They would often swim fast south early morning and return late afternoon, though lately this return had often been late in the evening (as yesterday) long after we would need to return.

We held fast and had reasonable and prolonged views of a single Humpback Whale, and later several sightings of Dall’s Porpoise, as well as Steller’s Sea Lions, Harbour Seals, and Harbour Porpoises. Birds included a number of Bald Eagles, three Red-necked Grebes, a Black Turnstone, and over for hundred Rhinoceros Aucklets. We also got the news that the pod heading south had been “Transient” Orcas and therefore the “Resident” pods may still be in the area.

Then, just as we were about to land for lunch, we got news that the pod had been sighted about an hour north. Ignoring lunch we motored at full speed (getting good views of Dall’s Porpoises by the boat) and found them. We enjoyed excellent views for a couple of hours whilst we had lunch on board our small boat.

The journey home produced several Mew Gulls, our first of the trip. A Rufous Hummingbird was around the feeder at the lodge and I found a dead Vagrant or Dusky Shrew.