It was a lovely day in Victoria and an even better day on the water. With light winds forecasted we knew conditions would be nice. It still impressed us with how flat and calm the ocean was with a light breeze making ripples on the surface, ‘lake’-like.
As we ventured out in search of whales we headed in the direction of race rocks. We hoped there would be whales beyond the ecological reserve.
We stopped in to view the seals and sea lions who were abundant and vocal. There were some marine birds as well. Glaucous winged gulls and oyster catchers most obvious. A few cormorants on a rocky point sunning themselves as well.
After race rocks we continued onwards. we didn’t have to go far, the T109As were just beyond race rocks.
The whales were not traveling very fast. Milling and changing direction. It was likely they had feasted on a seal or seal lion recently (there were many at race rocks).
The whales were a little playful, showing their tails and poking their heads out of the water. Perhaps revelling in the satisfaction of having full bellies. The current abundance of seals and sea lions is supporting a healthy populations of Transient Killer whales in the areas. Something we are happy to see, especially when their cousins, the southern resident killer whales are not doing as well. (Their main food source is fish, specifically Chinook salmon).
After the encounter with the hump back whales we continued on our way in search of one of our larger whale species. A ways east of the killer whales and race rocks we encountered a single humpback whale. It was doing some deep dives and likely feeding on schools of fish. We got a few looks at the back and tail of the the whale before leaving it to enjoy its meal.
What a great day on the water. Check out our Facebook page for more photos from today’s tour!