June 6th - Trio of Humpbacks off Galiano Island!

Today Corona, Slate, and Slate’s calf amazed us with a VERY close pass by while on scene. The pod milled around, casting huge blows into the air. Humpbacks are part of the baleen whale family, meaning they have two blowholes as opposed to the single blowhole of orca and other dolphins. This results in a V-shaped blow instead of a single column.
This was the very first solo session for Naturalist Cheyenne; what an awesome first day!

Diving beside the boat. Photos by passenger Murray.

How do we ID these whales? Each whale’s fluke (the two lobes on their tail) is unique. Think of it as their own personal fingerprint!

Humpback fluke! Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

After visiting Slate and co., we travelled back and spotted a bald eagle, a bob of harbour seals, and a colony of California sea lions!

Bald Eagle. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

Harbour seals basking in the sun. Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

Naturalist Rodrigo captured a photo of a California Sea Lion (below) that shows their ear flaps. Harbour seals (above) and other members of the seal family do not have this trait!

California Sea Lion watching us. Notice the ear flaps? Photo by Rodrigo Menezes.

Thank you to passenger Murray for sharing your photos with us.

Want a chance to see whales with your own eyes? Call us at (250) 667-5177 or book online. We hope to see you on the water!