Sometimes we head out into the Strait without any particular direction or plan in mind, and we search wherever our hearts desire - but today we caught wind of a report of orca travelling south through Dodd Narrows earlier in the day, leading us to begin the search inside the Southern Gulf Islands. Heading south, we aimed for Stuart Channel, scanning the horizon for blows and dorsals. It didn’t take long for us to spot a couple of large dorsals slicing through the waters, spread out across the channel. These whales were a trio of regulars for us, identified as the T019s:

T019 Nootka ♀ (~1965)
T019B Galiano ♂ (1995)
T019C Spouter ♂ (2001)

The T019s were very spread out during this encounter, leading us to mainly spend our time with T019C Spouter. They continued heading South, and we left them shortly before they entered the start of Sansum Narrows.

We departed the T019s and began searching for other wildlife. We hopped over to Stinky Rocks off of Valdez’s eastern shoreline and took a peek at one of our other classic wildlife species. Stinky Rocks is a perfect haulout spot for our Steller Sea Lions, or in other words, it is an ideal location for our Stellers to climb out of the water to sun themselves, nap, and relax. These smelly giants love clamouring over each other to find the perfect spot on the rocks to stretch out. Sometimes, when it is colder, we will see them being a bit more cooperative with each other, curling up together in cuddle puddles to conserve body heat.

Once we left our belching pinnipeds behind, we angled out into the Strait. We didn’t need to go far before we found our next wildlife encounter - this time, a small pod of Harbour Porpoises! In general, porpoises are quite skittish and boat shy, so we don’t typically stop for them, but every once in a while, they stick around for more than a few surfaces, so we can have a bit of a peek at them. Harbour Porpoises are the tiniest cetacean in the Salish Sea, reaching a max length of 5 1/2 feet (1.6 metres) long - that’s about as long as a lot of our Naturalists are tall!

After enjoying our time with the porpoises, we travelled back towards Nanaimo, passing through Gabriola Pass, Ruxton Pass, and Dodd Narrows. Here we found ourselves in the rain, but with lots of wildlife. We watched as the California Sea Lions positioned themselves on the rocks, and to our excitement, as about 5 Bald Eagles of varying ages fought in the sky overhead.

From here we travelled along the shoreline of Gabriola Island until we reached the Bluffs. These impressive sandstone cliffs are home to various bird species, including the nesting pair of Bald Eagles we have nicknamed Bonnie and Clyde, and a colony of cormorants. In addition to the wildlife, the cliffs themselves are very impressive to look at, with all the various forms of erosion on display.

From here we returned to Nanaimo, crossing Northumberland Channel to get there. Although we had a little rain, it was incredible to spend all this time with the wildlife throughout the trip! Please enjoy the photos below taken by Marine Naturalist Holly Archer throughout these encounters.

May 3, 2025 - T019s off of Crofton