While the skies were overcast, leading to a moody and darker vibe for the day, that didn’t dampen our spirits as our full fleet pushed off the dock! We have been having excellent success finding whales outside the Nanaimo harbour lately, so we began the day’s search pointing towards North Nanaimo. We began searching, scanning the horizon, and after just a few minutes, we spotted our first blows! Since our whales are wild and are free of all trackers and tags, it’s always a gamble where we find them from trip to trip, sometimes leading to lengthy searches… but not today!

Our first humpback was likely busy feeding as we observed it zigzagging back and forth, coming up quickly before diving. While we were unable to get a fluke from them, their dorsal has a distinct shape paired with some distinct markings, meaning we can use that to identify them instead. This whale was identified as Neptune (BCY1021) - a frequent visitor to our area. We didn’t stay with Neptune for too long, though, as we caught word of another active humpback nearby. We departed Neptune, leaving them to their feasting, and continued over to visit a different pair of humpbacks not too far to the east.

As we approached, we witnessed the pinnacle of humpback whale activity - breaching! Breaching takes a ton of energy, so it’s always amazing every time we witness it. Because it takes so much energy, you can never bet on them breaching more than once. Today, though, it seems like our little humpback was super excited with a full belly, as they ended up breaching for nearly an hour nonstop! Popping up over and over leads to some amazing shots, but it can sometimes be tricky to identify them. Thankfully, at times this little one ended up swimming on their side, slapping their pectoral fins on the surface of the water, with a corner of their fluke poking out as well. From this little corner fluke, we were able to identify them as Watson/Cerulean (BCY1461) - the 2021 calf of Split Fluke. Watson was also following another buddy around, who we identified as Thunderbolt (BCX1675 calf 2023) - the 2023 calf of Strike. Watson seemed to be trying to egg Thunderbolt on, as they appeared to be following them around as they breached and pec slapped. They potentially could have been trying to get them to play with them, or maybe they were simply being young animals and were busy pestering them just for fun. There were also a couple of whales surfacing much further away from these two, though unfortunately, we were unable to get good ID shots of them.

It’s a great sign that these youngsters feel confident enough in their fat reserves that they have energy to burn. Our humpbacks are migratory, meaning they are not in our area all year round. They spend the spring and summer here, eating as much as they can, before they head on out to their breeding grounds. For our humpback populations, most of them go to either Hawaii or Mexico to breed and give birth. This multi-thousand-kilometre journey is heavily taxing on the body, especially for females who are giving birth and nursing a young calf. This journey away from our area and back can take months, and amazingly, they tend to fast (not eat) and rely on their fat stores to keep them going. Each year, they return to our feeding grounds, hungry and thin, with the main goal of eating as much as they can to recover before the cycle repeats itself. Because of this, early-season humpbacks tend to be less surface active as they focus their time and attention on foraging. This year, especially, has been breaking from that trend, though, with breachapalooza days like today. This could indicate that there is a very high concentration of food in the area, leading to easier feeding times and faster fat accumulation. Keep it up, Watson and Thunderbolt!

After watching the adventures of the bouncy duo, we had to say our goodbyes and continue on our way. The fleet turned southbound and began the next leg of the adventure inside the Southern Gulf Islands. To enter the Islands, they crossed through Dodd Narrows, the waterway separating Vancouver Island and Mudge Island. Once through here, we continued scanning for more signs of whales, while skirting Gabriola’s shoreline and heading out of Gabriola Pass into the Strait of Georgia. We popped out into the Strait and turned south towards our next goal - Stinky Rocks!

As we approached Stinky Rocks, we saw our next two wildlife species - our Steller Sea Lions perched up on the larger sandy rocks, and our Harbour Seals nestled into the kelp-covered shallow rocks closer to Valdez’s shoreline. We slowly travelled along, taking a peek at both. The Harbour Seals were busy snoozing away, occasionally stretching, and being as quiet as ever. The Steller Sea Lions, however, were doing the exact opposite - clambering all over each other and belching and growling away.

Once we left our pinnipeds, we cruised along Gabriola Island, making our way to our final stop of the day. After rounding the corner, we came face-to-face with the Gabriola Bluffs, a massive sandstone wall, teeming with plantlife and wildlife. Many of our Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants nest here, raising generation after generation of chicks in the Bluffs’ many nooks and crannies. At the top of the bluffs, there are many tall and looming trees that our Bald Eagles tend to nest in. Once a species on the brink of extinction, our Bald Eagles have bounced back, with many thousands of pairs nesting and breeding along British Columbia’s shores. A trio of Turkey Vultures also tends to lumber along behind one of the Bluff’s boulders, playing an important part in the food web as the cleanup crew, keeping all the other animals safe and healthy.

After stopping at the magnificent cliffs, we had to start heading back to the harbour, wrapping up a wonderful time out on the seas with a huge variety of marine life!

Please enjoy these trip’s photos taken by Marine Naturalists Cheyenne Brewster, Aly Kohlman, and Hayleigh Hilbert!

June 26, 2025, 10:30 AM - The advetures of Watson and Thunderbolt (and some friends too)!