On March 5 of this year, we braved the unseasonably cold weather and headed up to Comox, BC for a four-hour boat tour with Wild Waterways Adventures, in search of Biggs orcas and other marine mammals. Our trip took us south to the Seal Islets north of Hornby Island, where we found a group of harbour seals hauled out on a small sand bar.
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Harbour Seals (Phoca vitulina) |
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Harbour Seals (Phoca vitulina) |
We then headed south through Lambert Channel between Denman and Hornby Islands, where we stopped for a few minutes to observe the seiner MV Nita Maria conducting a sample catch for the Pacific Herring Test Fishery near the south end of the channel.
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MV Nita Maria |
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MV Nita Maria, Herring Test Fishery |
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MV Nita Maria, Herring Test Fishery |
After watching the gulls flocking around the boat for a few minutes, we turned and headed east towards the south end of Hornby Island, where we found a large colony of California Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks at Toby Island.
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California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) and Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) |
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California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) |
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California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) |
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California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) |
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California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) |
After a brief stop at Ford's Cove on Hornby Island for hot chocolate and snacks, we headed west past the Chrome Island lighthouse and turned north up the west side of Denman Island, but by then the weather had started to deteriorate and we didn't find much in the way of wildlife aside from a number of seabirds. We headed back to Comox, cold but smiling, without having sighted any orcas but the trip was very enjoyable and informative all the same.
If you're looking to get out and see some of the fascinating marine life of the Salish Sea, I highly recommend Jen and Reuben at Wild Waterways Adventures.
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