Zodiac Wildlife Adventure Jan 31 1pm

The sun came out and the waters stayed calm for the 1pm Zodiac winter, wildlife trip. These conditions gave our international guests from England and Germany and Canadian guests from Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan great views of the rugged coastline of Vancouver Island and the surrounding westcoast scenery. Our skipper , Mark ' Mallard ' shared his knowledge of the local marine wildlife and scenery with those on board the yellow zodiac. We saw Bald Eagles and Harbour Seals along the way. Although our search for the Orca took us along the Metchosin/ Sooke shoreline and deep into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we were unable to locate whales today.
They can be very illusive on any given day. At these times, it is best to celebrate their wildness knowing that they are out there somewhere, doing what whales need to do. Our return trip took us to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve to take in the sights and sounds of Elephant Seals and Steller Sea Lions lounging on rocks. It was another great 'Prince of Whales ' wildlife trip full of interesting bird and marine life in these rich, BC waters.
Marie, Orca-Magic.

Zodiac Wildlife Adventure Jan 29

Our I pm charter Zodiac with guest Nicole from Edmonton, Skipper Mark 'Mallard', Capt. Gord of the Ocean Magic, and Marie 'Orca-Magic', POW whale blog photographer, left the inner harbour to find J Pod Orca that had been reported earlier in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The conditions on the water were excellent for finding ORCA. Although there was some cloud overhead, it was indeed a very calm and unusually warm day for January. It wasn't long before the keen eyes of both Mark and Gord spotted the black dorsal fins of the Resident J Pod Orca, the fish eaters. Our experienced 'Naturalists' on board shared a wealth of knowledge with our guest, as we watched family groups of Orca swim past , heading toward the south west. We had initially located the J 42, J 26, J 14 and her family group 2-3 miles west of the ODAS buoy. The whales were spread out across the Strait and slowly heading west. Several mothers with their babies swam by. It was awesome to see the two tiny ones that were born during the last three months, one in November and the other, early this month. The oldest male J1, affectionately named Ruffles, is 59 yrs old, but can still chase salmon actively. He was off foraging by himself, then headed south against the backdrop of the Olympic mountains to follow the pod. Being able to commune for a while with this dearly loved Pod of whales was simply amazing. Our stay with these magical creatures was soon over. It had been another fabulous winter, wildlife adventure with 'Prince of Whales '.
Marie, Orca-Magic.

Zodica Wildlife Adventure Jan 26 1pm

Our intrepid 'Prince of Whales' skipper, Mark Malleson, seems to know instinctively where those whales are. Out there in all that west coast water these illusive animals can traverse the Strait of Juan de Fuca, while traveling in search of food. It was here, three miles south of Sheringham Lighthouse, that the 1pm Zodiac found a group of Transient Killer whales, T 30's with T172 today. These top predators were in hunting mode. We watched as these animals created swells, with their active behaviour around a little harbour seal. It appeared they were playing with it. Finally the four smaller whales headed off to join the big male who was heading further out west. Meanwhile, the seal was able to swim away. To conclude our westcoast wildlife trip we visited Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. Here we viewed Steller Sea Lions in the water, and Harbour and 4 Elephant Seals, lounging on the rocks. A pair of Bald Eagles were also seen. Our happy, international guests from Australia, Germany, Holland, and Saskatchewan experienced a fun filled west coast adventure on a relatively mild, calm day in January.
Marie, Orca-Magic.

Zodiac Wildlife Adventure Jan 12 2010

Please note...most of the pictures that have been posted have been cropped and taken with 300mm-400mm lens to enable viewers to see the wildlife, ' up close and personal. '

January 2010 is turning out to be quite the month for spotting ORCA. It has been mostly the mammal eating killer whales that have been seen, so it seems they are out there any given day, but spotting them is all about LUCK and the keen eyes of the Skipper. That is exactly what happened January 12th. The 1pm Zodiac left the inner harbour under grey skies and exceptionally mild temperatures for this time of year. With the keen eyes of our experienced and knowledgable Skipper, Mark 'Mallard' surveying the westcoast scene, it wasn't long before we saw Bald Eagles, and Harbour Seals. We traveled south for a while on very cam water and then along the Metchosin and Sooke rugged coastline where we came across three Transient Orca. There were two big males and one female, later identified as BC Transients, T124C, T93 and T97. These are the apex hunters of the ocean. Eventually, after watching them for a while, they headed south east. We left them in ' traveling mode' while we made a quick visit to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve to view the Steller's Sea Lions. Although it started to rain on our return trip, our guests from Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Victoria were enthralled with the wildlife they had seen on their first trip with 'Prince of Whales'. It was yet another lucky wildlife adventure along BC's fabulous westcoast.
Marie, Orca-Magic.

Baby Boom Media articles

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/12/bc-killer-whale-birth.html

http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Whale%20baby%20boom%20Island/2218126/story.html

Two articles about the new baby named "Star". Photos and commentary included by Prince of Whales' Mark Malleson.

Zodiac Wildlife Adventure Nov 12 1pm

The weather has changed on the west coast this time of year. It is November and fall is well underway with more rain and cloud, however the wildlife is plentiful. Even if the Resident Orca are roaming further a field in search of Salmon and seen less, there are other marine mammals around. There is much more sea-bird life too on the waters these days with Common Murres , Ancient Murrelets and Bonaparte's Gulls moving in. Our 1pm Zodiac wildlife trip was a most informative one with Skipper Shaun at the wheel and guests from England, Holland, Vancouver and Alberta. We headed west from the harbour along the picturesque and rugged Vancouver Island shoreline under sunny skies. Here we saw two Bald Eagles, different colour morphs of harbour seals sunning themselves on rocks. Skipper Shaun explained to the guests the importance of the abundance of life in these waters with some 'show and tell' and hands on items, sea stars and bull kelp. A quick trip to Race Rocks Ecological Reserve gave us looks at the barking and growling Sea Lions occupying the rocks. We returned to Victoria harbour with the sun slipping behind the clouds that were building on the western horizon . It was another great Wildlife trip with ' Prince of Whales '.
Marie, Orca-Magic, photographer.