Orca Off Bonniebrook

Two Years in Canada 

Monday April 17th

T087 Harbeson 

A stroll down to the beach on Wednesday evening was rewarded with the sighting of a pod of Orca, about 4-6 of them, splashing around about 200-400m off the beach.  It is the first time in nearly two years on the Coast that we have seen Orca from this beach.  A year ago Fred had spotted a pod just 50m off-shore at Hopkin's Landing beach when we lived in Langdale, we have spotted them from afar on one of our ferry rides a year or two back and I've seen them from a distance when out sailing, but never this close and this active!  

You can just see the water spout from the smaller whale

They had been seen earlier during the day further up the Coast and two were identified as T087 Harbeson and  T06A5 Indy, but what species of Orca?

According to a website that covers Salish Sea Orcas there are only about 73 Southern Orca remaining in the Salish Sea in three distinct pods, JPod, KPod and LPod and are named according to their pod.  Identified by their dorsal fin and the white patch or saddle just behind/below it, they eat mainly Chinook salmon.  

We also have Bigg's Orca known as Transient whales with a vast home range that exist in smaller pods of 2 - 6, as distinct from the larger Southern Orca groups.  There are about 400 in the Pacific North-West. The Bigg's also have a different food source, mainly mammals such as seals, sea-lions, dolphin and porpoise. The Southern and Bigg's Orca do not mix or interbreed and research suggests they separated as a species 750,000 years ago.  I don't know what type are in the photo, with the different naming convention and the fact there were only a few of them, may mean they were Bigg's Orca.  More research needed.

Tail of larger Orca

The two who stayed together, the larger T087 Harbeson and much smaller Indy T065A5 hung around for well over an hour.  Fred wondered if they were mating, I had assumed they were feeding, though there was no sign of seals being tossed in the air!

April 3rd marked two years since we arrived in Canada.  I had planned to do a special blog but as the day passed unnoticed, it didn't seem quite so relevant. Living on the Coast feels like home, two years on May 3rd. We feel very lucky, don't take it for granted and remain excited by the wildlife, scenery and lifestyle that enticed us here in the first place.  Two years!  It feels just a few months.  

Spanish Moss/Grandfather's Beard

Mid-April and things are beginning to look like Spring, though it does not yet feel like it.  Deciduous trees, shrubs and flowers are bursting into life and the conifers that surround us have light green tips to their branches as they too start to shoot.  It has been wet and cold and looks to remain so for the next ten days with temperatures only just getting to double figures.  Fred is still waiting to get some of her planting underway but will have to wait a few more days. Snowmelt from our mountain backdrop above the Coast is bringing more water into the creeks, though lack of storage means it is unlikely to help bolster summer water supplies if we have another dry spell.

Jack, who broke two teeth a couple of weeks ago, had remnants removed today, plus a little cyst on his eyelid, under a general anaesthetic.  He started singing soon after waking up apparently and did the same when he heard my voice as I collected him.  He is now feeling sorry for himself in bed and is a bit wobbly on his legs.  On our solid floors something like Bambi on ice.  He managed to drag himself up to eat his dinner.  I suspect he will bounce back quite quickly.

The local Barred Owl on one of my walks has been joined by a second owl and were t'wit t'wooing to each other the other day.  They are a breed of owl that can be seen and heard during the day unlike many of the more nocturnal species.

Will we ever get him through the vet's front door again?

Jack - stumped - pre-op, in his happy place