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| Sunrise Humpbacks |
After going a few days without seeing any cetaceans (whales), we got lucky running across a few humpback whales near Thrasher Rock in British Columbia. It looked like a mother with a yearling, maybe getting ready for the long migration south to the breeding area.
While we watched the duo we were also basking in a beautiful sunrise. I guess this is why they call this part of British Columbia's coast the 'Sunshine Coast.' The colors and backlighting added a little uniqueness to an already magical encounter with these whales.
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| Big Bull headed my way |
It turns out that our whale watching for the day was not over after we left the humpbacks. A few hours later, close to the Canada USA border, I spotted the telltail tall black dorsal fin of an orca from a couple miles out. I couldn't believe my binoculars just happened to scan right over that area as it came up for a breath. It took another fifteen minutes for us to get over to them, as they were travelling the same direction we were. Once we caught up with them they put on quite the show. We saw a few tails and some quick movements before having to continue on for our destination. Any encounter with orca is a special one here. It is so easy to miss them as they travel over a hundred miles a day.
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| Orca tail flukes |
Both humpbacks and orca share a certain level of intelligence that we are only beginning to comprehend. It always feels like I am in the presence of social beings when I'm surrounded by whales. Maybe one day I'll get an underwater photo of an orca. Until then I'll keep going for the perfect one above water.
While we watched the duo we were also basking in a beautiful sunrise. I guess this is why they call this part of British Columbia's coast the 'Sunshine Coast.' The colors and backlighting added a little uniqueness to an already magical encounter with these whales.
It turns out that our whale watching for the day was not over after we left the humpbacks. A few hours later, close to the Canada USA border, I spotted the telltail tall black dorsal fin of an orca from a couple miles out. I couldn't believe my binoculars just happened to scan right over that area as it came up for a breath. It took another fifteen minutes for us to get over to them, as they were travelling the same direction we were. Once we caught up with them they put on quite the show. We saw a few tails and some quick movements before having to continue on for our destination. Any encounter with orca is a special one here. It is so easy to miss them as they travel over a hundred miles a day.
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