En Route to Tofino

We took advantage of a 3-day weekend in British Columbia to get out to Tofino over the last couple of days. I've been excited about getting the chance to explore more of Vancouver Island this month, and Tofino was near the top of my list. Not surprisingly, the drive out to the Pacific Coast was full of stunning sights, too. Our first stop of the day was at Cathedral Grove along Highway 4. While the giant trees were impressive, I was again turning my eyes to the minute:

Turns out just about the only photo I took of the trees themselves was this reflection shot!

Next up we stopped near Port Alberni at a little known side trail we read about called Hole in the Wall. We weren't really sure what to expect, but it turned out to be well worth the stop. Not only for the hole in the wall itself, which was apparently blasted through the volcanic shale, but for all the other scenery:

The hole in the wall

Roger Creek runs by the wall of volcanic shale

Abstract black and white of the running creek

Old car abandoned in the woods --> Gets covered with graffiti --> Moss grows on it

Crazy lichen close-up

While it had been mostly overcast throughout the day, as we hit the stretch of highway between Port Alberni and the Pacific Ocean the clouds began to break, which made for some incredibly stunning lighting as we drove along the Kennedy River with snow-capped peaks towering overhead. We had to stop many times to get out the cameras. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Southern Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island: I look at it *all* the time, just 10 miles across Haro Strait, but it's embarrassing how few times I've been there. In the last few weeks I've had the opportunity to do some exploring over there, and have been reminded how the short ferry ride and border crossing really shouldn't be such a deterrent to visiting! It's a beautiful place, and it's been awesome to visit some of the places I see on the map or from the water on a regular basis.

One of the first places I visited was Mt. Douglas, which we shore-based whale watchers use as a landmark when watching whales from Lime Kiln. After all these years it was fun to finally be on the Mt. Douglas looking back towards San Juan Island, with the bonus of Mt. Baker as a backdrop.

It's a pretty amazing vantage point from up there. You can see from nearly Turn Point at the north end of Haro Strait to well west of Victoria.

One thing that's very apparent over there is that there is a lot more acknowledgment of the native culture than in the United States. There was a big sign on Mt. Douglas talking about how it is also known as PKOLS by the aboriginal Saanich people, and at Somenos Marsh in Duncan all the interpretive signs give both the English and native names:

The birding was pretty good at Somenos Marsh, though everything but the birdhouses were too far away to photograph:

Another really noticeable thing across the strait is the number of Garry oak trees! It's a habitat that local preservation groups are trying to restore in the San Juan Islands, but it's much more prominent on Southern Vancouver Island.

One place we often refer to when we hear about incoming whales (from the Strait of Juan de Fuca) is Clover Point. In September 2012 I had an amazing encounter with transients off Clover Point, but from the water. It was cool to finally visit it from the shore side!

A photo I took of transients passing off the beach at Clover Point in September 2012

Looking the other way: a photo taken from where the whale watchers are standing in the photo above, but looking out to sea

You can see Trial Island from Clover Point:

After a long lull I finally managed to add a few birds to the year list, too: Barrow's goldeneye (171), herring gull (172), and Eurasian wigeon (173), the latter two species at Beacon Hill Park:

Eurasian wigeon

I was surprised to see so many peacocks at Beacon Hill Park!

Peacock feathers: a study

 There was a decent amount of native bird activity there as well, including a lot of Anna's hummingbirds! Anna's hummingbirds actually overwinter locally, feeding on insects and sap throughout the winter when there aren't an abundance of flowering plants. It's pretty amazing to me that they survive our cold temperatures and short days, but apparently it works for them! There are a lot more of them on Vancouver Island than on San Juan; I saw half a dozen at Beacon Hill Park alone - in November!!

It's a very pretty place:

As I headed over to the water side of the park, I caught sight of a few whale-watching boats! They were with a pair of humpback whales - surprise!

Another place I got to visit is East Sooke Park, and that's a place I will definitely have to go back to, as there are many miles of fantastic hiking trails there. More amazing vistas overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca! I can just imagine seeing the Southern Residents pass from here.

Probably my favorite birding location I discovered was the Cowichan Estuary. With salmon still spawning on the Cowichan River, there were lots of bald eagles around.

There were also several dozen trumpeter swans there. Any place you can see two of North America's largest birds is a pretty cool place!

Trumpeter swans flying over Cowichan Estuary

The whole Cowichan Bay area is another beautiful place with scenic views in every direction!

Vancouver Island is full of so many new places to explore, and it's really just a stone's throw away! I definitely plan to visit again soon.

May 23 - June 5: Whale Sightings Update!

I've gotten behind on sharing whale sightings from the last two weeks! So here's a mega catch up all in one go.

On May 23rd, I saw J-Pod head north in Haro Strait....

The J17s off Land Bank's Westside Preserve

...and a couple of paddle boarders got a little more than they bargained for!

He gives you an idea of just how big J31 Tsuchi is!

Js spent the next bunch of days way up north, but I caught them when they cruised back south on May 28th.

J37 Hy'shqa swims by the rocks at Lime Kiln

On the morning of June 3rd, some of L-Pod showed up! Js were back up north, but the L4s, L47s, and L95 did the westside shuffle throughout the day. This is the same day some of L-Pod showed up in inland waters last year, and the first time they've been "in" since they were heard on the hydrophones with K-Pod the night of January 8th. I caught them off the west side first thing in the morning.

L27 Ophelia and L82 Kasatka in Haro Strait on the morning of June 3rd

J-Pod was a day late for their date with Ls. They came FLYING down from the north, traveling from Qualicom Beach to Lime Kiln (over 100 miles) in about 24 hours. They went porpoising past Lime Kiln in the afternoon on June 4th, but Ls had apparently already left as they weren't seen that day.

J41 Eclipse and her son J51 cruise past Lime Kiln on June 4

It's hard to photograph porpoising whales, so I tried taking a few wide angle shots

Some of the whales were way offshore, including this breacher

When Js didn't come back up on the evening of June 4th, I figured it could be a good early morning on the west side. After being overcast for a bunch of days the sun was finally shining first thing in the morning. When I got out to Lime Kiln at 7 AM, Js were in the middle of passing by. These are some of my favorite moments: those mornings when the water is glassy calm, the light is stunning as the sun just peaks over the island, and all is quiet except for the sound of whales breathing. No boats, no people....just me and the whales.

J45 Se-Yi'-Chn and J31 Tsuchi

J26 Mike

J36 Alki and her son J52

The whales were very spread out and traveling very slowly - for a long time after they passed I could still see them just milling off the point to the north of the lighthouse. Finally it seemed like they were heading north, so I went up to San Juan County Park since it looked like they were getting closer to shore. Many of the whales had grouped up and were just milling off the park up there, with the Olympic Mountains in the background.

While I was there, they turned and started heading back south. So much for breakfast! Back to Lime Kiln :)

A tender moment between J37 Hy'shqa and her younger brother J45 Se-Yi'-Chn

While Hy'shqa and her brother Se-Yi'-Chn were rolling around together, Hy'shqa's son J49 T'ilem I'nges was hanging out with his aunt J40 Suttles. T'ilem I'nges ended up right in the middle of the fray while J26 Mike decided to pursue Suttles with amorous intentions!

J26 Mike and his "sea snake" going after J40 Suttles (you can see the little dorsal fin of T'ilem I'nges to the left of Mike's pec fin)

J26 Mike lifts J40 Suttles out of the water

J26 Mike lunges after J40 Suttles

As you can see, it's been a pretty good couple of weeks for orca sightings! I thought I had better take this chance to catch up on sharing photos here, in the hopes that there are many more whale encounters to come!

One more startling observation from this morning....I knew there wasn't a lot of snow this winter, but it was amazing to see how little snow was on the Olympic Mountains across the way. Indirectly this is bad news for our salmon-eating whales. Snow melt provides crucial water for spawning salmon, and without enough water in the streams, salmon returns will be low.

Not much snow on the Olympic Mountains in June