Prince Of Whales
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Victoria | Vancouver | Seattle
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Tag Archives: whale watching

Ocean Magic Adventure May 7

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Captain Gord slipped the Ocean Magic from Victoria’s inner harbour and headed us west past Race Rocks and out past Sooke to Otter Point. Here we caught up with T124C a Transient Orca. We watched this solo Killer Whale as it would surface in typical random Transient Orca fashion. The weather closed in on us, but with our large main covered deck we all could still take in this majestic animal. Our trip then took us back to Race Rocks Ecological reserve, where the Light House towers over the Steller and California Sea lions, Elephant and Harbour Seals. Mika, Liz and Dan filled our passengers with information and answered the many questions. As our skipper gently brought the Ocean Magic back to the dock our passengers were all smiles after another great trip with Prince of Whales! Clint “Orcawizard” , Marie “Orca-Magic”

Ocean Magic Marine Wildlife Adventure April 22 12:15

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Capt. Scott slipped the Ocean Magic out of Victoria’s inner harbor and out into a spectacular afternoon. The sun was shining and the waters calm, our search took us east past Trial Island and on to Hein Bank. Here Capt. Scott put us in excellent position to view Minke Whales. These gentle giants were feeding in the shallow water, breaking the surface for a quick breath. The water was alive with sea birds, picking off the abundant supply of feed. Mika and Liz filled our passengers with information and answered many questions on our marine adventure. Our trip then took us to Whale Rock where we saw Stellar Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, Cormorants and Rhinoceros Auklets. The water was alive with wildlife and our crew made sure we took it all in, a truly great afternoon on the water with Prince of Whales! Clint “Orcawizard”

Zodiac Wildlife Adventure April 18 2011

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Our guests from England, Oklahoma, Ottawa and Victoria were given a glimpse into the best that the west coast has to offer on this sunny afternoon in April. The 2pm zodiac with skipper Mark ‘Mallard ‘at the controls headed us due south east to where Transient Orca were reported. The ocean was flat calm, and the sunshine bathed this picturesque coastal region so we could view the Olympic mountains and the Canadian and USA islands. When conditions are right and the sun shines, all is perfect for spotting wildlife. Our keen eyed skipper soon located the marine mammal eating Killer Whales, ‘Orca ‘ off the south end of Hein Bank. This group consisted of 8-9 whales, the T49′s and the T75′s. They were very active and foraging for their main prey item, the Harbour Seal, which is an abundant species in these waters. There appeared to be two very young baby Orca within this group, as they were still quite peach coloured where it should be white patches on their bodies. We watched these stealth hunters, mothers with their babies, churning the water while chasing their prey. It was an awesome encounter and soon we saw the clean up gulls, flock in to snatch up what they could from the successful hunt. Nature can be cruel at times, but to watch and admire these stealth, apex hunters is a real privilege. Our trip was soon over so we headed back to Victoria enjoying the scenic beauty before us and some of the sea birds, Rhinoceros Auklets and Common Murres. This was one of those trips never to be forgotten, with those mysterious mammals that frequent these waters, especially at this time of year. Marie, Orca-Magic.

Ocean Magic Adventure April 2 2011

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The Ocean Magic set out at 12:15 with lots of eager passengers in search of killer whales. As there have been transient (meat eating) killer whales sighted in the area over the past few days, we were certain we’d find more today however we were one of only a handful of whale watching boats out there so we were pretty much on our own to find them out in that vast ocean of ours. With captain Anthony at the helm along with whale “manifester” Mallard (who made a guest appearance), naturalist Liz and Biologist Mika, along with bloggers Orca Wizard and Orca Magic, we headed east through thick clouds into open sun as we went north in Haro Strait. Along our travels passengers were delighted to see a variety of other wild life such as harbour seals, California Sealions, a pair of bald eagles and other sea birds. Just after an hour into our travels as we were nearing Active Pass, we heard that Jpod, our resident killer whale pod had been sighted just minutes from us! So we did a u turn and only minutes later found Jpod members spread apart traveling south west in Swanson Channel just South of Pender Island. We were a very happy Ocean Magic to have had the opportunity to see Jpod! Please enjoy photos and video clip of that sighting. While on route home, passengers were treated to a thrill seeking ride as we had some big waters off of Victoria’s waterfront. The Ocean Magic is a pleasure to ride in such water, actually making it fun rather then scary. Please see the bonus video below for a fun clip of that experience which was shot on an HD GoPro video camera strapped to my head (was sped up to 200 times). The following excerpt was written by blog contributor and bird expert “Orca Magic” who was also on board with us during that trip; We had the J 16 family group,   Mom J 16 ‘Slick’, J 26 ‘Mike ‘ and little ‘Echo ‘J 42. Interestingly J 36, who is 12 yrs old, their sister wasn’t swimming with this family group…guess she was off with another friend. J 33, their other brother died last year. I have sent you two pics of Mandarte Island, a breeding bird colony for Pelagic and Double-crested Cormorants as well as Pigeon Guillemots and the ubiquitous Glaucous-winged Gull. Please note: all photos were shot with a telephoto zoom lens are also cropped for internet viewing.

Zodiac Wildlife Adventure, 1pm Zodiac, March 28th

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Our weather continues misty and overcast, hardly Spring like, however, warmer and sunnier days are on their way! Even when the skies threaten rain, we head out in one of our yellow Zodiacs in search of wildlife. There is always something interesting to find. With Skipper Mark at the controls of the 1pm zodiac, and a full boat load of guests from New Zealand, Britain, Calgary and Edmonton, we headed south from the harbour in search or Orca. Although some had been seen from shore earlier in the day we were unable to locate this group, so headed north up Haro Strait in search of Transient Killer Whales that had been reported. We came upon these ‘ WILD’ stealth hunters, marine mammal hunters, traveling fast, in the choppy water, toward Active Pass. Two or three females were porpoising and creating lots of white water. We observed that a tiny orca was among the group as well as a young juvenile.Young orca are always a big hit with our guests. Two tall dorsal fins foraging off by themselves indicated that the males were busy chasing their favourite food, Harbour Seals. All too soon, these magnificent animals headed into Active Pass under the watchful eye of three Steller Sea Lions that were lounging in shallow water at Helen Point. The Orca ignored them. We headed back to Victoria and the harbour, where several float-planes were taking off and landing. Our guests had a special encounter this afternoon with those charismatic Transient Killer Whales, the T100′S, T101′s and T102 . Marie, ‘ Orca-Magic ‘. Please note, all of the photographs are taken with telephoto lenses and are heavily cropped.