Monday, June 30, 2014

Another Great Day on the Ocean


We had another great day on the Ocean yesterday with our wildlife viewing tour of the Discovery Islands. The tour departed from Campbell River.  The day started out with a bit of rain but once we got out on the water the clouds parted and we experienced a lovely sunny day with calm waters.

Campbell River Marina

A pod of 8 Orcas or Killer Whales were spotted off the South-west side of Quadra Island.  They were just hanging about, not breaching (usually only do that when they are killing something for dinner).  It was really cool, they would surface for a couple of minutes and then go down for 6-8 minutes.  We just shut off the boat's motor and sat there quietly.  It was so nice to be able to hear them blow water and surface in the quietness of the bay.  We watched them for approximately 1.5 hours then went on to Mitlenatch Island which is also part of the Discovery Islands.

Transient Orcas on West side of Quadra Island

Transient Orcas on West side of Quadra Island

Mitlenatch Island is essentially a bird sanctuary which you can only access by boat.  There are University students there year round helping to protect the bird species on the Island while at the same time doing research.  Apparently the largest Garter snakes in the world live here - size due to their steady diet of bird eggs (completely harmless docile snakes commonly found in BC).

Mitlenatch Island Bird Sanctuary

There were several harbour seals spotted lying in the rocks around Mitlenatch Island.

Harbour Seals on Mitlenatch Island
The Island is home to many birds.  We spotted this Heron and her nest.  There is a Cormorant standing right next to her - apparently birds know how to live together peacefully.

Blue Heron with Nest (Cormorant beside) on Mitlenatch Island
We spotted these Cormorant's nests on the side of the cliff.  It gets pretty windy here but is considered a desert - type climate so little rain.  Seemed like an odd spot to me to build a nest but they feel very safe.

Cormorant Nests on Mitlenatch island
I love sea creatures of all kinds and am completely fascinated by jellyfish.  And yes, I have been stung by them, not here on Vancouver Island but swimming off the coast of Mexico.

Jellyfish at Campbell River Harbour

Crab at Campbell River Harbour
We also saw this neat purple/reddish jellyfish which I believe is a 1 foot Lion's Mane jellyfish (correct me if I am wrong).  We often spot these guys dead washed up on the beach.  This is the first time I have seen a live one.  This was off the dock at Campbell River.

(Lion's Mane?)  Jellyfish at Campbell River Harbour

There is nothing I like more than spending the day on the ocean and Sunday was one of those great days. We are returning to the Discovery Islands in two weeks time for two nights to go kayaking and I can't wait!



13 comments:

  1. I enjoyed my visit to the ocean by way of YOU!! So happy you blog!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, you sweet woman, I love that you blog too. I feel like we know each other when we read each others blogs. Cheers!

      Delete
  2. Oh my goodness! You saw some amazing and wondrous things! I'm so excited looking at all your great photos. That jellyfish is so pretty.and those bird nests defy gravity...and the whales! So awesome! We moved near the water so we could enjoy it but it seems all we do is work. We'll have to make a point of getting out more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vancouver Island is known for its wildlife. Every day I see eagles, deer and bunnies. Every time I go to the beach I see lots of other birds, seals (usually just their noses in the water) and crabs on the beach. I really love it here. My favorite things to take pictures of is wildlife. You need to make time for the beach!!!

      Delete
  3. Love the photos! And yes, staying in balance means prioritizing time to yourself & with your family. It's critical to our happiness! Good for you for making it happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You lead one of the busiest full lives of anyone, you definitely understand about taking personal time. I am so looking forward to our weekend of Kayaking next weekend!

      Delete
  4. Neat to see Mitlenatch again. I was there years ago with a birding group. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marjorie, I figured if anyone of my readers had ever seen it, it would have been you. I would love to land and go check the Island out versus just circle it. It was really cool to see the Cormorant nests though and you couldn't really see those from on the Island as they were atop of a cliff.

      Delete
  5. That is so so cool. And thank you for sharing the pictures. You did something that I could never do. I get terribly, terribly sea sick. Never found my sea legs as my dad used to say.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You poor thing! I love going out on the ocean. We used to go on huge lakes in the Interior of BC when I was a kid so I spent a lot of time on the water, some of it rough. Only ever been sea sick once!

      Delete
  6. So beautiful! Those orcas! Love the photos. I have a post for my first boat trip planned for tomorrow, your photos blow mine out of the water ;) haha see what I did there...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Van but I loved your photos of coastal Florida! So nice to see other parts of the world.

      Delete