ORCA!!!!!!

No trip to Vancouver Island is complete without a boat trip out to see the resident Killer Whales.  We went out for an afternoon trip out of Telegraph Cove with Stubb's Island Whale Watch tours, and immediately ran into an eerie fog.  Spirits were soon lifted by a shout of "Orca" and there in the mist a couple of hundred yards away was the distinctive 6 foot tall dorsal fin of a male Orca.

Thankfully, the fog soon lifted and we were able to see at least 6 other Orcas, and further out we came across 2 Humpback Whales, though they weren't all that active.  As we headed back towards harbour we also came across a couple of Dall's Porpoise and a couple of Steller's Sealions.

Birdlife in the Blackfish Sound was quite interesting too with many Rhinoceros Auklets and Guillemots and also a Marbled Murrelet, a small party of 5 Harlequin Ducks and 3 juvenile Red-necked Phalaropes, whilst a few Bald Eagles watched us from the shore.