It might be hot out, but we still consider this perfect soup weather - Humpback soup, that is! And that’s exactly what we found while adventuring around today!

Our Zodiacs, Cascadia and Keta, were both out on this hot and gorgeous trip. We popped out into the Strait of Georgia, eager to see what we could find. East of Gabriola Island, near a small spot known as Thrasher Rock, has been a hotspot for our Humpback Whales this season. Even if we do not have early morning reports of whales in that area, it’s usually a good spot for us to pop over to and at least have a peek at it.

This shallow, rocky area received its name when the Thrasher, an American Barque (type of sailing vessel), hit it and sank, unable to be recovered. The government would later put a concrete marker on this area to prevent further shipwrecks and dub it Thrasher Rock after the lost vessel. In the summer, we often see Humpbacks doing loops in this area, as the shallow waters help congregate food for them closer to the surface, making it easier for them to forage.

Shortly after getting to Thrasher Rock, we found what we were looking for - huge flukes (tails) the size of billboards rising into the air, and huge blows as the gentle giants began to dive.

As per usual, our Zodiacs had split up to cover as much ground as possible. Usually, if one boat finds whales, we let the other boat know, and then we watch the same whales together. However, there were so many Humpbacks around that we didn’t need to!

Cascadia found the first humpback of the day, travelling back and forth, diving and at one point playing in some kelp! Kelping, or the act of purposefully draping kelp along its body, is an odd behaviour that we aren’t completely sure why whales do it. This may be done by whales to help reduce skin irritation, or it may just be playful antics. After snapping some fluke photos of our mysterious kelping humpback, we were able to identify them as Chandelle (BCX2140). Chandelle is a more uncommon whale in our area, with only a handful of sightings each year. They have a distinct marking on the right fluke that resembles a candle with a flickering flame on top, which is how they got their nickname (the French word for “candle”)!

Around the same time, our other Zodiac Keta caught sight of a pair of humpbacks. These two were busy travelling along, fluking and diving. They were ID’d as Beak (BCX1606) and Yakima (BCX2182)! Beak is a bit of a famous boy, as his mother Big Momma (BCY0324) was one of the first humpbacks to be documented returning to our area at the start of the “Humpback Comeback” in the late 90s. Both he and his mother regularly return to our area now - Big Momma was spotted with her 8th known calf last month, meaning Beak now has a new sibling as well!
Yakima is a very interesting whale, as they used to have a large scar on one fluke. Usually, our humpback scars heal white, but Yakima’s recovered nearly perfectly black. It recovered so well, in fact, the first time they returned to our waters, we were a bit confused about who they were! It wasn’t until we got a good shot showing the slight discolouration around the old wound that we confirmed it was indeed Yakima!

Keta Coastal Conservation Humpback Catalogue - 2025 Edition: Download here

After spending some time with Beak, Yakima, and Chandelle, we caught sight of more flukes in the distance. This time, our Zodiacs came together to watch this pair. These two were travelling in similar directions, but not associating with each other. One of them was acting a bit odd, though - they were pectoral slapping… themself? While pectoral slapping, or slapping their side fins on the surface of the water, is a normal behaviour, this whale was hitting their own back every time they did it. While we are not entirely sure what was going on, it is possible that this little whale was simply itchy and was trying to reach their back to scratch. After snapping some photos of this duo, we were able to identify them as Ocular (BCX1705) and Hendrix (BCY1278), with Ocular being the oddball who was slapping themself.

Ocular is an entanglement survivor, and you can see this right away by looking at the scars all over their body. At the base of Ocular’s flukes are two bulbous masses of scar tissue, where at one point there was likely a rope wrapped around them. Ocular is an important reminder of why ocean cleanup initiatives are so vital, and why we need to minimize ocean pollution to protect all the animals that call the sea home.
Hendrix is a newer whale to our area, with their first sighting being in 2021. We have seen them regularly since then, and we are excited to see them again this season. Hendrix is sadly also a known entanglement survivor. While their scars aren’t as obvious as Ocular’s, we did document very fresh entanglement injuries on them back on October 18, 2023.

We had a fin-tastic time with these two, but soon we had to continue on our way. After departing Ocular and Hendrix our goal was to find some other wildlife. We were making our way to our next stop, but Cascadia found Yakima by themself along the way! They stopped with Yakima for a short visit before saying goodbye and continuing onwards.

Pinnipeds are usually the next animals we try and show while out and about, and the famous “Stinky Rocks” were right around the corner from our Humpbacks, so we made our way there next. While it is very late in the season for us to still be seeing sea lions around, we still have a surprisingly large colony of them living here, including the massive male we have named Stinky Steve! Lumbering around and belching away, he lives a pretty relaxing life.

Closer to Valdez’s shoreline lies another small rocky island where our Harbour Seals haul out away from their noisy cousins - in other words, our next stop for the trip! These rotund animals tend to snooze the afternoons away without a care in the world. While lacking in grace while moving on land due to their fused pelvises, they make up for it by being amazing and acrobatic swimmers once they have launched themselves into the ocean’s depths. Unlike the sea lions, our seals can be found here year-round, and no matter the weather, you can usually find a couple of them resting away on a rocky island in our area.

You would normally think a huge bird of prey like a Bald Eagle would be the instigators of bird vs. bird conflict, but that wasn’t the case while we were over at Stinky Rocks. A large Bald Eagle was soaring by, minding its own business, when a very upset Gull came over and started angrily screeching and diving at it. This bickering continued once the eagle had landed, with it letting out its own series of screeches back at the Gull. Considering the size difference, this Gull seemed very courageous, as it could easily turn into a snack itself!

On top of the whales, pinnipeds, and birds, we also found some other interesting creatures, though a bit jigglier than our earlier species. While on the water, we saw not one, but two different types of jellyfish! A small Moon Jelly bobbed by, as well as a massive Fried-Egg Jellyfish! While we don’t tend to stop specifically to observe jellies, we are sometimes lucky enough to get to see them while we are watching whales.

After the action-packed day, we started making our way back towards home port. We took the beautiful inside passage way back towards Nanaimo, passing through Gabriola Pass, then Ruxton Passage, then up to Dodd Narrows. Dodd Narrows is a beautiful, tiny waterway teeming with life, from Great Blue Herons to Harbour Seals to Nudibranchs. The Cable Bay Trail is a hiking trail we recommend to our guests after joining us for a tour, if you want to experience more of the wild West Coast, coming out right to the tip of the narrows.
We cruised through the narrows and pointed back to Nanaimo, ending a gorgeous day out with some equally gorgeous humpbacks!

Please enjoy these photos taken by Marine Naturalists Hayleigh Hilbert and Aly Kohlman!

June 11, 2025 - A Bowl of Humpback Soup, Please!