Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | July 27th 2025 | 2:00 pm
This trip was quite a venture! We booked it all the way to Galiano Island to track down the only whales seen today in our area.
On scene we got thew chance to watch the T065Bs as they maneuvered along the shore and even approached and encircled a group of hauled our seal pups on a small offshore island. This group of Transient Killer Whales consists of a mother named Chunk and her 3 children. The origin of the mother’s name comes from a chuck of her dorsal fin missing from the base, a visual cue that sets her apart. Other whales are names for reasons to do with their story and often fit a theme with their siblings. Birdsall, Corvus, and Rook are the children of Chunk, and all relate through the theme of birds. Birdsall, meaning small valley of birds, is a larger male with a tall dorsal fin that stands out in his family. Corvus (like the crow family Corvidae) and Rook (like the European group of corvids) are the two younger children with Rook being only 2 years old. The drive there was so worth the wait to see these amazing whales backdropped by Canadian island hills, tall conifers, and a sparkling green sea.
It was great to connect with this group during our time, and we continued to be rewarded with a beautiful drive home. Many upwellings near Patos island led to hundreds of gulls forming bait balls along a gorgeous glossy water surface. Bait balls are where diving birds or marine mammals push conglomerating groups of fish to the surface and then surface feeding species (such as gulls) trap them from the top into a ball shape.
What an amazing experience being out today on the Salish Sea!