Mackay Whale Watching

Mackay Whale Watching Join the Mackay family, pioneers in killer whale watching in British Columbia, for a cruise aboard th

01/02/2025

We are processing the immense loss that was the fire in Telegraph Cove. As we gather our thoughts we will share in time. Were sending love to all who held Telegraph Cove close to their hearts.

September 9th found us under lovely sunshine and with so many whales! We watched the I65s, I4s, A25s, and A23s as they w...
09/22/2024

September 9th found us under lovely sunshine and with so many whales! We watched the I65s, I4s, A25s, and A23s as they worked their way through Weynton Passage (with lots of breaches from the orca), with Pacific White Sided dolphins in tow! We watched humpback whales Sponge Bob, Meteorite, Inukshuk (plus two more) as they travelled, fed, fluked and tail lobbed. We even saw a minke whale lunge feed!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


September 4th found us with stunning weather conditions and plenty of whales! We started out our day with plenty of sea ...
09/21/2024

September 4th found us with stunning weather conditions and plenty of whales! We started out our day with plenty of sea otters, and an unknown humpback whale (not yet named by scientists) lunge feeding. We watched the orca (the A23s, A25s, A54s, and I04s) as they socialized and fished... All with humpbacks fishing in the same area! We documented so many humpbacks, including Freckles and her calf, Ripple and her calf, Umi, Conger, Yahtzee, Stitch, Claw and her calf, Meniscus, and Hunter. We also saw lots of northern sea lions! September is so special in this area.


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


Sweet, sweet September! September 2nd found us with SO many matrilines of orca - we watched the I65s, the I27s, and the ...
09/20/2024

Sweet, sweet September!

September 2nd found us with SO many matrilines of orca - we watched the I65s, the I27s, and the I4s, along with the A54s, A25s, and A23s. There were Pacific White Sided dolphins, Dalls porpoise, and sea otters... And an astounding 27 humpbacks that we documented!

The humpbacks we recognized were:
Ridge
Freckles and her 2024 calf
Ripple and her 2024 calf
Corporal
Claw and her 2024 calf, Auger
Argonaut

Another beautiful day on the big ocean!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 31st was a lovely trip - there was a wedding on board (congrats you two!), sea otters (with urchins!), the orca (...
09/11/2024

August 31st was a lovely trip - there was a wedding on board (congrats you two!), sea otters (with urchins!), the orca (the I65s, I4s, I27s, A24s, A25s, and A54s) were lovely, and the humpbacks (nine, including Conger!) were everywhere. Another incredible day, in a beautiful place, with great people.


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 30th was a day full of wildlife! We watched sea otters, humpback whales Black Pearl and her calf, and Ridge. We w...
09/08/2024

August 30th was a day full of wildlife! We watched sea otters, humpback whales Black Pearl and her calf, and Ridge. We watched the T090s and T002B, a family of mammal eating killer whales. The Biggs travelled west very slowly, and Captain Bill decided to follow up on a report of residents to the west. We rolled the dice... And went through a lot of fog... But sure enough, there they were. Captain Bill and his orca senses! The A62s were travelling as a tight family unit. This group is something of an anomaly currently, as it's headed by A62, the daughter of A34. A62 has taken her sons and split off, forming a subgroup who is travelling separately from the A34s this summer. We're interested to see if this continues... And as always, we find ourselves curious about the "why" of whale behaviour. We ended our day with the T090s and T002B right inside the harbour in Port McNeill! Another big day in our back yard.


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 26th (continued) - the rest of our trip took us into beautiful encounters with humpbacks (we sighted 6, including...
09/05/2024

August 26th (continued) - the rest of our trip took us into beautiful encounters with humpbacks (we sighted 6, including Corporal, Vulture, Cygnus, Ridge, and Kraken). Vulture and Cygnus were feeding, and we were able to watch a particularly incredible lunge feed from Cygnus on herring and krill! Kraken (pictured here) was in the area that his mom (Black Pearl) brought him as a first year calf in 2022, feeding just like she taught him! Our day included so many birds, harbour seals, northern sea lions, and sea otters. Another busy day on the big ocean!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 26th will be a two part post for pictures! First, to talk about the orca... It was a wild, wet, and blustery day ...
09/03/2024

August 26th will be a two part post for pictures! First, to talk about the orca... It was a wild, wet, and blustery day with more whales than we could count. There were a total of 8 matrilines, flooding Johnstone Strait from one side to the other. We watched as the I4s, I27s, I65s, A24s, A25s, A34s, A50s, and A54s spyhopped, socialized, breached, and travelled their way east from Alert Bay. These families were consistently breaching as the chop grew - but despite weather conditions - guests were able to watch an absolutely spectacular gathering of socializing families.


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 24th was full of GLORIOUS weather, and so many amazing views! We started with sea otters, and a breaching humpbac...
08/31/2024

August 24th was full of GLORIOUS weather, and so many amazing views! We started with sea otters, and a breaching humpback calf! After watching Black Pearl and her bouncy 2024 calf, we headed off to see the orca. There were so many families of orca, and even a group of Pacific White Sided dolphins! We started with the A34s, the A25s, and A34s (missing the A62s), before findng the A50s, I4s, I27s, and I65s. Such a busy day on the big ocean!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 20th found us out on the water with SO many orca! We watched the A23s, the A50s, then the A25s and A34s (minus th...
08/31/2024

August 20th found us out on the water with SO many orca! We watched the A23s, the A50s, then the A25s and A34s (minus the A62s). A total of 10 (!) humpbacks for the day, including Claw and her 2024 calf, Auger - Quartz, Freckles and her calf, Domino (tail lobbing), Argonaut, Magician, and Ridge. We saw sea otters, Dall's porpoise (AND a hybrid porpoise!), and even a minke whale on the way home!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


08/29/2024

This was our morning commute today coming in from Gilford Island. How was your commute this morning?

08/28/2024

Cutest little baby breach

August 18th was WET, but wild! And honestly... The whales don't care. We spent a wonderful day with sea otters, and the ...
08/28/2024

August 18th was WET, but wild! And honestly... The whales don't care. We spent a wonderful day with sea otters, and the A25 matriline of orca - a little family of 3. They were surrounded at several times by groups of Pacific White Sided dolphins. Among classic misty west (wet?) coast views, we also saw Dalls porpoise, Steller sea lions, Ridge the humpback whale, Claw and her calf Auger, and... Very unusually for our normal trips... A northern fur seal!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 17th was just... Dreamy. We watched otters (at least 85!) before Captain Bill took us to the orca. We enjoyed a v...
08/28/2024

August 17th was just... Dreamy. We watched otters (at least 85!) before Captain Bill took us to the orca. We enjoyed a visit with the A50s and A25s - watching them socializing was lovely. We also watched Claw and her calf Auger (who was sadly hit by a vessel recently... However, the calf is being closely monitored by local researchers, and so far, seems to be behaving normally.) We watched humpback whales Bumpy, Inukshuk, and Meteorite feeding - and checked out the sea lions who are back in big numbers to one of their favourite haul outs!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


Enjoy these photos from deckhand Jordan from August 15th! Captain Bill and Jordan found lots of sea otters, 7 humpbacks,...
08/25/2024

Enjoy these photos from deckhand Jordan from August 15th! Captain Bill and Jordan found lots of sea otters, 7 humpbacks, a minke whale, sea lions, and the A34s. A beautiful day on very calm seas!

All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 12th was full of whales! Captain Bill started the day with sea otters near the kelp beds - and then... Orca! We w...
08/18/2024

August 12th was full of whales! Captain Bill started the day with sea otters near the kelp beds - and then... Orca! We watched the A23, A50, and A34 matrilines (the A25s were in the area, but we didn't see them). The families were fishing and travelling together, with plenty to keep them busy... Including lovely moments in the classic "green" waters of Johnstone Strait. We watched at least 9 humpbacks, including Conger (feeding) and Inukshuk (sleeping!). Another busy day on the big ocean!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.

August 10th found us in dreamy calm conditions - with fog, and gorgeous moments with the wildlife! We watched rafts of s...
08/15/2024

August 10th found us in dreamy calm conditions - with fog, and gorgeous moments with the wildlife! We watched rafts of sea otters, before heading out to see the A23 and A50 matrilines. We watched A60 cruising up the shoreline by himself, with the rest of his family ranging behind him, as the A50s headed west up the Vancouver Island side. The A25s were in the area, but we didn't manage to see them on this trip. We next found a humpback that the deckhand couldn't ID... And potentially, they hadn't been documented yet! We noticed two whales socializing - we quickly figured out one whale was Raza (named for the terrible prop scars that mark their back), and had to take a minute to figure out the second whale... Who was Inukshuk! Raza was recently disentangled in Campbell River by and the team from DFO. We were very glad to see them gear-free!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


August 5th was quite busy! Our morning started with rolling sea otters fluffing their fur, before Captain Bill took us t...
08/12/2024

August 5th was quite busy! Our morning started with rolling sea otters fluffing their fur, before Captain Bill took us to the orca! We watched the Biggs family of the T060s (plus T002B) as they travelled as a tight group. Our day included an astounding 12 humpbacks - which never fails to make us think about how few humpbacks there were here only 20 years ago. We watched Quartz, Claw and her 2024 calf, Conger, and Ripple and her 2024 calf. We even saw a minke whale for a quick moment on the way home!


All photographs taken with a telephoto zoom lens and cropped for spacing; taken 200+ m from all wildlife. Care is taken in order to not disturb wildlife we are viewing. Relevant photos are submitted for data and research purposes.


Address

1514 Broughton Boulevard
Port McNeill, BC
V0N2R0

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm
Sunday 9am - 4pm

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This was our morning commute today coming in from Gilford Island. How was your commute this morning?

Cutest little baby breach

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