Shake, shake, shake! Drying off after an early morning, low tide swim back to Vargas Island. Sea wolves are strong swimmers and love to eat herring roe on the rocky shorelines. Always grateful to see these elusive canines
Thanks to our skipper/naturalist, Greg, for this amazing telephoto clip!
First whale watching cruiser tour of 2024 in the books and it was a good one! A few grey whales and harbour seals close to home! 📸: Jamie’s Crew
Throwback to the Dog Days of summer… great views of the inlets of Clayoquot Sound. Although The Lukwa is getting some winter beautifications, we have other, equally capable vessels servicing Nature Tours and trips to Hot Spring Cove. Whales and otters were spotted recently! 📸 Jess Mac
Greys for days…successful sightings on trips from both our Tofino and Ucluelet locations. They are making friends with Humpbacks this week in the Barkley Sound seen diving and swimming around, side-by-side. 🐳🐋❤️
Aerial perspective of our flagship location in Tofino, our fleet and private dock. Look closely and you can see the crew readying the Stellar Sea for a bear watching tour. 📸Jess Mac Photography + Long Term Travel Tips
Morning bear tours from our Tofino location can be supremely tranquil. Accompanied here with our naturalist Sarah, on our vessel the Stellar Sea. Reel 📸: Jess Mac Photography + Long Term Travel Tips
🚨New this season is our extraordinary Sea Otter Tour!🚨This trip option unveils the captivating world of sea otters but also delves into their remarkable history in Tofino & Clayoquot Sound. As you step aboard the comfortable, family-friendly Stellar Sea vessel, you’ll be greeted by our knowledgeable and passionate guides who are eager to share their expertise. This trip ventures into pristine, calm waters, surrounded by breathtaking landscapes to find otters in their natural habitat; feeding, grooming and playing. Otters feed throughout the day, providing ample opportunity to encounter these adorable animals. Although they are in the area year-round, we primarily see them during our main operating season from March through October. 📸@alextaalman
Be alert at check-in! Especially at our Ucluelet departure location aka Ukee Station. This first clip was taken from the office window by our Adventure Assistant, Emily-Rose. Eagles typically mate and build nests in tall trees near bodies of water and feed on fish, waterfowl, and shorebirds. A healthy adult Bald Eagle is considered an apex predator and it is always special when we get to see one in action!
Did you know that Jamie’ Whaling Station is a member of BC Green Business?
BC Green Business is a sustainability certification for businesses in British Columbia run by the non-profit Synergy Foundation. As a BC Green Business member, we undergo annual evaluations to track our sustainability progress and make continuous improvements towards our green goals.
This year, Jamie’s also became recognized as a BC Ocean Friendly Business by The Surfrider Foundation by implementing...
✅ No purchasable plastic single-use food and beverage products
✅ Reusable dishware provided for staff use
✅ Reduction in use/recycling of soft plastics.
Through BC Green Business and The Surfrider Foundation, we are excited to work alongside like-minded businesses across British Columbia who are committed to making positive change for the planet, the people, and the community.
#bcgreenbusiness #sustainablebusinessbc #greeneconomy #greenleaders #bethechange #climateaction #supportlocal
Sights and scenes from our tours this past week.
Thank you for joining us as we welcomed spring to the West Coast! We love this time of year!
📸 Deckhand/Naturalist Sarah Watt
#jamieswhalingstation #whalewatching #wildlife #nature #wildlifetours #tofino #yourtofino #discoverucluelet #ucluelet #bc #sharebc #ilovebc #britishcolumbia #discoverbc #pnwbc #beautifulbritishcolumbia #explorebc #vancouverisland #vancouverislandguide #explorevanisle #sharevi #sharethecoast #pnw #pnwonderland #canada #explorecanada #sharethecoast #greywhale
A great video from Jamie's deckhand & naturalist - Celine who has been joyfully watching this sea otter hang around our Tofino docks over the past few weeks while happily feasting on crabs!
While we've been lucky to see this sea otter hanging around our dock, we most often see sea otters on our whale watching tours.
On our tours we'll often see them feasting like the sea otter in the video, but often on other delicacies from the ocean like clams, abalone, scallops, mussels and more. Often with shellfish, sea otters will use a rock, which they carry under a flap of skin under their forearm, to crack open the shells to get to food. With this sea otter in the video, it seems like they had no issue just munching right into the softer shell of the crab.
One of the most common questions on our tour is, "will we get to see the whales breach?"
Breaching is a behaviour not as commonly seen in the feeding grounds of grey or humpback whales, as it is in the breeding grounds (Hawaii, Mexico). However, occasionally we do get lucky and are treated to quite a show when a whale decides to breach.
Experts can't say there is one definite reason whales breach but theories include, play, removal of parasites from the body, or a form of courtship and communication.
📷 Celine Midavaine - Jamie's Deckhand & Naturalist. Photos captured at a responsible distance with a telephoto lens & cropped.
🎄 🎁❄️In whatever tiny corner of the world you're celebrating today, a Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to you and your family! May you have a safe and healthy holiday season filled with lots of joy & happiness! 🎄 🎁❄️
We look forward to seeing you for some fun West Coast adventures in 2022! 🐋🐻
Big Momma's (T109) Family Tree
It's #FamilyDay in British Columbia today. We hope you're having a happy and healthy day with your closest loved ones.
In our oceans, Killer Whales have a tight-knit family structure that draws some comparisons to humans - albeit with some noticeable differences.
Killer Whales have a matrilineal social structure where mothers are the leaders. In Transient (Bigg's) Killer Whales (the Killer Whales we see most often in Tofino/Ucluelet), the mother of a gang will lead and teach the young to hunt and feed. In these social structures, the males will remain with their mothers for their entire lives - true mama's boys. The daughters, however, may split from the gang and begin to travel on their own forming their own gang as they start to have offspring of their own. The splitting of one gang and the formation of another usually happens when the original gang starts to get too big in population, likely meaning they have to hunt more (use more energy) to feed more mouths in the gang.
A good example of this is with a family of Killer Whales that we often see in Tofino/Ucluelet - Big Momma (T109) & Runaway (T109A). Big Momma gave birth to Runaway in 1990. Runaway has since split from Big Momma's gang to form her own gang giving birth to 5 children between 2005-2021. Runaway's first child T109A2 has now had two children of her own making Runaway a grandma and Big Momma a great-grandma. Sometimes on our tours, we'll even see both Big Momma and Runaway reunite, bringing both gangs together briefly, which is always a special sight to see.
This video shows the evolution of Big Momma's family from one gang into 5 separate gangs nowadays.
Special thanks to Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society for the video. Be sure to check out their detailed project about "The Kakawin of Clayoquot Sound" here: https://bit.ly/3qqbGgq
Newborn Grey Whale Spotted Off Laguna Beach, California
