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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 18h

A birding adventure to remember! Our longest birding tour yet with RPBO took us ~140 km west into the Juan de Fuca Eddy: 50 species, nearly 300 Brown Pelicans, thousands of shearwaters and Sabine's Gulls, plus humpbacks and Bigg's killer whales. 5% of tour revenue supports RPBO.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go, even if you’re a cartwheeling humpback! That pinky red stuff in the spray is whale poop. The red colour suggests that this whale has been eating tiny shrimp-like crustaceans known as euphausids, commonly known as krill.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Little Pi (T046B8), first seen in March, pops up beside her mom, Raksha (T046B). Raksha is one of the more prolific mothers in the Bigg’s population. Pi is her eighth calf and at age 38 she may have time for a ninth! #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This is often all we see of speedy Dall’s porpoises—a distinctive triangular dorsal that looks like it’s been dipped in white paint. That white frosting indicates a mature animal.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Stanley (T123A) bursts through the waves as his family and the T046Bs travel east. The two families are closely related.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This young Sabine’s gull was one of many species spotted on our most recent specialty birdwatching tour, co-hosted with experts from the Rocky Point Bird Observatory. Sabine’s gulls breed in the Arctic and migrate to tropical waters, using BC waters as a stop-over to refuel.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Sept. 20, sunset tour, 4 Ever Wild: Male killer whale dorsal fins are about twice the height of female fins. This is Yelnats (T060C) and his mother, Panthera (T060).

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Some humpbacks are spending their time lunge-feeding near Race Rocks—and doing occasional random breaches like this one. Humpback surfacings can be very unpredictable. If you’re a local boater, we recommend you take extra care in this area.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This scratched up young whale is nine-year-old T059A4, who has spent the summer travelling with auntie Panthera (T060) and cousins. The scratches most likely come from roughhousing with other killer whales.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Awwww, a Steller sea lion cuddle puddle! They’re probably all tuckered out from arguing over rock space, which seems to be their main form of recreation when hauled out!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

We watched Pinnacle the humpback floating at the surface like this for about a minute. The whale opens its huge mouth and small fish, lured by the apparently protective darkness, swim in there to hide from seabirds. Then wham, the humpback closes its mouth!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This is the sea otter version of lying on the couch; on your back, front paws tucked in, hind flippers in the air. This is Sea Otter Awareness Week, a time to celebrate the important ecological role that sea otters play in keeping their kelp forest habitats healthy!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

With one lunge, Zillion the humpback polishes off most of a baitball near Race Rocks. You can see some of the small fish spilling from her mouth!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

With thousands of common murres on the water these days—normal for this time of year—young killer whales are having a blast chasing them, as T109E is doing here. It’s great fun for the whales. For the birds, not so much.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Sept. 15, afternoon tour: Gotta envy this harbour seal—he or she knows how to relax. TGIF!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Elvin (T109D) here is doing a behaviour we call moonwalking—swimming backwards! We typically see Bigg’s killer whales do this maneuver when prey-sharing. In this case, Elvin had just chased and possibly caught a common murre.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

When families of Bigg’s meet, the teenage males often goof off together, as 14-year-old Garrett (T109A4) and 16-year-old Kin (T069F) are doing here.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Gulls take flight as a humpback known as BCY1454 engulfs a ball of small schooling fish. We expect sights like this to become more frequent in the next few weeks as the humpback feeding season intensifies.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The wandering T060 brothers—Lynx (T060E) and Onca (T060D)—cruise through the kelp beds looking for an easy seal meal. #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Harbour seals routinely share the rocks with their much larger Steller sea lion cousins, although the seals wisely keep their distance. This seal may look close, but it’s actually separated by a rock gully.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

These two siblings were up to mischief on this morning as they chased birds around. That’s eight-year-old T109D1 spyhopping, with his or her accomplice, five-year-old T109D2.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A humpback breaches as we make our way to a large gathering of humpbacks to the west of Victoria—a gathering we call Humpback Land. The humpbacks are attracted by large concentrations of krill or schooling fish.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Jude (T049A2) tail-lobs during a big T-party in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On this gorgeous sunny afternoon, almost 40 Bigg’s killer whales were spread out across the strait.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This common murre hit the fishy jackpot. This is the time of year when we see—and hear—thousands of murres on the water, as the fathers teach survival skills to their young of the year.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A Bigg’s killer whale rides the crest of a swell in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The strait has been a hot zone lately for large groups of Bigg’s.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The juvenile red-footed booby discovered on one of our birdwatching tours earlier this month continues to attract birders from far and wide. This is only the third documented sighting in Canada of this species, which normally lives in the tropics.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The late afternoon sun lights up the exhalation of Yoda (T109E) as he and his family cruise along the shoreline just west of Victoria. Yoda is 13 and his dorsal fin is just starting to “sprout,” or grow tall.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Calm seas + golden sunset light + one frisky humpback whale = magic! #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Killer whales, flat seas and a rosy Salish Sea sunset—what a perfect combination! #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It’s quite a sight when two humpbacks fluke up together, let alone three. And one of them a calf! The whale in the middle is Zillion (BCX1876) and the calf is her 2026 baby.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This tight cluster of whales is very much a family affair. The second fin belongs to Reef (T101). She’s the mother of the fourth fin, male Lagoon (T101B) and is believed to be the mother of the first fin, Hutchins (T100) and the grandmother of the third fin, male Laurel (T100C)!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Pinnacle (BCX2046) was in a very frisky mood on this afternoon as he or she breached, pec slapped and chin slapped (like this) around Race Rocks. Pinnacle is one of the “regulars” around Race Rocks at this time of year.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The distinctive fin of Chainsaw (T063) is festooned with strands of bull kelp after he swept through a patch of floating kelp. He was probably looking to see if a seal was hiding there!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This sea otter is doing its “job,” chowing down on a big sea urchin and helping to keep this kelp forest healthy. Left unchecked, sea urchins can ravage kelp beds, which are vital for healthy rocky reef ecosystems. Sea otters are all too happy to do their part!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The majesty of BC’s wild west coast is on display at the Sombrio sea lion caves, far to the west of Victoria. The shoreline here is pocked with cave-like depressions—and scattered groupings of sea lions, as seen in the lower section of this photo.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It’s always fun to watch humpbacks interacting with kelp—a behaviour we call “kelping.” They’ll slide the kelp strands all over their body, occasionally wear it as a hat, or as in this case, blow it in the air. We don’t know whether this was accidental or intentional, but it was funny to watch!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Backlit by the morning sun, 19-year-old Amir (T065A3) travels up San Juan Channel on his own. Amir is the latest young male in the Bigg’s population to disperse from his mother and siblings. We’re interested to see whether this dispersal is temporary or permanent!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The birding world was buzzing this week when a red-footed booby was spotted at Race Rocks during our birdwatching tour. These are tropical seabirds, so this sub-adult is far off course! This is the second record ever of the species in BC, and the third for Canada.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Over the last couple of weeks, there’s been a large gathering of humpbacks—including this breacher—far to the west of Victoria. We call it Humpback Land and it’s quite a spectacle, with blows as far as the eye can see!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The tufted puffin’s signature head plumes, white face and bright yellow and orange beak plates are present only during breeding season. In the winter, they’re tuftless and dark overall with a grey face and a drabber yellowy-orange bill. #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Three-year-old Takaya (T046B2B) has energy to burn as she enjoys her very own breachfest. Killer whale calves learn this behaviour at a very young age from watching their mothers and siblings. #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

It pays to be in the right place at the right time! Two of the T069s—Kin (T069F) and Komox (T069)—wow a couple of spectators at Victoria’s Clover Point. #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A gull swoops in for a meal—it managed to grab about five of these small fish, which had grouped up at the surface in what we call a baitball. Forage fish are extremely important to the Salish Sea ecosystem, feeding a wide range of seabirds and marine mammals.

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Why does Jabba the Hutt come to mind here? This is a mature male Steller sea lion, probably weighing about 1,100 kg or 2,400 lb. Stellers are the largest sea lions in the world! #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Thirty-six-year-old Runaway (T109A), left, is one of very few Bigg’s matriarchs to have given birth to eight calves. The little kidlet with her here is that eighth calf—Weiss (T109A8). #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Humpbacks aren’t the only ones who can create waterfalls with their flukes, as demonstrated here by Spouter (T019C)! #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Sideways lunges like this are the most common humpback feeding behaviour we see in this region. But it never gets old seeing this spectacular behaviour. In this case we can see the whale’s left eye, visible above the throat pleats! #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Water streams off the large flukes of Fisher (BCZ0397) as he or she begins a dive. Fisher was among a group of 20 or so humpbacks feeding near Sombrio Beach far to the west of Victoria. #Wild4Whales

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The birders on this tour were ecstatic to spot this very rare visitor—a Nazca booby—at Washington State’s Smith Island! This juvenile is a long way from home—the species is normally found in the eastern Pacific from Mexico to Peru!

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Eagle Wing Tours @eaglewingtours.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A grey whale heads down on a foraging dive far to the west of Victoria. Most likely a member of the Pacific Coast Feeding Group, a group of about 250 genetically distinct grey whales that spend their summers feeding along the coast from northern California to southeast Alaska.

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