The Whales We Are Watching

A Phenomenal afternoon of whale watching in Barkley Sound.

The Zodiac skimmed along the water as my tour group and I headed into Barkley Sound. Located just south of Ucluelet on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, Barkley Sound is home to the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve’s Broken Group Island – an archipelago of over 100 islands. Spawns of baitfish in these sheltered waters attract a lot of feeding marine life and are perfect conditions for whale watching.

Our guide, Brian Congdon of Subtidal Adventures, has been operating wildlife tours out of Ucluelet since the late 1970s. Watching west coast whales for over 30 years has definitely made him an expert. He was the perfect person to introduce us to both the Gray and Humpback whales in Barkley Sound.

“The whale watching season kicks off in March with Gray whale migration. Over 20,000 whales pass our coast as they make their way from their birthing grounds in Baja, Mexico to their feeding grounds in the Bering and Chuckchi Seas near Alaska,” said Congdon.
The communities of Ucluelet and Tofino celebrate these enormous visitors with the Pacific Rim Whale Festival running annually in late March.

“During the peak of the migration we usually don’t have to go far before seeing a whale. In perfect conditions everywhere you look, any time you look, you can see one.” Congdon added, “But this time isn’t the only time to see whales, it’s just the kick off of the season.”

Congdon also told us that there are some resident Gray whales that don’t continue to Alaska. They stop feed for the summer in Barkley Sound. In fact, there are whales that Congdon sees year after year.

“There is one Gray whale we call The Admiral. He has four large white scars on his body that were caused by a boat propeller years ago. I have been watching The Admiral for over 15 years,” shared Congdon. “One year The Admiral was spotted with a calf, which is very uncommon this far north and also indicates that he is actually a she!”

Gray whales are not the only ones putting on a show. After being put at risk by whaling stations in the early twentieth century, Humpback whales started returning to Barkley Sound about 10 years ago. Now, Congdon says Humpback whales are the species they see the most of in the summer months.

At this point of the tour...it was time for a show! There is little more spectacular than a breaching Humpback whale. There, from our zodiac, we saw the magnificent creature leap two-thirds out of the water, twist his enormous body, and slam back down into the ocean. Just thinking about it now gives me goose bumps. Marine biologists are not certain why whales breach out of the water this way, but most believe it is related to playfulness. They do it because it is fun!

The Admiral isn’t the only whale Congdon has befriended over the years. He identified an individual Gray whale near Benson Island in the Broken Group regularly last summer. After he was seen several days in a row, Congdon’s colleague named him Benson – after the island.

Around the same time guides saw a Humpback whale hanging out in the same area, day after day. This was peculiar because Gray and Humpback whales have different feeding habits, and diets for that matter. After several more sighting, this Humpback was dubbed Hedges and is easily identified by distinctive markings on his tale.

“Whenever we took out a group and didn’t see whales elsewhere, we knew we could visit Benson and Hedges.” Congdon added, “Especially Hedges, he was very dependable.”

In addition to Humpback and Gray whales, our tour saw both Stellar and California sea lions barking and bathing in the sun, and bald eagles flying overhead. The boat ride through the Broken Group Islands was breathtaking. We circled islands inhabited only by wildlife, nestled in shallow coves, and dotted with light sandy beaches. Other islands jutted out of the Pacific like fortresses covered by twisted, windblown trees.

As we entered the Ucluelet Inlet and returned back to the docks, I thought about whales like The Admiral, Benson and Hedges that call Ucluelet’s waters home. It is important to learn about their unique and significant role in our ocean’s ecosystem so we can protect them and conserve their environment.
Watching these whales play is something I will surely remember for many years to come.