Best Shoreline Marine Life Viewing

Please note: This section doesn't list all the options for each activity - just the best ones.  There's something for everyone, all ages, all physical abilities and all skill levels.

Brooks Pt Reserve and Higgs Beach

Near the end of Gowlland Point Rd (see Best Beaches). Best time of year: Summer and fall, at tides below 1.5 m. 

From the peninsula you may catch a glimpse of some members of our J-pod of resident Orcas as they rest in the shallows or travel through Boundary Pass. If you spot people in orange suits aboard a boat, then whales maybe nearby. At low tide, the tide pools in the conglomerate rock along Higgs Beach are wonderful places to observe sea urchins, cucumbers, anemones, chitons, snails, eight different species of stars and several different seaweeds.

Thieves Bay Marina

End of Anchor Way. Parking lot. Services: picnic tables, sand beach, outhouse, telephone, private marina. Best time of year: June through September to see Orcas, anytime to see harbour seals. 

Walk to the end of the marina road to find six picnic tables spread out along the breakwater. Sit, relax and watch the water. You are at one of the best Orca watching spots in the Southern Gulf Islands. You will also see harbour seals, River otters and the occasional Dall’s or Harbour porpoise. A pair of Bald eagles are regularly seen in the tall Douglas firs beside the first oceanfront house. PLEASE respect marina rules and leave your car back in the parking lot next to the park and the new swing set. 

Mortimer Spit

Off Canal Rd, just south of the bridge. Parking on spit. Pebble beach. Best time of year: Any time the tide is low. 

Here you will find a variety of crab, jellies, and occasionally Lewis’s Moonsnail.

A little bit more about: Southern Resident Orcas

At first glance, killer whales (Orcas) all appear to look basically the same - big and shiny-black, with white bellies and grayish markings at the base of their large dorsal fins. But even a casual observer quickly learns to differentiate between the sickle-shaped dorsal fin of the female and juvenile males, and the straighter, much taller dorsal fin of the mature male. Identifying specific individual whales is a bit more challenging, requiring a closer look at the dorsal fin (size, shape, nicks and scars) and the gray “saddle” marking just behind it.

Although life in the ocean can add new battle scars to both, this combination profile has proven to be a very reliable ID system. Because the left and right side of the saddle patch are not mirror images, researchers have arbitrarily chosen to photograph the Orca’s left side.

Whales are designated with their pod letter plus a number, in accordance with their order of birth within their pod. Within the first year a “name” is also added. The 86 members of the southern resident community  belong to J, K or L pods, and range in age from newborn to the grand old matriarch. J2 (Granny) is 100 years old this year! The oldest male is K21 (Cappuccino), born in 1986.

Saddle patch and dorsal fin oriented “ID” photos of the southern resident Orca community can be found at www.whaleresearch.com in the “ID Guide” section. For a brief bio and names of the whales you may have seen, check out www.whalemuseum.org. Photographs of the southern resident whales can also be found in the book, Killer Whales by John K.B. Ford, Graeme M. Ellis and Kenneth C. Balcomb (UBC Press, 2000).

While at www.orcanetwork.org we highly recommend you visit their online store and order Orcas In Our Midst, a terrific 34-page book by Howard Garrett (2004).

Southern Resident Orcas: Biological Profile

Status: Endangered (Canada and United States).

Name: Killer Whale or Orca. From the Latin phrase Orcinus orca, meaning Greek god of the underworld or describing the species’ rounded, barrel-like body. Other names: blackfish, grampus and killer.

Size & Weight: Mature females up to 7.9 metres and 3,800 kg. Mature males from 7.5-9.5 metres and 5,600 kg. Calves up to 2.6 metres; 160 kg at birth.      

Physical Features: Striking black colouring with grayish saddle patch and white belly. Conical-shaped head with small beak and 10-13 conical teeth on both sides of upper and lower jaw. Paddle-shaped flippers or pectoral fins, and distinct dorsal fin on its back (curved in females and immature males; straight and up to 2 metres in males). The male’s dorsal fin reaches full height at 12-20 years.

Natural History: Females give birth every three years starting at age 13. Mating usually takes place in summer, but calves are born year-round. Both females and males mature by age 10. Orcas display strong social bonds, belong to pods. Each pod has its own language, or dialect. Pods’ movements are determined by availability of food. Orca society is matriarchal. Although breeding occurs outside the family, both males and females return to their matriarchal groups. 

Diet & Life Span: Resident Orcas are fish eaters (salmon, cod, herring), 45-135 kg per day. Males generally live into their 30s, females into their 50s (both can live 20-40 years longer). When they die most just disappear below the surface of the water.

Playful Activities: Breaching. Leap, twist in the air and land on their sides or backs (requiring an exit speed of 40 km/hr). Spyhopping. Rise vertically above the water surface to look around, showing their white bellies up to their pectoral fins. Pec or Fluke Slaps, and Lobtailing. Repeatedly splash the water surface with their pectoral fins or just slap the surface with their tails.

Top Speed: 50 km/hr.  Swim from 120-160 km every 24 hours.

Range: Commonly seen from June-September. J-pod is observed in the region’s waters year-round. During the winter, members of K and L pods have been seen well off the west coast of Vancouver Island and as far south as Monterey, California.