GRAY WHALE ESCHRICHTIUS ROBUSTUS
TRUMPETER SWAN CYGNUS BUCCINATOR
On the Move ANNUAL MIGRATIONS ALONG THE WEST COAST
by Quintin Winks
It feels like you can almost set your watch by the annual comings and goings of animals here on Vancouver Island, although strictly speaking, Mother Nature can surprise us.
RUFUS HUMMINGBIRD SELASPHORUS RUFUS
HERRING
18 PASSIONS | WINTER 2020
CLUPEA
We are fortunate to be the destination for many annually migrating species, and for others we provide a popular waypoint on their journeys to more northerly feeding grounds and breeding grounds. Its popular appeal as a rest stop and eatery for wildlife makes the Island one of the best places to witness the migrations of hundreds of varieties of winged and finned creatures each year. The largest of these travelers are the humpback and gray whales, whose journey northward each spring, hugs the west coast of Vancouver Island on their way to the Arctic Circle. These baleen behemoths can be seen from shore as early as February and into early May and are known to feed in the sheltered bays along the coast beginning in March. The Pacific Rim Whale Festival in Tofino and Ucluelet each spring celebrates these whales and the role they play, and have played, in Island culture. At 30 tons it is smaller than the humpback, but the gray whale boasts one of the longest migrations of any animal on earth. Covering about 120 kms per day, each whale can travel up to 22,000 kms round trip annually, depending on how far north it goes. You can increase your odds of seeing gray whales from one of the many whale watching tours available, but for those with time and patience there are alternatives. “Because of the unpredictability of exacting which beaches they use, recommending a wine and binoculars
spot is tough,” says Mark Sawyer, naturalist and boat skipper for Jamie’s Whaling Station in Tofino. But you can try spotting them from atop a cliff along the Juan de Fuca Trail, Port Renfrew’s Botanical Beach, Cox Cone in Tofino, or from any elevated position along the shore. Although the occasional whale may wander closer “typically when they move up the coast they do so around a nautical mile from shore, which means when viewing from land you may see the blows, or breaths, but not the whales themselves.” When the whales do move closer to shore, they are often looking to feed. Barclay and Clayoquot Sounds, near Tofino, are popular places for the whales and during the migration they can be seen in nearby bays fuelling up before continuing northwards. To the delight of boaters and enthusiasts, some whales remain in BC waters all summer long before migrating back to Mexico. “The migration itself is an incredible spectacle,” Sawyer says. “I’m originally from the UK, where I would never have expected to see one. There are times during the migration when we head out with people who’ve never seen a whale, and they can watch a dozen or more pass by.” While the enormity of a humpback or gray whale is a thing to behold, the relatively diminutive herring also puts on a show during its annual commute between the beginning of February and late March. The herring run marks the beginning of spring when there are typically blossoms and shoots beginning to show. During the run, these silvery fish are difficult to see, schooling deep so as to avoid predation. When they do rise to spawn, an act that erupts over just
