Eagle Wing Tours

Check out these two links:

Orca webcam:This camera is a fully controllable live-feed system that allows visitors to view the west side of San Juan Island from the deck of the center for whale research. You might get lucky & see killer whales swimming on by the center!

Orca Sound: A growing coalition of scientists, educators, and citizens are working together to expand a regional hydrophone network in the Salish Sea. This site is part of the SeaSound Project of The Whale Museum and is an experiment in sharing real-time underwater sound from different "nodes" of the network via the Internet.

Have fun! 

Follow the following link to acquire and look at the photo id cards for the entire Southern Killer Whale Community!

 Identification cards here...

When we identify individual killer whales we look at distinguishing markings and unique features on their Dorsal fins and saddle patches. The dorsal fin is like the human nose...it is made of cartilage, blubber & skin. We all have unique & different noses as do they with their dorsal fins. If you compliment the dorsal fin with the saddle patch (the white mark on their backs in behind the dorsal fin) you have an 'orca fingerprint' that is distinct to each whale.

ENJOY!

 If you have ever wondered what it is like to listen to the 'pure' sounds of the killer whales, breathing, vocalizing, & echo-locating be prepared to be hypnotized by the following link...

 Click here for some absolutely amazing sounds of Killer Whales from the Southern resident Kiler Whale Community.

The above link takes you to the Center for whale research which is a non profit facility that develops, promotes, and conducts benign studies of free-swimming Cetaceans for the purpose of conserving their populations and informing governments and the public of their ecosystem needs.

They also pioneered the technique of individual cetacean photo-identification and have improved it over four decades.

Welcome back K's & L's! a few days of a Superpod has been a delight. When all three families get together after a long winter & Spring to engage in mating and socializing activities. All of the animals that we have been seeing look 'plump'...well fed and in good spirits.

There is anew baby/calf in K pod. It appears K-14 'Lea' is the new mom. for more information and photos please click here to see photos of the new baby... 

I hope all goes well with the little one, the first year will be a tough time for it. There is statistically a 50% mortality rate with newborn Orca because of pollution in our environment. Toxins are stored in their fat cells & when the new mom lactates and feeds her newborn orca, the baby is being fed toxic milk.

With our fingers crossed, and our thoughts, hopes, & prayers with Lea's newborn, hopefully all goes well.

Here is a video from last season (2007) that shows what one can experience on any of our whale watching tours here in Victoria British Columbia, Canada.

PLAY  VIDEO

Anything is possible, and each and every tour is a unique experience...not knowing what to expect is part of the fun!

See you soon!

Brett

owner/operator

For those that would like a sense as to what you may experience when whale watching with Eagle Wing Tours, here is a short video that was created last season at our old location.

play 2007 VIDEO

Please remember this is from our old location, we are now at Fisherman's Wharf, Victoria, BC, Canada 

They promised tough prosecution, but in the end the Makah Nation couldn't put together a jury to try five whalers who were charged with illegally killing a gray whale off Neah Bay last fall.

Tribal Judge Stanley Myers on Wednesday instead granted the men one-year deferred prosecution and promised to dismiss the charges if they committed no offenses during that time. The whalers also were each ordered to pay a $20 fine.

The deferral came after the judge summoned more than 200 people from the remote village of Neah Bay on the Olympic Peninsula to serve as potential jurors. But the judge gave up on empaneling a jury because just about everyone was either related or said they had strong feelings about the case, according to one of the whalers, Wayne Johnson.

It was a far cry from last fall, just after the five men shot and harpooned a gray whale in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The animal slowly bled to death and died some nine hours later.

...read more 

The magnificent Orca has been the beloved icon of the Pacific Northwest and Puget Sound ever since man has shared these waters with them. But a recent and significant decline in the Southern Resident Orca population has caused deep concern among researchers, government agencies, and citizens throughout the northwest. Between 1995 and 2001, the Southern Resident orca population declined by 20%, and in November 2005 was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Governor Gregoire's declaration of June as Washington Orca Awareness Month describes some of the reasons for making an entire month the occasion for showing our appreciation for our Orca neighbors and helping instill a sense of stewardship to protect them and their fragile habitats, which we also depend on...

...read more

    Like many other species, Orca whales are suffering from our lack of foresight into protecting these wonderful creatures. Studies have shown that the Southern community of resident whales in the Pacific Northwest are known to be contaminated with extremely high levels of toxins, notably PCBs (polychlorinated-biphenyls). This pollution and diminishing salmon stocks have caused a reduction in their population which does not seem to be changing in the foreseeable future. Because of the declining salmon populations, the whales have been feeding on rock-fish or bottom-fish, species that carry even higher levels of PCBs, thus accumulating even higher levels of toxins. Because of these high level of PCBs in the whales, they have been called the most toxic marine mammal in the world.
    ‘According to Hoyt, whale watching makes socio-economic, educational, environmental and scientific contributions while whale hunting has only contributed to a significant decline of most whale species.’‘Whale watching is an educational tool, teaching students about the interconnectedness of the marine environment and the importance of marine conservation, according to Carole Carlson, senior marine biologist and whale watching expert at IFAW.’"There are 83 species of whales and dolphins (and porpoises) we know almost nothing about," said Hoyt."I think whale watching provides a great incentive for communities, and in some cases island communities, to preserve whale and dolphin populations as well as the marine environment itself," said Hoyt. "Conservation at a community level is absolutely vital for whale conservation, or any other maritime conservation, especially when it fuels the economy."

For the full article click here.

    There are three new killer whales born to the Southern Community Orca population in 2007 as whales returned to the San Juan Islands for the summer. After several weeks of careful observation of the southern resident killer whale pods in and around the San Juan Islands, the Center for Whale Research has confirmed three new calves, L-109, L-110, and J-43 born to the population.

    For the last thirty two years, the Center for Whale Research has been documenting the killer whale pods that frequent the inland waters of Washington State and southern British Columbia. The center maintains both a photographic catalog of every individual as well as social structure of the entire population. This season the staff at the Center observed the SRKW (southern resident killer whales) population has increased. With the addition of three new calves, the total population for the southern community numbers 87.

• J pod, has 25 members
• K pod has 19 members.
• L pod, has 43 members

    When research began on these pods in 1976, there were 71 whales total; the population peaked at 99 whales in 1995 while there has been a precipitous decline since that time. The numbers for all years of the study are as follows: 1976 71 whales; 1977 79 whales; 1978 79 whales; 1979 81 whales; 1980 83 whales; 1981 81 whales; 1982 78 whales; 1983 76 whales; 1984 74 whales; 1985 77 whales; 1986 81 whales; 1987 84 whales; 1988 85 whales; 1989 85 whales; 1990 89 whales; 1991 92 whales; 1993 97 whales; 1994 96 whales; 1995 99 whales; 1996 97 whales; 1997 92 whales; 1998 89 whales; 1999 85 whales; 2000 82 whales; 2001 79 whales; 2002 81 whales; 2003 82 whales; 2004 86 whales; 2005 86 whales; 2006 85 whales; and 2007 87 whales.

The historical status of the Southern Resident Killer Whales
INSERT GRAPH HERE.
Factors that may play a role in the population decline include:

     The southern community killer whale pods were captured on 13 separate occasions in the Puget Sound area between 1965 and 1976 with 45 reported whales taken for aquariums throughout the world and an additional 13 whales killed during the capture activities.

     In recent years, as a result of over fishing & pollution, many salmon stocks have been dramatically reduced to dangerously low levels, with several species recently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Salmon is the main prey resource for the Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW).

     High levels of Persistent Bio-accumulative Toxins (PBTs) including Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in samples taken from recovered bodies of several members of the J and L-pods.

The Future:

Even though the SRKW numbers appear to be stable and on the rise the passed few years (2002-07), they were listed on the Endangered Species List (November 2005)

As a result of this listing, several governing bodies are now obligated by law to develop & implement a Recovery Plan for Southern Resident Killer Whales'.   If through this plan we can maintain & preserve the long term health of the Southern Resident Killer Whales, then the future is bright and sustainable.