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Whales captivate shoreline photographers off Vancouver Island

Land-based watchers capture orca images across the south Island over Canada Day long weekend

A weekend of whales kicked off with a Victoria show spotted from Dallas Road and continued right though the long weekend with photographers capturing orca off Cordova Bay on Canada Day.

Victoria’s shoreline saw a host of orca at play Friday (June 28) and the next day another Black Press Media reader Meagan Taylor, snagged pod pictures as the 11 a.m. ferry pulled in at Swartz Bay ferry terminal in North Saanich on Saturday.

Visiting Winnipeg photographer Anthony Nardella captured whales from land in Cordova Bay to close the long weekend July 1. Diane Harris snapped likely the same the killer whales and their watchers from Oak Bay, near the marina, as they passed by on Monday.

Reports are frequent from both ship and shore in the summer months.

Whale watching from shore is growing in popularity, with a significant uptick during parts of the COVID-19 pandemic – when people couldn’t board boats in groups to go find wildlife at sea.

An online resource, The Whale Trail, includes a map pinpointing more than 100 sites on the coast from central B.C. to southern California to see whales, dolphins or other marine mammals from shore.

Did you do some land-based wildlife watching this summer? Share your images and photos by emailing christine.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca.



About the Author: Christine van Reeuwyk

Longtime journalist with the Greater Victoria news team.
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