Watching Whales

August-September 2004

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by David Briggs

Whales chasing large salmon would suddenly veer into the kelp beneath us.

“Wow! You guys get to live up here all summer? How do I sign up to volunteer?”

Another visitor had just arrived at ‘the cliff’, emerging from the forest into the bright sun and the amazing view up and down Johnstone Strait. Our visitors always reminded us how fortunate we were to have a camp with one of the best views in the Strait, located on West Cracroft Island, directly across from the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve.

We were under contract with BC Parks to monitor all whale and boat traffic in and around the reserve and to provide a warden boat on the water to inform boaters about the reserve and whale watching guidelines. This kept us pretty busy, but we always managed to find time to chat with the people who found their way to our remote spot. We enjoyed meeting them and explaining our work.

Our whale watching workday at the cliff consisted of identifying which individuals and pods were present, keeping track of their movements, making notes of behaviors, activity states, as well as the location and activity of boats in the area. We also notified the wardens about boats to contact, spoke with charter boat captains about the whales, and gave interpretive talks about the area and our work to the many visitors we received each day

If whales happened to pass by directly in front of us, we’d all grab cameras.

Sometimes we were so busy that we had to make an effort to watch the whales that were right in front of us, because we had so many things to do at once. Plus, I was always running a tape recorder, trying to get good samples of various family groups on tape, and the radio was usually calling us to ask about what we could see. Visitors who arrived at this time would usually just watch us work, and listen to the whales on the hydrophone if whales were near.

I enjoyed turning to a group after a particularly busy data session, chatting about the whales, the reserve and issues affecting the whales. It was a nice break from the work part of watching whales. If whales happened to pass by directly in front of us, we’d all grab cameras, although at least one volunteer and myself always had binoculars and a note pad to record who was going by.

Several times, we saw whales chasing large salmon suddenly veer into the kelp directly beneath us. We’d hear the whales echolocate and then see them lunge into the kelp. Their agility and power was amazing. Then, it was back to work counting boats and recording whale locations, time for the visitors to head back to their kayaks.

Sometimes, we saw things that were not fun to watch. The disturbing of orca “resting lines” by boats happened all too often.

Orcas form resting lines when they sleep. They line up shoulder to shoulder and swim synchronously. Social bonding as well as physical rest is probably taking place in these lines. Families do this and sometimes many families will group together to form one big resting line. Unfortunately, these large lines of often 40 whales or more, are becoming all too rare.

I can’t think of a wildlife spectacle as amazing as 40 orcas, side by side, rising to the surface all at once, their blows one after. With the sun behind them, their backlit blows are like sprays of gold dust.

Strong blows would echo off the cliffs above our beach.

These resting lines appear to be important to the culture and biology of the whales. Whenever groups from various pods meet, at some point they try to form a resting line, and will attempt to reform the line several times or more, after boaters, sometimes even kayakers, approach too closely or come between whales in the line, causing it to fragment.

Hopefully the programs at the cliff gave people an alternative to on-water whale watching and a new perspective to take away with them about the importance of not disturbing the whales, especially during the whales’ resting and foraging.

By the end of our workday, we were often exhausted and looked forward to the silence as boats and people went home, the radio chatter faded away and the calm of evening settled over us. We enjoyed speaking with all the interesting visitors we met, but watching whales in the evening was our favorite time of day.

Our small crew would pull up their favorite rock or driftwood bench with a glass of wine and plate of dinner. We’d sit back to watch the eagles glide by and the sunset colors appear to the west over the peaks of Vancouver Island as the calls of the whales played out from the hydrophone speaker. This was what kept me coming back year after year: a sense of wonder and personal peace. At this time of day, we could fully experience the place and the sounds of the whales.

Strong blows would echo off the cliffs above our beach while their calls echoed off the walls of the underwater canyons. I had my tape recorder and headphones at the ready for these magical moments when the calls would come far down the Strait and long into the night.

Even though I was tired from the day, I would stay up until the early morning hours listening and recording the amazing calls and making notes. I would turn my tent into a late night recording studio on these nights, coming out only to look at the stars or the northern lights with whale calls echoing from my tent. Eventually the cold night air would send me back to the warmth of my sleeping bag and I’d fall asleep to the calls of the orca until the ravens would wake me for another day.

© David Briggs has been watching whales in Johnstone Strait for nearly 20 years. He first came to Johnstone Strait in 1984 and began research for BC Parks in 1987 at the rubbing beaches, and later from the cliff at ‘Eagle’s Eye’ where he monitored the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve from 1990-2002.

David also has an interest in whale vocalizations and has made many recordings over the years, some of which he has put together into his first CD, entitled ‘Echoes’, a sample of some of the best recordings from each of the northern resident pods that frequent Johnstone Strait.

Part of the proceeds from sales of the CD will be donated towards the warden and cliff program at Robson Bight. For more info, contact David at or call 503-846-0824

E-mail: dbriggsa12@verizon.net