Sidney Whale Watching

05/14/2026

☀️Summer days on the Salish Sea. Orcas surfacing quietly through the water, sea lions keeping everyone awake & bald eagles watching it all. This is a magical West Coast afternoon your visitors can experience for the first time. 🥰🐋

Locals save on whale watching tours every summer! 🌊Book online with code: LOCALS25

05/10/2026

🤔 How long are your whale watching tours? 🐋

Our tours are 3-3.5 hours long, giving us plenty of time to explore the Salish Sea and search for whales, along with all the other incredible wildlife that call these waters home. 🌊

We travel throughout the Gulf Islands, San Juan Islands, Georgia Strait, and Juan de Fuca Strait. Wherever the whales and wildlife are active that day, we’re on it!

So no two tours are the same because this isn’t Disneyland, folks…the wildlife write the daily itinerary!🐳

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05/05/2026

🥹Welcome little one!

Here is an example of one of the mom and new calf pairs that have made it all the way from the breeding grounds back to the feeding grounds.

This is the first known calf for Muułšikthl (BCX2074). She is at least 10 years old. More about her nickname and that distinctive notch in her tail in the text below.

And oh, she must be hungry, having given birth in Hawaii, nursed her calf to be strong enough for the migration, then undertaking the migration, all from the reserves she built up last year in the BC feeding grounds.

In the case of Muułšikthl and calf, the journey one way was over 4,200 km.

Motivation to join those who have completed the free, online Whale-Safe Boating course? www.WhaleSafeBoating.com
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The first known sighting of Muułšikthl with a new calf was on March 5th, 2026, thanks to Whale Adventures via .

The second known sighting was on April 29th, 2026, north of Port Hardy, thanks to MERS data contributor Bryan Hillyer of 's Pocket Resort.

Knowing who individual Humpback Whales are and where they go enables understanding of the whales’ habitat use, behaviours, population size and structure, life histories, and the impacts of threats like vessel strike and entanglement.

Thank you to all data contributors who help with this work .
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Background on the nickname:

Muułšikthl is "Tidal Wave" in the language of the Nuu-chah-nulth (nuučaan̓uuɫɁatḥ nism̓a). The nickname was suggested by Chad Harley Hanson of the Ehattesaht Chinehkint in whose Territory Muułšikthl was photographed in December 2022 by Andi Lindenaar.

The name is so helpful in making the connection with that VERY distinctive hooked marking that may have resulted from a Humpback Whale Barnacle once having been near the edge of the whale's tail. See link below for more information on those barnacles which ONLY grow on Humpback Whales. Look closely, and you will see a hole on the left side of the tail where a Humpback Barnacle once was.

We learned that the pronunciation of Muułšikthl is moo-thl-shi-kthl."

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Photos:
Catalogue photo: Michelle Wilkinson
April 29th sighting - Bryan Hillyer