Although our Southern Resident Killer Whales have started to spend more time in the South Puget Sound area in recent weeks, they still come cruisin’ near San Juan Island. All three pods were spotted in Haro Strait several times in November so far!

Firstly, Captain Nancy and Noelle were super excited about their last whale watch trip on the Sea Hawk, which was on October 29th. Noelle, Nancy, and guests on the Sea Hawk ended up encountering J-Pod off of Hein Bank! Noelle and Nancy identified J34, J22, J38, and J32. In addition to the orcas, they also had 2 humpbacks surface within 50yards of the Sea Hawk. One of these humpbacks in known as “Split Fin.”

Here is a quick summary of our November orca reports in the Haro Strait so far:

November 2, 2011: All Js, Ks, and Ls, except for matrilines L12s and L22s were spotted near Race Rocks heading east. Captains on the water with the whales estimated there were over 80 whales traveling together!

November 4, 2011: A mother & calf pair of humpbacks where spotted in San Juan Channel (closer to the Friday Harbor side of SJI). They calf was super playful and was breaching & making lots of noise.

November 5, 2011: We had lots of resident killer whales on the west side of San Juan Island, spread out south of Lime Kiln Lighthouse heading north. All of J-pod was there, as well as members of K & L-pods. There was also LOTS of vocalizations, clicks, and whistles on the hydrophone.

November 10, 2011: Busy day for both transients and SRKWs! A small group of Ks were spotted near Victoria, on Vancouver Island. These Ks (K16, K35, K40, K21) were spotted later in the day on the west side of SJI. There were also Transient orcas identified 10 miles south of Victoria that evening. We had reports of humpbacks and minkes, too!

November 12, 2011: J-pod, K-pod, and L87 were spotted off of Kelp Reef near Discovery Island. Earlier in the day, we had great vocalizations, including clicks & whistles, on the hydrophone, so it was just a matter of time before someone located our SRKWs.

Lastly, we had a very interesting wildlife encounter on November 7, 2011.
We heard a barking California sea lion on the Orca Sound hydrophones. It barked as it approached the hydrophone underwater, while right on top of the hydrophones and then as it moved on. It lasted about 10 minutes. Who would have thunk that sea lions bark underwater while they swim? Very cool!

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That’s what one of our guests said about our trip on Sunday. Little Macie just turned 7 years old and her mother, aunt, and cousin surprised her with a fun day out on the water!

Although we didn’t see killer whales, we still had amazing luck on both trips this weekend. Please keep in mind, San Juan Outfitters is pretty much the only company still operating this late into fall! On both days, there were only three other whale watch & wildlife companies on the water, for both United States & Canada! That’s a fraction of the eyes that are usually on the water watching for Orcas.

On Saturday, Naturalist Kevin & Captain Nancy had a trip that was jammed-packed with exciting wildlife. Nancy received reports of our humpback friend still hanging out in Haro Strait. They met up with the humpback near Gooch Island, which is on the Canadian side. This is the same humpback Kevin and Nancy saw last week. Kevin estimated this juvenile is about 7 months old, and just recently separated from its momma. The humpback displayed a bunch of fluke up dives. He surfaced about 25 feet off the Sea Hawk, and then swam directly under the boat! Guests on the Sea Hawk also saw jumping salmon, seals, and Stellar’s sea lions.

Kevin & Nancy were out on the Sea Hawk again on Sunday. The water was like a pane of glass! No ripples, no wind, and practically no current. Incredible. It was the type of day were you just do not want to leave the water. The Sea Hawk went in search of the humpback again, but the first thing they came upon was playful dall’s porpoise. Nancy circled the Sea Hawk around the get a better look at these curious porpoise, but they decided to check out the human’s on board! Nancy shut down the engines and for 30 minutes, nearly a dozen porpoise swam around the Sea Hawk. They surfaced slowly within about 5 feet of the Sea Hawk, and then with a few swift movement of their tail flukes, quickly picked up speed and shot around the boat. Everyone was leaning over the rails, fascinated by these beautiful animals. There were at least two pairs of mothers & calves.

Most of the time, when the porpoise swam under the Sea Hawk, the animals would roll to their sides to look at all of us aboard the boat. Who’s watch whom? .

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We all cannot believe this wonderful luck we’ve been having! The weather on San Juan Island has been perfect. It’s been chilly at night, but the days are crisp and comfortable. Everyone on the island is in full-on Autumn Coziness mode! Pumpkins, winter squash at the local Farmers’ Market, and harvest celebrations. The whales must know that we are all in love with the fall wonderful-ness, because they are still here too .

Captain Nancy and Naturalist Kevin had a group of very excited guests on the Sea Hawk yesterday. At first, Nancy & Kevin didn’t have any reports of killer whales in the area. Remember, the SRKW population does head towards South Puget Sound (think Seattle) in the winter months before heading out to open ocean in January & February to feed on Chinook salmon. They did, however, have reports of humpbacks! The Sea Hawk headed towards the east side of Vancouver Island and encountered a humpback that displayed an array of fluke-up dives. Cool!

Nancy got a report of Transient Orcas coming their way! They said goodbye to their humpback friend and took off towards Oak Bay, which is near the east side of Victoria (still on Vancouver Island). Kevin quickly identified this group of killer whales as the T18s, which consist of T18 Esperanza (F≤1974), T19 Mooyah (F≤1969), T19B Galiano (M1995), and T19C Spouter (2001). Notice that these whales are named a bit differently then our SRKWs. The mother, T19, is named with the standard alpha-numeric system. Then, her offspring are named alpha-numeric-alpha. This helps keep track of how each whale is related to one another because they have very different pod structures. The naming will continue to follow this pattern.

Anyways! The T18 killer whales were circulating around some of the small islands in Oak Bay, presumably hunting for seals. Then, the transients took off across the Haro Strait directly towards San Juan Island. Kevin estimated they were traveling at about 6 knots an hour. That’s speedy!

Guide KJ had a perfect afternoon kayak trip. Again, the water was flat calm and they saw harbor seals, bald eagles, and several Columbian black-tailed deer. Did you know that harbor seals can dive up to 1500 feet!? That’s as deep as the deepest part of Haro Strait!

Be sure to check out our Facebook page for more regular updates! Britt just posted some really cool photos of past kayak trips.

Also, our next whale watch trip on the Sea Hawk will be Saturday October 22, 2011 at 1:00pm. Check for another blog update after that!

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It seems as though the 2011 season is really, reaaaally, starting to wind down. Almost all the employees are on exciting winter-season adventures, or are back in college. It also means that our San Juan Outfitters Blog will be updated less frequently. It’s not because the wonderful wildlife isn’t out there, though! It’s just because we are all snuggling in for winter and are running trips much, much less often.

Here are some interesting updates about the wildlife within the last week:

Captain Brian Pouillon and Naturalist Noelle had a whale watch last Wednesday (October 5, 2011) and they saw a mother and calf humpback near Moat Point. They mother and calf simultaneously raised their tail-flukes side-by-side before a deep dive just as the Sea Hawk was about to head home. Noelle said it was like they were waiving goodbye!

Kayak guide Katy had more luck with the killer whales! Earlier this week, Katy and her guests were south of Half Moon Bay on Henry Island and they saw orcas! They were about 200 yards offshore and Katy said her guests were super excited . Katy also keeps seeing the Stellar Sea Lion. On Monday (October 3, 2011) the sea lion surfaced several times within about 10 feet of her kayak. Amazing!

Kayak guide Britt had an awesome last trip yesterday. The water was flat calm with little wind, and the water was very clear. In some areas, Britt estimated they could see 40 feet to the bottom. Britt and her guests saw several male harbor seals that were breaching and slapping the water. This behavior attracts female mates. Basically, which ever male has the strongest display of breaching and slaps usually attracts the most mates. They also had a harbor seal follow them back into Roche Harbor. He was playing peek-a-boo with the guests!

Here are some interesting updates about employees:

Guides Katy and Britt are mostly done for the season! Katy will be climbing Mount St. Helens next week before she heads down to Portland. Katy is doing a bunch of wilderness medicine & skiing refresher courses and hopes to work backcountry Ski Patrol this winter.

Britt will be on the island all winter, which she is super excited about! She will be house-sitting, working at the front desk at Roche Harbor Resort, and also will be working for Island Rec on Saturday nights. I think that Britt is most looking forward to relaxing and finally getting some time to cook, do some photography, and other artsy-fartsy stuff.

Guide Jacob and his wife Heidi will be on island, too! Jacob & Heidi will both be working for Island Rec this winter too. Jacob and his pup Agnes competed in Island Rec first annual Run, Walk, and Wag 5K race last Sunday. They took 2nd place!

Noelle & Kevin are still here on SJI and will be here for about another month before they head off for their next adventures. We’ll post updates their intended next adventures as soon as they know!

Guides KJ and Aileen are now forever island gals! They will be here all winter, and most likely forever & ever.

Owner & Operator Brian, his wife Rachel, and Forrest are eagerly awaiting the completion of their new home and the future home for San Juan Outfitters International Headquarters. Brian and Rachel are also expecting a new little bundle-o-joy in the spring .

For the most frequent updates, please check our Facebook page! Britt promises to update the Facebook on a more regular basis .

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Yup! October Orcas. I know we’ve said it a hundred times before, be we are very lucky to be seeing killer whales this consistently, this late in the fall. These Southern Resident Killer Whales feed on the Chinook Salmon. Basically, the Chinook Salmon govern the SRKW movements. Remember, an adult orca needs about 400lbs of salmon a DAY! Usually this time of year, the salmon have already completed their annual runs through this area, which means the killer whales most often head towards open ocean to feed. The Chinook are still here, which means the orcas are still here. YAY!

Captain Nancy & Naturalist Kevin had an incredible whale watch trip on the Sea Hawk. They met up with the SRKWs near False Bay as the whales traveled north from the Southern tip of Lopez Island. There was breaching, and spyhops, and lots of fast surface activity. Kevin said all the guests were cheering as a big male orca breached four times in a row! As the Sea Hawk was heading back to Roche Harbor, one gusts saw something waaaay in the distance. At first, Kevin thought it was another killer whale, but after looking with binoculars, everyone realized it was a humpback! Captain Nancy motored towards the humpback, which was about a mile away. Since humpbacks can stay underwater for about 20 min, Nancy focused on the last location the whale surfaced. She shut down the engines and everyone waited. Then, all of a sudden, two humpbacks surfaced within 20 yards of the boat! It was a mother a calf pair. Kevin estimated the calf to be about 20 feet long and determined it to be about 7 months old. And this was just the first trip of the day!

We did see whales on the second trip, too! There were lots of breaching again, and Kevin identified little K44, who was born this summer. He was cruisin’ along with his mother, Deadhead (K27). K44 (who we are still nicknaming Garcia!) is still the bright orange-ish color. Calves will keep this color for about a year, but can get this color later when they get excited! How cute .

There was a loan male killer whale swimming along mostly by himself, but he did have an escort of about a dozen dall’s porpoise. They were swarming around him like a bunch of little knats! The male orca would dive down, and they dall’s stuck with him. They would, however, have to come up and breathe more frequently. More or less, Nancy and Kevin could track the killer whales movements because of the swarming porpoise. Kevin shouted up to Nancy on the fly bridge that the dall’s porpoise “are coming our way!” Nancy quick shut down the engines and within second the big male killer whale surfaced next to the Sea Hawk and then slowly swam under the boat! And he still had all of his little dall’s porpoise friends taggin’ along.

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