[9/2/17 M/V Sea Hawk 2pm Naturalist Sarah C.]
The last long weekend of summer brings tourists, guests, and visitors flocking to the San Juan Islands, and for good reason. With historically temperate and dry weather and what many outdoor professionals consider the most intrigueing month for wildlife, September just may be the best time of year to finally take that sea plane over from Seattle and see what all the fuss is about. The shifting of seasons bring new critters into our waters as migrating baleen whales and sea lions start making their way down from Alaska through our protected waterways and transient killer whales continue to take advantage of the incredible number of marine mammal prey items that our ecosystem boasts.
With a full boat and a busy harbor, docks packed with yachters and walkers alike, we pushed off of our dock at Roche Harbor aboard the Sea Hawk in search for some killer whales. Reports as we exited the harbor did not disappoint - there were orcas abound in the Salish Sea today! We wisely chose the closest sighting, a family of four transient killer whales reported to be heading our way from the west side of Henry Island, which borders Roche Harbor.
As we arrived on scene, not even half an our into our tour, we soon identified the group as the T100's, a family of transient orcas made up of a mom and matriarch T100 and her three calves. Her oldest son, T100C, is only 15 years old (equivalent to a 15-year-old in human terms as well), but is still a huge animal with a nearly 6-foot tall dorsal fin marked by a likely seal-induced notch partway down it.
Since transients hunt exclusively marine mammals, they're more prone to battle scars from their prey than their fish-hunting, resident counterparts. These notches, nicks, and scratches make great identifiers in the field, though, since they're usually unique form whale to whale. We even got to see one of their prey items, a massive Steller's sea lion, as it swam through the orca infested waters, ultimately (but surprisingly) unharmed by the disinterested orcas!
We watched this family as they swam up past Turn Point and into Boundary Pass, essentially riding the US/Canadian border. They paused with long dive times a few times, indicating a potential sub-surface hunt. We got amazing looks at them as they split apart and rejoined numerous times, both in spurts of purposeful travel and more relaxed resting sequences as they headed due east towards Bellingham.
We left them in Mount Baker's reflection as we turned back towards Roche Harbor. We arrived at the dock with 80-degree temperatures and a full evening ahead of us to enjoy the first night of Labor Day weekend!
Some photos today are included below, feel free to download and share.
Naturalist Sarah C.
M/V Sea Hawk
