San Juan Island Adventures

[caption id="attachment_1217" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="T137A Spyhops to take a look at whale watchers after hunting with his family"]

This Saturday we got a lovely break in the infamous spring rains of Washington and also a lovely visit by a transient killer whale family. The Sea Lion went south out of Friday Harbor with Capt. Mike, Naturalist Kev, and myself to head for some reports of Transient Killer Whales hunting in the area. Transient Killer...

We are getting spoiled with these early season trips here on San Juan Island! Yesterday was one of those magical trips that we have spent all winter dreaming about. Captain Mike and I left Friday Harbor with a lively private charter group on the search for some wildlife! As it is still early season for seeing killer whales, I was cautiously optimistic on our chances of seeing whales, but thought if we did see orcas that they would most likely be some of our local Bigg’s...

Happy first day of spring! Captain Mike and I had the pleasure of taking out Whale Watch and Wildlife Charter today for the first day of spring.  With early rumors of whales, we were all hopeful for a sighting.  Captain Mike, communicating with other member of the PWWA was able to track down J Pod off the west side of San Juan Island, in Haro Strait, near Vancouver Island.  It was a beautiful calm day on the water and we were able to get many great looks at the group of...

Cruising in the San Juan Islands is a treat any time of the year, but it is those special clear sunny days in the spring and fall that make my heart sing. Yesterday we enjoyed a gorgeous early spring day viewing numerous bald eagles, harbor seals, porpoises, and Steller’s sea lions. We also had the chance to view some new baby mouflon sheep on the slopes of Spieden Island. Take a look below!

Harbor seals on a rock in the San Juan Islands

First mouflon lambs of the...

Individual orcas can be distinguished from one another by looking at preexisting  markings on their bodies. Though whales can be told apart by the markings on their cheeks or their eypatches, we primarily look at the saddlepatch, the grey marking behind the dorsal fin. Once those markings are recorded via photograph, alphanumeric (Letter-Number) codes are assigned to individuals. We have two populations of orcas in our waters, Residents, salmon-eaters, and Transients...

Spyhopping is potentially my favorite whale behavior, period. A spyhop is when a whale sticks its head out of the water to have a look at what is going on up on the surface.  We usually see spyhops when the Southern Residents are grouped up socializing, making a decision of where they want to go, or having a look at a boat full of people. Orcas have very good eyesight which enables them to see clearly above the water. Enjoy one of my favorite spyhop images!

Spyhopping...

Yesterday we were greeted by the happy news that there is yet another new calf in the endangered Southern Resident community of orcas, and the sixth born into the familial grouping known as J Pod.

NOAA scientists observed a new calf travelling between J14 Samish and J37 Hy’Shqa on in the last few days and confirmed the sighting yesterday. Right now there is no confirmation on which female is the mother, but that is not unusual as all females within a family will take an...

On December 1, with a report of whales right outside of the harbor, we quickly left the office and our post-season projects, jumped into the car, made our way down to the M/V Sea Lion, cut the lines, and were off! A group of J Pod whales were traveling north up San Juan Channel past the Wasp Islands and Jones Island State Park. The whales were generally very active, but tucked between the breachy adults and juveniles peeked a teeny tiny fin next to J28 Polaris. As we...

Yesterday the M/V Sea Lion headed out on the water for a private charter. I love being a part of hosting these private events, as we can totally taylor the trip for whatever the groups are most interested in. Yesterday our group wanted to find as much wildlife as we possibly could, and wildlife we found! We left Friday Harbor and motored north. At Spieden Island we encountered a lively group of Steller's sea lions, and a number of bald eagles. As we headed further north...

More October wildlife magic to report!

After getting geared up and into our Kayaks on the dock at Roche Harbor, we headed out our normal route to enjoy an afternoon on the calmly rippling waters of the Salish Sea.

Even before we left the harbor we were in a position and mindset to better enjoy wildlife like the abundant and goofy pelagic cormorants and the harbor seals that were living up to their name.

As we headed out into Spieden Channel we had great views of all the...