What a day!!! Brian, the captain of the Seahawk, reported that both of our whale watch tours were able to see the orcas in K-Pod and L-87. K-Pod is one of the three pods of the southern community orcas and is one of the pods that we frequently see on our tours.
What a fantastic day to be out on the water!
It was another beautiful day on the west side, and my 3 hour sea kayak tour was pleased to see all sorts of wildlife out and about! Not only did I get my first glimpse of the year of an eaglet in a nest, but we also saw killer whales off in the distance! The whales were spread out in the Haro Strait, headed north. Although they were so far off that we could only just make out some dorsal fins and their exhalations, it was still awesome to see.
Last Tuesday morning we set out from Roche Harbor with 14 people aboard our boat the Sea Hawk. It was a drizzly morning but the wildlife was still fantastic. On our way out we motored over to a large group of Harbor Seals hauled out on shallow rocks. They craned their necks to look at us but then went back to doing what they do best, napping! We also viewed several Bald Eagles perched majestically in the tree tops. After motoring down the west side of San Juan...
On a sunny Saturday afternoon our group of 10 kayakers left Roche Harbor. We paddled in calm waters past Pearl Island and around to the western side of Henry Island where we saw everything from Bald Eagles to brilliant purple Ochre Sea Stars. We even ate Bull Kelp! Sitting in the Bull Kelp bed we sat quietly munching on our Kelp snack as curious Harbor Seal heads popped up around us. As we continued south on the west side of Henry Island we heard the screeching of...
After a few 3-hour sea kayak tours today, Noelle reported back having seen a group of orcas out in the Haro Strait. Although the whales were far off, it was still a treat to see them again after a day's absence. Her other highlight included seeing an adult female river otter with her young. To see a family with kits is always exciting as they are often elusive.
Joe returned to Roche Harbor after a 5 hour orca search tour with his guests. As his paddlers were in great shape they paddled south down San Juan Island before heading west to loop up and around Henry Island. Their 12+ mile paddle brought them into the Haro Strait where they could see our resident killer whales heading south. Although the orcas were in the distance, Joe and his guests were excited to see them.
For San Juan Outfitters today makes the 5th straight...
Yesterday Deborah set off on a 5 hour "Orca Search By Kayak" sea kayak tour and boy did they find whales! Deborah reported that the southern resident killer whales were spread out across the Haro Strait, and her group was in the perfect position to see a lot of activity from the whales as they swam past. While normally the protocol (for kayaking when whales are present) is to paddle offshore, yesterday the currents were so strong that it would have been...
Captain Nancy and Noelle reported back seeing L pod, of the southern resident killer whales down at False Bay this morning, thus continuing a long streak of whale sightings. This past week we've been fortunate enough to have the orcas at our back door, i.e., on the west side of the island. J, K & L pods have all been passing by through the Haro Strait almost every day now, and often in a "Superpod", which is the term for when all three pods are joined up and...
This morning I paddled out with two couples for a 3 hour sea kayak tour from Roche Harbor. While we paddled down the west side of Henry Island we saw a large number of whale watch boats out in the Haro Strait. As we drew closer we could make out small black dorsal fins surfacing out there, and could even see some of the larger splashes from these southern resident killer whales tail slapping and breaching. As my guests didn't have to rush back to the docks, we...