Blake paddled out for a 3 hour tour yesterday and reported lots of harbor seal activity out on the west side. Lately the harbor seals have been coming closer and closer to the kayaks, and seem to be quite curious. We'll see how that progresses as the season goes on!
The highlight of his tour was when a Bald Eagle flew above his group, swooped down to the water, and came up with a fish!
I can't believe it's already almost May- April flew right by! The wildlife sightings have been fantastic this month, and today was no exception. I paddled out for a 5 hour sea kayak tour with Aaron and Bruno this afternoon, and it was a good trip. As there were no whales within our reach we focused on harbor seals and bald eagles, and we had great luck there.
By the time we'd rounded the first tip of Pearl we'd already seen a river otter diving, surfacing and...
Today I paddled out for a day sea kayak trip with European visitors Oliver & Osvaldo, and boy did we luck out! The water was smooth as glass, the currents minimal, and the temperature warm. Although we sorely wanted to see some killer whales or porpoises, luck was not with us, but the gorgeous day and other fantastic wildlife sightings more than made up for it.
Most of the interesting critters we saw were land-based, surprisingly enough. Of course we saw bald...
Today I paddled out with Diana, and although rain had been in the forecast, the skies cleared for some sun by the end of the afternoon. It was a beautiful day for a paddle, and we were both glad to meet better weather than expected. We saw a great variety of wildlife today, from Bald Eagles to auklets, and river otters to raccoons. It was really neat to see the critters that came out and down to the low tide line to look for a meal!
As we were feeling pretty good...
Today was simply a beautiful day out here at Roche Harbor, WA. The sun was shining, skies were blue, and even a brisk breeze didn't deter my guests, Harris and Ruby, who were used to much warmer weather down in Miami. We were lucky in that we saw half a dozen or more Bald Eagles soaring, perching, whistling and watching above us. Most of the harbor seals were busy snoozing on the rocks, but one quietly came much closer and examined us much to our delight. All in...
Today was the most beautiful day on the water-- and quite warm too! I paddled out with two couples from the Northwest and we took advantage of the incredible low tide and spent our morning investigating the tidal zones. There were clams, jellies, anemones and crabs galore, but the real highlight was seeing almost all of our local sea stars. We saw purple and orange ochre sea stars, a few orange and purple sunflower stars and a pale orange and gray leather star...
Today I paddled out of Roche Harbor for a 5 hour tour with quite an international crew. The first part of the day was quite challenging-- fighting a strong flood through Mosquito Pass before being able to emerge south of Henry Island and ride the flood back north. I was excited about the very low tide today, as often there's a good chance to see all sorts of critters, and today was no exception-- we saw dozens of sea stars, a few river otters, geese and their...
Today I paddled out with honeymooners Julie and David, who were delighted to get so many good looks at bald eagles. From their lookouts on McCracken Point to soaring above us as we paddled, our local eagles were certainly active today! The highlight of the trip came as we rounded...
Well folks, spring is definitely here! The past few days have been absolutely gorgeous here on San Juan Island. Buds on trees are emerging, flowers are sprouting up, birds are busy building their nests and the wildlife is out in abundance. Something is definitely in the air...
Spring is a fantastic time of year to visit the islands, as we often have the sunshine of the summer without the crowds. This week in particular-- on both our whale watch trips and our sea...
Today we ventured out under gray skies and undertook a long paddle all the way down the west side of Henry Island. The pelagic cormorants which had begun nesting in the rookery there just a few days ago have disappeared-- without a trace of their presence remaining. Hopefully biologists and naturalists here on the island will share the answer with me, as I'd very much like to know where these birds have gone!
And to one of our chattiest guides, Joe Gardner, we wish...