It has gradually been getting colder. But this morning, 26 degrees at 8:00 AM? Brrrrrrrrrrr.
The fences, bushes and grass all had frost glittering on them as I drove into town.
Attached is a photo of San Juan Valley – just had to stop and snap the fog sitting on the ground with the sun shining on a barn.
Low laying fog on a 26 degree morning
Yes, we saw orca whales today on the 2nd of October – late in the whale watching season. We took off from Friday Harbor, San Juan Island heading north toward Spieden Island. As we neared Speiden, one of the guests spotted a large brown head which turned out to be a great big stellar sea lion fishing by himself. We stayed on the south side of Speiden and Shelly spotted a mature bald eagle up in a tree. Down below the Mouflon Sheep and Sitka Deer were roaming about.
We pushed on to Haro Strait and started south down Henry Island to the west side of San Juan Island. We were a bit south of Kellet’s Buff and north of Lime Kiln Point when orca whales came into view. It was part of L pod that we were viewing. We sat for about 40 minutes watching the orca pursuing fish. Surfacing for air, switching directions back and forth the whales this up the entire time we sat there. Capt. Mike put down the hydrophone and there was some whale calls that could be heard. Light calling – not a lot.
As we headed further south on the west side, some Dall’s porpoise started riding our bow. Brief, but what a treat. As the water was gliding I by, I screamed out “loon!” and sure enough it was. Then at the southern tip of the island I spotted a BROWN Pelican in a raft of sea birds. Brown pelican may be common where you are from, but they are a bit of a rarity here in the islands. Near Lopez Island, we stopped at a large rock outcropping to view at least 30 stellar sea lion, what seemed like hundreds of cormorants and gulls. One could definitely smell these animals prior to actually seeing them.
What made this trip so enjoyable for me was that every guest on the boat seemed interested in anything Shelly or I could tell them about the area, birds, trees and wildlife.
This is the last daily tour of the season for us and what a trip it was.
What a beautiful day! Our trip started out sunny and even a little bit warm. We headed out of the harbor and up past Waldron toward East Point. A passenger spotted a pair of bald eagles as soon as we were out of the slip and harbor seals were hauled out in full force along out trek up north. Once we got to East Point we would see and hear a huge group of Stellar Sea Lions. As we drew in closer we were treated to both Stellars and Harbor seals sharing the rock; although divided on their separate sides.
Finally we turned back into the wind and began a very blustery ride back toward the harbor. Just as we were admiring the wildlife of Speiden Island we heard talk of orca whales just outside of Friday Harbor. We said adios to the deer and headed off in the direction of the rumored whales. Just north of the harbor entrance we saw blows in the distance. We could count three separate dorsal fins at the surface at the same time.
We cruised slowly alongside and slightly behind the pod of transients for about fifteen minutes. They stayed fairly close to shore and kept a distance of several hundred yards, but even from a distance we could see that there was a calf present. The passengers were ecstatic. So was I. Finally, pressed for time, we were forced to make the turn back toward the harbor. It was the perfect end to a gorgeous day.
This photo was just sent in to me by a friend who was vacationing in Kona Hawaii.
WOW. Have you ever looked into the nostrils of a Humpback? I have not.
Big thanks to RD.
March 27, 2011
We encountered a couple shy Harbor Porpoise just off the west side of Yellow Island in the middle of San Juan channel in the first 20 minutes of the trip. We also found dozens of Bald Eagles and a few Harbor Seals both hauled out and bobbing in the water.
Speiden Island was teeming with Mouflan Sheep which were a treat for the group. And Stewart Island revealed one of the most exciting finds of the day, a Peregrine Falcon!
Sleepy Harbor Seal by Herb
Announcing the Photo winners for 2011 in the category of whale photo: Janet Holba of WI. Winner for “wildlife” photo is Patty Quales of NC. These will be highlighted in the new 2011 sanjuansafaris.com website due to be published March 1, 2011.
Naturalist Gear Down Friday November 5, 2010 10 to 4 organized by The Whale Museum
I took my first naturalist class in about 1996 from The Whale Museum. Enjoyed it and learned so much I took it at least another three times.
This class, organized by The Whale Museum, was the ‘gear down’ session or ‘end of the season’ get together for reviewing and learning for both professional naturalists and naturalists not working in the field.
Greg Hertel, a now retired school teacher gave a lively and interesting talk called Pirates of the Salish Sea. Smuggling was the central theme and boy, people smuggled all kinds of things to the islands like wool, cotton, Chinese people, Alcohol and drugs.
Monica Wieland gave a talk about identifying the calls, whistles, communications and clicks (discrete calls) of the different resident pod and other killer whales. Seeing the spectrographs of what the calls looked like was very helpful to me. According to John Ford, he identified 31 pod-level calls. ( 9 transient calls) J pod appears to have a wider variety of calls. Apparently orca whale brains are better adapted to processing sound than human brains.
Candice Emmons of NOAA chatted about orca prey and said what most of us knew, that the Fraser River is the primary source for the Chinook salmon that the resident orcas prefer. She also mentioned one of the way to know if you are looking at a transient or resident orca is the shape of the back. Resident orcas are more curved than the transients who are more flat.
Deborah Giles AKA ‘Giles’ archived fecal matter? Yes, the orca poop collected is achieved. There is hope that in the future test will be able to determine if the animal was sick or pregnant.
Frances Robertson AKA ‘Frankie’ talked about Bowhead Whales and said that they are thought to live as long as 200 years! She spent time in the Alaska Artic. Increasing levels of human activity in the region have led to a growing demand for effective conservation strategies that will ensure minimal disturbance and the continued growth of the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort population of bowhead whales, while maintaining accessibility to Alaskan Inupiat hunters (a key concern in Alaska). Assessments of distribution and relative abundance of bowhead whales in relation to human activities are key components of conservation and management strategies designed to minimize the effects of human activities on wildlife populations and subsistence harvests. Click here for more
There was a brief commercial break at one point for a new ‘adventure’ business here on San Juan Island.
This ended at about 4 pm and then the SSAMN Meeting took over.
A new L Pod calf, initially spotted in Juan de Fuca Strait last week, is the first recorded calf for 20-year-old L82 said Ken Balcomb, executive director of The Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wa.
It is the second L Pod calf of the season, but L47…, the other mom, has not had any of her previous four calves survive,
“This one is doing well so far, so we hope this will break the pattern,”
PRESS RELEASE:
By Jackie Wolf, IOSA Coordinator
The recent oil rig disaster and subsequent endless flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico has once again raised the horrifying specter of a really big oil spill here in our own precious part of the world. Sitting as we do right in the middle of major shipping lanes, islanders pay close attention when a spill such as the Exxon-Valdez occurs and now the pouring of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
What many islanders are discovering as a result of this latest disaster is that, thanks to the awareness of so many of us, and the incredible spirit of commitment to protect this place, our own local oil spill response organization already exists. It is non-profit and community-based, with over 300 island residents throughout the years who have taken the training that is freely offered several times a year in the islands by Islands’ Oil Spill Association, the only spill response group in the San Juans.
Nine thousand four hundred feet of IOSA-owned containment boom (plus another 4000′ which IOSA manages) is ready for immediate use in the event of a spill. The boom is spread between 11 locations, all within 5 minutes of a launch site, which allows quick access to boom in all corners of the islands.
IOSA has six dedicated spill response vessels and we work with many trained responders who have their own workboats. Equipment trailers containing anchor systems, sorbents, pumps, skimmers and other gear are stationed at strategic locations throughout the islands, including the outlying islands of Stuart and Sucia.
Nearly 130 IOSA responders are also trained and have their state-required 8-hour certification for Oiled Bird Search & Rescue, Basic Care and Stabilization. At least 20 of these responders have put their name on the list to work down along the Gulf Coast if needed. As of this date, May 13, oiled wildlife responders from outside the region are not yet being asked to help but the situation is ever-changing.
In addition to classroom training, IOSA holds 5-6 on-the-water boom deployment/containment drills a year. IOSA crews have completed 68 site-specific field tests of protective booming strategies for sensitive areas/bays in the San Juan Islands and installed rock anchors in many locations where no other suitable shore attachment exists. Ongoing training keeps us prepared and allows responders to update their certification on a regular basis. It also allows new people to get involved in local oil spill response.
If you would like more information on our own community’s preparedness for a major oil spill, as well as the smaller spills that frequently happen and have required a full IOSA response over 100 times, please go to the IOSA website. Or call the IOSA office at 378-5322.
There are many ways you can help. Watching the ongoing tragedy in the Gulf, one of the many things I feel is a strong sense of gratitude for IOSA and all the people in the San Juans who make IOSA the wonderful organization that it is.
The Cameras Are Rolling!
Cornell Labs for Ornathology - one of my favorite sites.
NestCam season is still going strong! We are happy to report that the Eastern Bluebird eggs have hatched four little nestlings.Note and an aside: Here in the San Juan Islands BLUE BIRDS are being re-introduced. It is a BIG deal to all us islanders.
The Barn Owl chicks have also hatched, which should provide more entertainment. In addition, we are still watching our Great Crested Flycatchers, Peregrine Falcons, Wood Ducks, and Eastern Phoebes, with Chimney Swifts, sea birds, and others expected to come online. Wood Thrush
The NestCam season is still going strong! Eastern Bluebird eggs have hatched four little nestlings. The Barn Owl chicks have also hatched, which should provide more entertainment. Still watching our Great Crested Flycatchers, Peregrine Falcons, Wood Ducks, and Eastern Phoebes, with Chimney Swifts, sea birds, and others expected to come online. Stay Tuned!
Just bought a beautiful to look at and wonderful to live in, blue bird house from Droll Yankee. $95 and worth every penny.
Where are YOUR favorite birding spots on San Juan Island?
Bird on!
Colleen
