Posts Tagged ‘Active Pass’
Monday, September 10th, 2012
Around 10:40 AM this morning we received a Southern Resident Killer Whale report: members of J, K, and L pod headed north in Haro Strait. We were extremely excited yet a bit uneasy knowing they were headed for Active Pass (Canada). Luckily enough by the time we boarded and headed out for the strait the whales had turned around. It couldn’t have been more perfect timing.
As we made our way into the gut of the strait, reaching a center point between Stewart, Moresby, Sidney, and Henry Island (48°38.51N 123°14.37W), we began to see the leaders of the pods headed in our direction; all we had to do was sit and wait. As the whales began to pass our boat we realized they were coming in all directions so our best option was to cut the engine and simply watch. No words can describe this experience, but I’ll try my best to summarize.
It was one of those moments in time where everything became frozen. The boat and the people were frozen. The sky was frozen. Other boats on the water were frozen. The islands off in the distance were frozen. The only thing moving around us were the whales. It grew completely silent. The only thing you could hear was the sound of your own heart pounding through your chest and the exuding exhalations of the whales as they broke the water’s surface. At this point in time, the only thing that seemed real, were the whales.
We were lucky enough today, to watch members of all three pods swim past our boat. They moved across our bow, across our stern, and even alongside us. They were also chattin’ up a storm on the hydrophone, some of the best vocalizations to date! It seemed as though several of them had swam past us just to say hi and at one point a female and calf stopped right alongside our boat and simply sat there logging at the surface.
Man, what day!
Naturalist Tara and Captain Mike! San Juan Safaris
Tags: Active Pass, Haro Strait, henry island, Moresby Island, Sidney Island, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Stewart Island
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Friday, July 27th, 2012
Today we met up with 7-8 members of J-Pod on the southwest side of Mayne Island (Canada) headed north for Active Pass (48°50.93’N, 123°20.55’W). They were resting, traveling in a tight-knit group, surfacing in unison for a few breaths, and then taking deep dives for a few moments. In this group we identified Blackberry (J27), Doublestuf (J34), and Princess Angeline (J17). We left them headed north around 3:30 PM in hopes of finding more whales south for our evening cruise.
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Active Pass, canada, j pod, Mayne Island, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Thursday, June 14th, 2012
Word was that killer whales were north and headed north today, so we wasted no time departing from Friday Harbor. Along the way we spotted a few curious harbor seals and some harbor porpoise. Then we weaved in between the beautiful Canadian islands of Saturna and South Pender before heading through Active Pass. Just north of Active Pass we spotted a killer whale breach in the distance! (48° 53.267 N 123° 17.661 W). It was J-Pod. The whales were spread out, traveling in small groups of three to four. We watched them for as long as we could before having to make the long trek back.
~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Active Pass, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, j pod, orca whales, Pender islands, san juan island, Saturna Island
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Monday, May 28th, 2012
Today we headed out into the Georgia Strait where we had originally heard of a sighting of 3 transient orcas. Unfortunately as we got closer to the area, we were informed that the group had suddenly switched direction and were headed northwest at a high speed. There was no way our boat or any others from Friday Harbor could catch up with them so we aborted.
We then got news of some Dall’s Porpoise in Active Pass and were fortunate enough to catch up with them. It was a group of about 7-10 and man were they fun! Usually Dall’s will get bored easily with boats, but this group swerved in and out through the water, porpoising out of the water, and playing with the bow for a good 15 minutes. We then made our way back through the Canadian Gulf Islands and home for a total round trip of 70 miles!
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Active Pass, Canadian Gulf Islands, Dall\'s Porpoise, friday harbor, Georgia Strait, Transient Orcas
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Friday, May 27th, 2011
After a night of rain, I woke up this morning to still more rain, as it sometimes goes here in Washington. But as the day progressed, the weather got better and better. By the time our departure time rolled around, it was looking pretty good and sunny out here in the San Juan Islands. From Friday Harbor, we headed north with word and hope of possible whales up in Canada by Active Pass.
After an hour of searching and a pass by a few Stellar sea lions, we started to see vessels off the east side of Saturna Island. Not far from those vessels were… five black dorsal fins belonging to five transient orca whales! As we observed this pod, we noticed that all of the dorsal fins were crescent-moon shaped, each belonging to either a female or a juvenile (male or female) and one of these dorsal fins belonged to a very small orca: a baby. Upon our first approach, we noticed several gulls circling overhead. Had the pod just taken a harbor seal or Stellar sea lion, with the gulls scavenging for scraps? We were still not certain. The transient group began heading south and then north and then random circles, moving rapidly at first and then slowly. The calf had a little fit of acting up somewhat with fluke up dives, head stands and a semi-spy hop with its head clearing the water. As we ran out of time, the pod was still milling about and Bald Eagles were circling overhead. The pod was identified by another vessel as the transient 100s.
On our return to the harbor, we had a little bit of time to stop by and see some Stellar sea lions and harbor seals hauled out basking themselves on the rocks. A good day to dry off and warm up! One large male was sitting up regally and vocalizing at a swimming sea lion and two more were play fighting in the water. The harbor seals were napping and could not be bothered with the noisy gulls and sea lions. If only they knew transients were in the area, would they be so content?
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Active Pass, Bald Eagle, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, Orca whale, Orcas, san juan island, Transient Orcas
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Thursday, May 26th, 2011
We headed north with reports of Orca up near Pender Island. By the time we were on the water about 30 minutes the next report came in that the whales were moving steadily north towards active pass. We were committed to finding Orca for our passengers so we continued on. As we reached active pass we slowed and tucked on the side as the big BC ferry came through. While we waited for it to pass we were able to spot an eagle perched at the top of the highest tree.
We came around the corner and entered the pass and were lucky enough to spot the whales. There were five transients cruising north. After a few good looks we recognized a calf in the mix along with the big male T87. We viewed the whales for about 20 minutes as they moved through the pass and turned to the west as the exited. The passengers were in awe of the whales. On the way home we stopped and saw some steller sea lions, lots of harbor seals, and a pair of bald eagles. And the sun even came out!!
Mike – Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Active Pass, Bald Eagle, Harbor Seal, Orcas, Steller\'s Sea Lion, Transient Orcas
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Friday, May 13th, 2011
We headed north past Waldron Island where we stopped to check out some Harbor Seals feeding on a fish. They were tossing it and diving after it. Good start to the day.
As we crossed into Canadian waters we could see Steller Sea Lions on the rocks at East Point. We stopped to check them out. There were a couple of big males making lots of noise and we could see Harbor Seals hauled out at the other end of the rock. Then we got a call about whales north west of Active Pass. We left the seals and headed around the corner.
When we got into the area we could just make out a boat on the horizon and could see blows through the binoculars. We continued on. Suddenly Captain Mike saw a blow much closer to us. We slowed to try to catch another look but it disappeared. We sat and waited, convinced that we had seen it and not willing to give up. A few minutes later we saw two whales surface a quarter mile behind us. It looked like a mom and calf. They were cruising. We turned around and tried to catch up parallel to the whales but they were moving fast. We noticed a single whale in closer to shore and then saw it turn toward the two whales we were watching.
The duo did a 180 and became very surface active. Lots of twisting and turning with tails in the air. Eventually the single caught up and then we noticed blood in the water. Not sure what exactly it was but it looked to have been something large and delicious. Once again the whales continued on their eastern course. We watched for a while and then headed home, happy and slightly sunburned.
Laura, Swoyer,
Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Active Pass, Bald Eagle, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, j pod, Orca whale, san juan island, seattle whale watching, Southern Resident Killer Whales, whale watching near seattle
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Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Tuesday brought sunny skies and calm water. We headed north from Friday Harbor with reports of whales in active pass as well as faint vocalizations around Lime Kiln. We were trying to decide which way to start our search when we heard confirmed reports of J-Pod off Moresby Island. As we slowly approached the area the whales came in to view. The passengers on board were ecstatic! The pod was spread out into smaller groups. Some were in way close to shore, while another group of younger animals were porpoising a little farther out. Other boats confirmed sightings of ‘Doublestuf’, and we were able to confirm sightings of ‘Blackberry’. Even our passengers got in the act of sighting whales through the binoculars and taking their best guesses which whales we were seeing by looking at our dorsal ID pictures. ’Blackberry’ had a very consistent pattern of slow breaths and very slow descents, leaving his dorsal skimming along the surface. We also saw double spy hops, lots of rolling, some upside down swimming, pec slapping, and even some whales playing with the kelp.
The passengers knew how lucky they were and expressed their excitement and awe for the entire trip home. What a great day to be on the water!
Mike- Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Active Pass, friday harbor, j pod, Orcas, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Monday, August 30th, 2010
Map: Active Pass, Canada
Today we ventured to Active Pass in Canada to admire those beautiful black and white creatures known as Orcas.
It is not very often we have to travel this far to see them. Thanks to the gorgeous weather, our guests definitely did not mind the boat ride. The longer boat rides are often very nice because we get the opportunity to know the guests on board a little better and delve into deeper subjects relating to the Orca population. Also we get to see many of the islands along the way and talk about the history and unique groups of people that live on them.
Today the guests got a special treat of seeing some of the Canadian gulf islands as we wound our way through active pass. We caught up to the whales as they were making there way through the pass and out into open waters. There were orcas as far as the eye could see practically! This large grouping was a mix of different pods and they were very spread out. We observed parts of J pod with a small grouping of L pod nearby. In the distance large splashes were observed as the whales breached and slapped their tails. It was not long before the groups near us were doing the same actions. We even got to observe a few spy hops, which are my personal favorite. It was a great day and well worth the extra drive!
-Casey
Tags: Active Pass, friday harbor, gulf islands canada, j pod, L pod, Orca whale, san juan island, seattle whale watching, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Reports were in early of the southern resident J pod sightings around Active pass. While this is good news it can also mean that the whales may be just out of our reach should they continue north. Active pass is in Canada so this meant we were in for a long haul. Luckily Captain Craig put the pedal to the metal and we made it out to see J pod! Although they were spread out we did get some close looks at an adult male and two sets of female calf pairs. The dorsal fin of an adult male orca can tower up to 6 ft tall. It was such a peaceful day on the water we could hear the blows of the whales as they surfaced to breath. After our time with the orcas we enjoyed a smooth ride home stopping by Yellow island to observe some harbor seals hauled out basking in the sun. The guests on board did a great job of spotting bald eagles, harbor porpoise and the whales! Not only did we see whales today but enjoyed a beautiful boat ride.
Not in Kansas anymore!
Casey
Tags: Active Pass, Bald Eagle, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, j pod
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