Posts Tagged ‘Dall\’s Porpoise’
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011
“What else could we have possibly have seen today?” was a great question that I was asked as we headed back into the harbor. “Not much” was my answer. We had an amazing encounter with resident whales today that started with them spread out all over the south west side of the island, merging into small groups, and ended with them meeting up, West Side Story style (without the violence), and then all swimming off into the sunset together. There were somewhere between 20 and 30 whales out there. We identified K’s (baby in tow) and J’s (Blackberry and L87 were hanging together with a bunch of juveniles and females).
On our way out we saw seals, sea lions (Steller’s), and Phalaropes. On the way back in we saw Dall’s porpoise, a few Harbor porpoise here and there, and an Osprey! It was an awesome day. It was also the longest I have made it in a t-shirt. Almost a half an hour in! Amazing.
Laura, Naturalist
Tags: Dall\'s Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Orca whale, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Steller\'s Sea Lion
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Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
As we circumnavigated San Juan Island we encountered species at every turn. The San Juan Chanel was full of harbor porpoises and bald eagles, the Haro Straight teemed with Dall’s porpoise and three minke whales were feeding around Salmon Bank where California sea lions rested on the buoy. An exciting day!
Kirsten, Naturalist
Tags: Bald Eagle, California Sea Lion, Dall\'s Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, minke whales, san juan island, San Juan Safaris
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Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
Heading south from Friday Harbor, we had word that a potential transient pod was seen off Middle Bank and was headed further out towards the Strait of Juan De Fuca. With the traveling pod in mind, we searched out in that direction. After a about and hour and a half of travel, fifteen plus miles and some choppy seas, we spotted some whale watching vessels and then, at last, the orcas! A pod of four to five unidentified transients were on the move, surfacing for several breaths and then diving as a group for two to three minutes at a time. A small calf was seen with the pod, with 1-2 males and 2-3 females and/or juveniles.
Alas, our time was up and we had to make the inevitable journey back to Friday Harbor. But the wildlife viewing was not over. On our way back in we saw several bird balls of gulls and other sea birds, possibly foraging on bait balls. At Whale Rocks, we saw ten to fifteen stellar sea lions hauled out sunning themselves and resting as well as a few harbor seals swimming in the water. Just when we were running low on time and about to make our final turn towards the harbor, we had one last surprise: six to ten dall’s porpoises swimming quickly around the boat and diving as fast as we were seeing them!
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Dall\'s Porpoise, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, Orca whale, san juan island, Transient Orcas
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Monday, May 2nd, 2011
It started off a rainy Monday and turned into a great wildlife watching day. We headed north out of the Harbor and up toward Speiden Island. It was raining steadily but there were a dozen Steller Seal Lions hauled out at the point and more in the water. Some of them were only half way out of the water, reclining against the rock, like a bunch of guys relaxing in a hot tub. There was a bald eagle sitting on the nearest hill who had a mostly white head, but when he stretched out his wings showed us his mottled, juvenile coloration underneath.
We passed by a few soggy Mouflon Sheep and out into Haro Straight. The calm water and low light made it perfect for spotting Harbor Porpoise. We shut down to try and get a look at the shy cetaceans and realized that they were all around us for at least a half mile in every direction. After a few minutes we continued on and eventually encountered a handful of Dall’s Porpoise. They darted in toward the bow and spent the next few minutes bow riding, drafting, and surfing in our wake.
We cruised around Stewart Island and back around to Speiden. The sea lions were all in the water rafted up like a bunch of rocks floating at the surface. As we pulled away we saw splashes and watched as two sea lions chased something, occasionally porpoising out of the water.
With our fingers crossed we turned back toward the harbor. Eyes and binoculars were glued to the water in hopes of a last minute Orca sighting. Alas, there were none. However, it was a great day for other wildlife.
Laura
Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Dall\'s Porpoise, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Orca whale, san juan islands, Steller\'s Sea Lion
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Friday, April 29th, 2011
After a few days of overcast skies and strong winds we had a break in the weather! With calm water and warm sun we headed out for our 1:30pm wildlife watch. We were lucky enough to encounter some charismatic Bald Eagles right outside the harbor to start things off. We then cruised up to East Pt. and found four Stellar Sea Lions hauled out on the rocks causing a ruckus.
Entering Haro Strait revealed more calm waters and our first Dall’s Porpoise of the season! There were a few spread out over a large area, so we proceeded slowly to see where they were going to pop up. Out of nowhere a single porpoise cruised up our starboard side and gave everyone on board a good look. We even noticed that the dorsal fin was curved over to one side. It was very exciting for everyone!
On the way home we saw lots of Harbor Seals hauled on the rocks, and the same Stellars from before except this time they were in the water patrolling the coast. It was a beautiful start to the weekend!
Mike
Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Dall\'s Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Haro Strait, san juan island
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Thursday, September 16th, 2010
Another great day on the west side of San Juan Island! To start the trip off right we almost immediately spotted a bald eagle perched on Turn Island. This must have been a good omen because today’s trip was spectacular. Little did we know it at the time, but there were about 20 orcas on the west side. We traveled towards False Bay, stopping to watch the Steller’s sea lions on Whale Rocks. They were roaring loud today! Our crew was so entertained with these charismatic creatures that we could have stayed there all day!
The whales were widely spread out along the west side. We identified L87, L88, and L2. We turned off the boat and watched the whales swim by in every direction. After lowering the hydrophone, we heard a large variety of squeals and squeaks. It was hard not to be completely entranced by the orcas. Although it was raining, our enthusiastic guests were practically begging us to stay longer. With word from the other whale watching boats, there were more orcas headed our direction. We stayed put and watched as about 15 more orcas appeared across the smooth waters. Apparently the K pod was near because we identified K21 “Cappuccino”. On our way back to Friday Harbor, we saw Dall’s porpoise playing in the wake of our boat. Rain shmain, today was a WOW kind of day.
Naturalist,
Sally
Tags: Bald Eagle, Dall\'s Porpoise, L pod
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Saturday, July 10th, 2010
Our afternoon trip returned with news that the whales were headed towards Canada. Knowing that it can be a challenge if not impossible to reach them in areas like the Coal Docks and beyond the office staff worked quickly to contact everyone on the sunset tour and have them at the dock for an early departure. Within minutes of the boat arriving we loaded the evening passengers and quickly departed to get to those whales!
Cruising quickly through Presidents Channel we enjoyed the warm breezes followed by short bursts of cool air and the beautiful scenery. We made no plans to stop but I just couldn’t help begging the Captain to stop for just short moment when I spotted a Stellar Sea Lion hauled out on a channel marker! Very unusual to see them this time of year as most of them are in Alaska on the breeding rookeries. A few quick photos and an educational moment then we were off again.
There were 4 other whale watch vessels spread throughout the area also helping in the search. Captain Mike maintained close contact over the radio as we all searched. Sally and I enlisted all eyes on the boat to help us look! They even spotted some Harbor porpoise on the way there. We reached the coal docks and carefully searched high and low. We even turned around to double check when our eyes and the eyes on other boats thought that maybe we were seeing something. Other vessels scoured the area north of the coal docks and to the far east of the docks. Sadly they were no where to be found. As a matter of fact none of the boats found them that evening….where does a 6-7 ton whale with a 6 foot dorsal fin hide I wonder? Sometimes they just like to remind us they are wild animals and you just never know what they will do or where they may be.
Even though there were no whales our guests really enjoyed themselves taking in the beauty of the islands, calm water, stunning views of Mt. Baker and a gorgeous sunset. On the way home we were treated to an encounter with the adorable Dalls porpoise.
-Casey
Tags: Dall\'s Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, Steller\'s Sea Lion
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Saturday, June 26th, 2010
What a beautiful day it was out today! Lately the Orcas have been cruising the west side of San Juan Island so when the reports came in today of whales over by Lummi island I was really excited. Whales and somewhere new to see! Lummi Island is located just off of Bellingham. We barely made it out of Friday Harbor before we encounter Dall’s porpoise frolicking in the wake of boats passing by. The adorable black and white porpoise are often found riding the bow of boats. After a few glimpses of the tiny cetaceans we continued on in search of our larger black and white friends the Orca.
We all marveled at the gorgeous day and the wonderful view of Mt. Baker in the distance. Reaching Lummi Island the guests were delighted at the site of a towering dorsal fin gracefully sliding by. Just as reported earlier we were observing J pod. Members of the pod were widely spread and appeared to be casually traveling along. Moving further offshore we encountered the infamous Ruffles and Granny. The flat calm waters made it easy to see the saddle patches of the Orcas. The saddle patch is unique for each individual and is used in photo identification. After our time with the Orcas we headed back through Obstruction pass viewing harbor seals and a bald eagle. Looking forward to more days like this one!
-Casey
Tags: Bald Eagle, Dall\'s Porpoise, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, Lummi Island, Orcas
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Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
What better way to end a busy day shopping in Friday Harbor than on the calm waters of the Salish Sea? Surrounded by marine wildlife in every direction, this evening’s sunset tour was quiet the safari! The adventure started with the misty blows of orca whales off Spieden Island. As we approached them we were able to identify a few members of Jpod, including the impressive adult male “Ruffles”, 100-year old “Granny”, and “Blackberry”. They traveled in a large closely knit pod, with at least eight other orcas. They swam along the backside of Spieden towards Turn Point on Stuart Island. The orcas became quiet lively while heading over Boundary Pass, breaching, tail slapping, cartwheeling, and spy hopping. The crowd cheered at the thrill of seeing such playful behavior in their natural environment. It was difficult to leave the orcas, however we quickly spotted dall’s porpoises as we returned home. We wrapped up our safari by viewing a bald eagle and harbor seals.
The dynamic duo,
Sally and Casey
Naturalists
Tags: Bald Eagle, Dall\'s Porpoise, friday harbor, Orca whale, Spieden Island, Stuart Island, Turn Point
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Thursday, May 27th, 2010
It was a bit of a rocky day out there with 2 foot swells, but it was still a great day! The Southern Resident L- pod was first spotted off False Bay on the southwest side of the island. The pod was spread out into several smaller groups. We chose to take a look at a smaller group that seemed to be frolicking in the waves. They picked up speed to porpoise over them. Eventually they moved offshore to slightly calmer waters and milled about. We continued along the west side of the island encountering a small pod of Dall’s porpoise. These small black and white porpoises are often very social riding the bow wake of boats. Rounding the northwest corner of the island the waves calmed and the ride began to smooth out. On the privately owned Spieden Island we had some up close views of the spotted fallow deer and mouflon sheep that were out grazing. We even saw some of the male mouflon sheep (rams) that have very large curled horns like those of mountain goats. A quick stop by O’neil Island, a small island composed almost entirely of limestone, provided us with a view of an adult bald eagle sitting on it’s nest. Last year this nesting pair started a little late in the season, but it appears they learned from their lesson and have started early this year. They have been on this nest for approximately 4 weeks and we hope to see chicks soon! A few harbor seals later and we were back at the dock.
I’m not in Kansas any more!
-Casey
Tags: Bald Eagle, Dall\'s Porpoise, Fallow Deer, L pod, Mouflon Sheep
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