Posts Tagged ‘Fallow Deer’
Friday, September 28th, 2012
We caught up with a group of Transients today near South Pender Island, British Columbia (48°44.01N 123°18.00W). Initially we paralleled the path of a group of 4 whales, which included 2 large bulls. At one point we were traveling 10 knots to keep up with them! The group slowed and synchronized their dives as they approached a second group of transients milling near a shoal. The whales suddenly became very active on the surface with several partial breaches, tail-lobbing, spyhopping, and one breathtaking full body breach. We heard a vocalization above the surface while watching two rambunctious youngsters playing near their mothers. One of the calves appeared to be the length of a newly born calf, about 7’ long. When we left the group, they were continuing to move in a southwesterly direction toward Gooch Island. We capped the tour with a cruise by Spieden Island where we witnessed a stately bald eagle, and abundant Mouflon Sheep, Fallow Deer (including a few completely white individuals with huge racks!), and a few Sika deer as well. As we rounded Green Point, we came across 3 Steller’s Sea Lions logging about amongst a raft of Bonaparte’s and California Gulls.
Naturalist Andrew, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Bonaparte\'s Gull, California Gull, Fallow Deer, Gooch Island, Green Point, Mouflon Sheep, Sika Deer, South Pender Island, Steller\'s Sea Lion, Transient Killer Whales
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Monday, September 24th, 2012
Cruising south through San Juan Channel we encountered a number of marine mammals and seabird species. Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoise, and Steller Sea Lions were all taking advantage of the abundance of prey along with the Glaucous-winged Gulls, Rhinoceros Auklets, and Cormorants.
Upon entering Cattle Pass the beautiful island setting was blanketed by a layer of fog providing a chilly and eerily exciting ambiance to our tour. Even before we could see the Steller Sea Lions we could hear their grumbles echoing through the cloudy mist. Then, through the haze we finally saw these massive animals! Over 15 Steller Sea Lions were spread out over the rocky shores of Whale Rocks. Another 7 Steller Sea Lions had formed a raft and were alternating lifting their flippers out of the water as if they were performing a synchronized swimming routine.
Next, roughly ¼ mile offshore of San Juan Island between Pile Point and Hannah Heights we found a Minke Whale (48°28.45N, 123°06.48W)! The Minke Whale seemed extra curious today coming in for a closer look as it circled the stern of the vessel. Such a rare treat for this normally shy and elusive animal.
Our tour ended with a visit to Spieden Island where we viewed dozens of the Mouflon Sheep, Sika Deer, and Fallow Deer. Followed by a stop at O’Neal Island in Rocky Bay where we saw a mature Bald Eagle!
Naturalist Amy, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
Tags: Bald Eagle, Cattle Pass, cormorants, Fallow Deer, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, minke whale, Mouflon Sheep, Sika Deer, Steller Sea Lions
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Friday, September 21st, 2012
Although the beautiful, sunny skies were replaced by clouds and grey skies today, our spirits were not dampened; we were all equipped with a sense of adventure and eager to spend the afternoon exploring the Salish Sea. And, we were not disappointed.
Within minutes of departing Friday Harbor and entering the San Juan Channel we were rewarded with a large, male Steller Sea Lion enjoying his lunch. The Sea Lion would emerge with a fish in his mouth, aggressively thrash the fish about at the surface, tearing bits of meat off the carcass, and send the fish remains flying. He would then retrieve the fish and repeat his foraging routine.
As we cruised along Spieden Island, we saw dozens of the exotic Mouflon Sheep and Fallow Deer. And as we turned the corner of Sentinel Island, over 30 Harbor Seals were crammed on a small rocky outcrop, enjoying a relaxing afternoon.
Our journey continued along Stuart Island where we had our first sightings of Killer Whales! Over 20 Southern Resident Killer Whales were spread out between Haro Strait, Spieden Channel, and Stuart Island. The whales were initially headed north before they changed direction and began to travel east through New Channel.
We were surrounded by whales; they were seen in all directions. Among the whales we identified Scoter (K25) and Cali (K34), Scoter’s younger brother. Also, we identified Onyx (L87) another large male born in 1992. Although the whales seemed to be spending most of their time foraging or traveling, a few individuals were performing aerial displays: breaching, lobtailing, and pec-slapping. With so many whales in the area and the flat calm waters we decided to drop the hydrophone, an underwater microphone, to see if we could hear the whales vocalizing. While sitting with our engines off listening to the whales exhale at the surface and vocalize and echolocate from below, a group of four whales changed direction and came in for a closer look. We were mesmerized as the whales traveled along the port side of the vessel, while their vocalizations echoed throughout our boat.
Boy, my job sure is amazing!
Naturalist Amy, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
Tags: Fallow Deer, Harbor Seal, Harbor Seals, killer whales, Mouflon Sheep, Orca whale, orca whales, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Spieden Island, Steller Sea Lions
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Wednesday, September 19th, 2012
Today’s tour was a bit different than usual, yet so refreshing! With no whale reports since the night before, we took our tour to the inner islands.
Sure the San Juan Islands are home to one of the most charismatic animals in the world, the Killer Whale, but that is not the only thing that makes them beautiful. Often times the inner beauties of these islands are overlooked, but today we allowed our guests to discover these beauties. We toured along Flattop Island, the Cactus Islands, through Johns and Stewart Island, then into Canada to see Moresby and Mandarte Island, and back into the U.S. to finish with Spieden Island.
The abundance of wildlife inhabiting these islands and the channels between is nothing short of remarkable, including those we saw today such as dozens of Harbor Porpoise, dozens upon dozens of Harbor Seals, Bald Eagles, Cormorants, Sika Deer, Fallow Deer, Mouflon Sheep, Great Blue Heron, Gulls of all shapes and sizes, and Steller Sea Lions.
Animals aside, these islands standalone in their natural beauty. Glaciation has carved this area into one of the most majestic places on earth; the geology, the vegetation, simply awe-inspiring.
And if you haven’t seen enough then consider this, there are hundreds of islands that make up the San Juans and every island has a story of its own. From the coastal Sammish, to the Spaniards, to a one room school house, no plumbing, no electric, to the richest of summer homes, to marine state parks, to national wildlife refuges, to a war almost started over a Pig, to even owning an island yourself. These islands are something worth seeing and we can give you this experience.
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, Cactus Islands, Coastal Sammish, cormorants, Fallow Deer, Flattop Island, Great Blue Heron, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Johns Island, killer whale, Mandarte Island, Moresby Island, Mouflon Sheep, san juan islands, Sika Deer, Spainiards, speiden island, Steller Sea Lions, Stewart Island
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Wednesday, September 5th, 2012
We had wonderful views of 4 Transient Killer Whales! We first saw the Orca Whales near Green Point as they were traveling north. The pod included one physically mature male, he was massive. When we arrived on scene, the whales were taking turns slapping their tail flukes on the surface before they continued traveling north. They then circumnavigated Flattop Island, performed several lobtails and once again continued north.
After viewing the Transient Orca Whales we found Harbor Seals, one of the Transient Killer Whales primary prey species, soaking up the sunshine safely on the shores of Cactus Islands. A mature bald eagle was perched on a tree overlooking the scene. As we cruised along Spieden Island we observed a number of Mouflon Sheep, Sika Deer, and Fallow Deer. Then as we again neared Green Point we found one lone Steller Sea Lion cruising along the shore. He was lucky those Transient Killer Whales headed north. 
Naturalist Amy, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
Tags: Bald Eagle, Fallow Deer, Harbor Seals, killer whales, Mouflon Sheep, orca whales, Sika Deer, Steller Sea Lions, Transient Orcas
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Friday, July 20th, 2012
In my post yesterday, I mentioned how I could not find words to describe how amazing our Orca encounter was. Well, surprisingly everything that I said yesterday can be applied to our afternoon trip today! There was another super pod of killer whales, but we didn’t realize this right away.
We departed Friday Harbor heading north, and did not have to travel far. We caught up with three killer whales just on the north side of Henry Island (48°36.720’N 123° 12.300’W). We watched for a while before seeing blows off in the distance. Three, four more killer whales were in the area. They changed direction, so did we. Then, all of a sudden we saw at least twenty dorsal fins slice through the surface of the water, all less than a body length from each other! We also noticed there was a large group near shore. The sky was full of their misty exhalations. I got to see my second greeting ceremony in two days when the two large groups came towards each other. They seemed to synchronize their surfacing as they lined up. But, as they met I saw something different from yesterday: the whales circled each other once before moving off in the same direction they came from! It was spectacular!
All in all there were at least thirty whales, from all three Southern Resident pods. Again, they were being very active, lob tailing, breaching, and spy hopping. It was difficult to identify individuals since fins and saddle patches were everywhere, but we were able to distinguish J-27 Blackberry, J-14 Samish, L-87 Onyx, L-86 Surprise, and K-21 Cappuccino out of the wave of dorsal fins in the groups. Plus, cheery on the top of the trip was being able to view three bald eagles, soaring in the sky, as well as harbor seals (plus pups!), muflon sheep, and fallow deer.
~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, Fallow Deer, friday harbor, Harbor Seals, henry island, j pod, K Pod, killer whales, L pod, Mouflon Sheep, Orcas, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Wednesday, July 18th, 2012
We had a very exciting and full-of-wildlife day! We departed Friday Harbor heading north into Canadian waters. Before seeing the main event (killer whales) we spotted about five or six harbor porpoise just north of San Juan Channel. Not long after we saw one dorsal fin, then another, then three more! There were about eight to ten southern resident killer whales, traveling close to each other. They were moving north along Pender Island (48º 36.54’N 123º 04.94’W). We watched as three whales spy-hopped, one after another, followed by a full, body out of the water, breach! The whales then moved close to shore, slowly diving and surfacing. In this group naturalist Jenny and I were able to identify members from both J and L pods, including L-72 Racer, J-27 Blackberry, J-28 Polaris, L-25 Ocean Sun.
After watching the whales, we motored around Stuart Island and spotted a few nesting cormorants on the rocky cliff near Turn Point. Also included in our trip home was a great look of Spieden Island where the non-native, but oh so cool muflon sheep and fallow deer were grazing, bald eagles were flying over the island and perched in a few trees, and eight harbor seals were hauled out of the water near the shore, including three mother pup pairs! Finally, just before getting back into Friday Harbor, a guest spotted another bald eagle. Definitely not our average Wednesday out on the water!
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, cormorants, Fallow Deer, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, j pod, killer whales, L pod, Mouflon Sheep, Orcas, pender island, San Juan Channel, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Spieden Island, Stuart Island, Turn Point
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Monday, July 2nd, 2012
Southern Resident Killer Whales today!
Caught up with about 7 slowly foraging members of J-Pod, including Granny (J-2), Blackberry (J-27) along with Onyx (L-87) on the west side of San Juan Island at 48.27.388N 123.03.597W. We stayed with them until peeling away at the light house at Lime Kiln to complete a circumnavigation of San Juan Island. Caught a quick sighting of 2 Dall’s Porpoises close to Kelp Reef too.
On the way out, San Juan Channel was busy with Harbor Porpoises (at least 10) and a large group of Harbor Seals (about 15) heads up and bobbing in the tide rip before Goose Island. Counted about 12 Canada Geese pecking on the grassy top of the rock offshore from Cape San Juan, while a lone Bald Eagle kept sentry on top of a snaggy fir on shore.
Our return trip took us along Speiden Island where a large flock of Mouflon Sheep grazed with several rams keeping watch on the perimeter. Also, sighted one albino Fallow Deer tucked in the exposed roots of a tree just above the water and 4 Sika Deer outlined on the ridge line. On our last glance back at Spieden Is., a nice showing of 3 Bald Eagles that overhead from Sentinel Island towards us.
Naturalists Shelly, Tara and Jenny; San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Bald Eagles, Cattle Pass, Dall\'s Porpoise, Fallow Deer, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Harbor Seals, j pod, killer whales, L pod, Mouflon Sheep, Orca whale, orca whales, Orcas, San Juan Channel, san juan island, Sika Deer, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Spieden Island, whale watching near seattle
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Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Today was my first day back in the Salish Sea and it didn’t disappoint! We started our trip heading north out of Friday Harbor. It was sunny and the seas were calm, which made for smooth sailing. We seemed to spot bald eagles everywhere, perched in trees and flying about. Along Spieden Island we came across a group of at least five huge Steller Sea Lions leisurely rolling around in the water. Further along in our journey we caught a long glimpse of harbor seals hauled out on a small rock. The rock was so crowded with the harbor seals that from a distance they looked like rocks. It wasn’t until we came a bit closer that we noticed they were moving. Mixed in the group were at least two small pups! We rounded Stuart Island and checked out Mandarte Island where cormorants, geese, and gulls were nesting. We then started to make our way back and stopped to look at the many mouflon sheep and fallow deer that were lining the hills and rocky coast of Spieden before getting back into Friday Harbor. It was a great first day back!
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, Fallow Deer, friday harbor, Harbor Seals, Mouflon Sheep, san juan island, Spieden Island, Steller\'s Sea Lion
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Friday, July 22nd, 2011
We headed north out of Friday Harbor this afternoon in search of any and all wildlife that lives in or around the Salish Sea. Our first encounter came when we slowed and went across Spieden Island where there was wildlife from the shore line to the sky. First we noticed harbor seals that were hauled out on the narrow shoreline. Then looking up, we saw mouflon sheep and fallow and sitka deer along the grassy hill tops. Finally, in the sky was a lone bald eagle in all its glory; wings fully extended and soaring above the tree tops.
It didn’t take much longer until we saw the first signs of killer whales; spouts were up ahead! Then dorsal fins! After watching for a few minutes we realized that there were a lot of whales, twenty plus, milling around in very close proximity to one another. It looked like there were members from both J and K pod in the group, and there was a very small, orange calf that didn’t look like K44! (new calf possibly?!).
After spending our time with the whales we headed back to San Juan Island. On the way we stopped by turn point near the lighthouse where we encountered a few harbor porpoises and we were also able to stop and view some more harbor seals that were hauled out on rocks. It was a very exciting day!
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Fallow Deer, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, j pod, K Pod, killer whales, Mouflon Sheep, salish sea, san juan islands, Turn Point
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