Posts Tagged ‘False Bay’
Monday, June 10th, 2013
Captain Mike, Andrew and myself left our Friday Harbor location today and headed south through the San Juan Channel and into Cattle Pass where we hoped to encounter some great whale activity. Along the way we stopped to say “hello” to my favorite small critters that are known to inhabit the Salish Sea: Harbor Seals. The harbor seals thrive on our large tidal difference here which create the upwellings they navigate through to hunt. Their whiskers on the front of their face are specially designed to help them hunt; they have nerve endings in them! They will use their large whiskers as “feelers” to explore anything foreign or unfamiliar. It’s always fun to see our seals forging in the water.
We cursed through Cattle pass and encountered a Minke whale foraging off the coast of False Bay. Minke whales are actually the smallest whale in the baleen family averaging a size of 25-30 feet long (about the size of an Orca). We hung out with our Minke friend for a while and enjoyed some great views during that time.
We also saw many Harbor Porpoise on the South side of San Juan Island in the Haro Straight. I always love it when we are able to shut our motor off and listen to the blow of the marine wildlife we are seeing. In the case of the Harbor Porpoise, they are actually quite shy; therefore, shutting our boat off give’s us a better chance of experiencing these animals and their behavior.
While we didn’t see our famous killer whales today, we saw a lot of wildlife and had a great day on the water! Just yesterday we were able to watch our killer whales but they can travel up to 100 miles in a day and were gone for our tour. We had lots of children on board today, their extra enthusiasm about all things small and large was both invigorating and helpful while pointing out all of the other wildlife to be seen in the San Juan Islands! All in all, we had a great day on the water!
Heather, Naturalist, Sea Lion
Tags: Cattle Pass, False Bay, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Haro Staight, killer whale, minke whales, orca, salish sea, San Juan Channel
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Thursday, September 6th, 2012
Today we watched several members of L-Pod mill around near False Bay, San Juan Island. We got to travel with multiple groups of 1s and 2s including 3 large males and 3 females each bearing a youngster at their side. They all appeared to be very relaxed, milling around, and enjoying the simple things in life, being within the comfort of their own home. The family bond amongst them is like no other, and is quite apparent in their interaction. For these whales, it’s all or none, and no matter how much time they spend together, it will never be enough to drive them apart. Other than food and air, family seems to be enough for the Southern Residents….and maybe, just maybe, we can learn a thing or two from them.
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: False Bay, salish sea, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012
3:00 PM: 20+ Southern Residents spread out in Haro Strait from False Bay to Lime Kiln State Park (48°27.57N 123°04.48W). Members of J and K pod including Grandma Samish (J14), Mother Hy’Shqa (J37) newborn J49, Deadhead (K27) and brother Scoter (K25). Widely spread, yet exceedingly active; breaching, spyhopping, lobtaillng and porpoising in every which direction.
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Breaching, False Bay, Haro Strait, Jpod, Kpod, Lime Kiln State Park, Lobtailling, porpoising, Spyhopping
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Saturday, August 11th, 2012
Busy Saturday on the water today, but the whales didn’t seem to mind!!! Members of Jpod had spread out almost half the length of San Juan traveling south in Haro Strait between Lime Kiln and False Bay (48°32.15N, 123°00.87W). The first whale we encountered was Doublestuff (J34) rolling around and traveling amongst a few females enjoying the sunshine and family time.
The next group we came across was Hy’Shqa (J37) and her VERY new born calf J49 with Grandma Samish (J14) monitoring close behind. What a blessing to see the little one so healthy and keeping up right alongside mama!!!
Then we ran into Onyx (L87) foraging by his lonesome and out of nowhere popped up Blackberry (J27) right off our stern. I swear he has a “thing” for the Kittiwake because he always pays us a visit on that boat!
The last family we encountered were the J16s; Mama Slick (J16) leading her offspring and Big Mike (J26).
What an amazing day for whale watching! And the night cruise is yet to come…
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: False Bay, Haro Strait, Jpod, lime kiln, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Friday, July 6th, 2012
Another beautiful, sunny, warm day around the San Juan Islands! And even better, killer whales were in no shortage. We left Friday Harbor heading south with word that there were whales along the west side of San Juan Island. But that wasn’t all we saw along the way to the whales; there were harbor seals soaking up some of the glorious sun as well as two large bald eagles perched high in the tree tops.
The whales came next, just off False Bay (48º 27.462’ N 123º 03.376’ W). We first saw a huge male who looked to be alone, but after a few more minutes we realized that there were whales scattered everywhere. The male was later identified as J-27 or “Blackberry” and another male around was identified as J-34 or “Doublestuf.” Then we saw a group of four females swimming close together. They surfaced almost in unison, allowing us to hear their powerful exhalations before diving back under. Finally, before having to head back we watched as the whales moved close to each other closer to the shore. They started to become playful: cartwheeling, lob tailing, and swimming upside down, allowing us to see their beautiful white undersides.
~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, False Bay, friday harbor, Harbor Seals, j pod, Orcas, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Thursday, June 28th, 2012
Today was another great day amongst our Southern Residents! We found members of J and K pods spread out in the strait, in groups of 3 or less, between Salmon Bank and False Bay (Haro Strait 48°27.07N, 123°04.02W). Some were foraging, some were resting, while others just appeared to be milling around in the calm seas.
After riding alongside one group, we would switch off to another, paying each small group a visit. We even saw a few adult breaches, which ironically occurred just after the rarity of such behavior was explained, giving everyone a little chuckle! Once everyone got some good looks and great shots, we huddled around an orca survey and successfully identified Shachi (J19), Racer (L72), and Onyx (L87). Case closed.
On our way back we were fortunate enough to witness a Minke Whale on the hunt, just south of Salmon Bank. The large whale took multiple lunges at a bait ball causing birds to go flying and guests to break out in laughter.
Couldn’t ask for much more than these amazing views, fun investigations, and shared moments of laughter!
Naturalist Tara and Shelly, San Juan Safaris
Tags: breach, False Bay, Haro Strait, minke whale, Salmon Bank, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Saturday, June 23rd, 2012
It was all about the killer whales today as we left Friday Harbor heading south, but we did see a large group of harbor seals hauled out on a rocky island on the way. After rounding Cattle Point heading around the west side of the island, we spotted two members of J-pod just outside False Bay. It was an adult female and a smaller whale that looked like a calf.
The whales were traveling south but stopped moving and started to dive and surface in one spot. We turned off the boat to watch and see what they were up to. Then, we saw the white underside of the calf’s head followed by a squeaky sound. The whale was vocalizing above water! That is something I’ve never experienced before! The whole boat was silent and focused until the female, who we identified as J-16 or “Slick”, changed direction and surprised us by surfacing near our boat’s stern. The smaller calf followed, both sticking around for quite some time. It was amazing! After they swam away we circumnavigated San Juan Island before heading back to the harbor. Definitely one of my best days!
~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Cattle Point, False Bay, friday harbor, Harbor Seals, j pod, killer whales, san juan island
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Saturday, July 16th, 2011
Sky and sea blended together as we left Friday Harbor this afternoon. It was overcast and a bit foggy, but spirits were high in the hopes of finding killer whales. We headed south, and as we turned around Cattle Point it started to clear up, giving us good visibility. As soon as we reached False Bay, off in the distance was a large, triangular dorsal fin. Soon after that we were surrounded by killer whales, and even got to see a younger one breach three times before swimming off.
We followed the whales back towards Cattle Point then headed towards Salmon Bank in search minke whales. It didn’t take long for us to spot a lone minke occasionally coming to the surface to take a breath. After watching the minke disappear one last time we headed back into Friday Harbor, but we weren’t done watching for wildlife. Near Long Island there were three bald eagles sitting on top of the rocks. We also slowed near whale rocks to see an acrobatic group of harbor seals in the water. Finally, we stopped to watch a large pod of harbor porpoises, some of them popping up close enough for us to hear them exhale. This dreary weather day turned into an amazing day full of wildlife.
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Cattle Point, False Bay, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, killer whale, minke whale, Orcas, Salmon Bank
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Thursday, July 14th, 2011
We headed south out of Friday Harbor this afternoon with word that there were killer whales around False Bay. On our way to the west side, we spotted a few harbor porpoises in the distance and some harbor seals poking their heads out of the water. Once at False Bay we caught a glimpse of three dorsal fins and some spouts, then there were six+ dorsal fins all coming up from underneath the glassy Salish Sea. It was J-pod. They were slowly traveling close to each other, nearly synchronized in their surfacing. It was an amazing site to see.
After spending some time with the whales, we headed back towards Salmon Bank. As soon as we got to that area, we spotted a single minke whale and watched it surface a few times before it disappeared into the depths. Then, on the way back into town, we came across another minke whale! Plus we stopped to check out a large group of harbor seals that were checking us out from the water, and a large pod of harbor porpoises that surrounded the boat and were proposing out of the water. It was an exceptional day in not only the numbers of species we encountered, but in the quantity of each species we saw as well!
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: False Bay, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, j pod, minke whale, Orcas, Salmon Bank, San Juan Safaris
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