Posts Tagged ‘Harbor Seals’
Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Leaving Friday Harbor under solid grey skies, a damp drizzle, no wind, very calm seas, and a last minute report that Transient Orcas were on the west side of San Juan Island, we headed north and quickly made our way to the west side via Spieden Channel in anticipation of running into the northern-bound whales.
It wasn’t until Pile Point though, before we caught up with 3 of the T-100’s, including T101 and T102 (48°28’N, 123°05’W), traveling south from Pile Point off the west side of San Juan Island. Another group of Transients were reported behind us (6 or 7). We stayed with the T-100’s till the Salmon Banks buoy before heading towards Cattle Pass and home. A stop at Whale Rocks gave us great viewing of hauled out Stellar Sea lions covering one end, while several more milled about in the water. And, just like yesterday, we found several groups of Harbor Porpoises foraging in San Juan Channel, between Lopez Island and Turn Island. It was also a great day for viewing Bald Eagles. We found them perched in tree tops, posed on the top of rocks, and even one sitting on a rocky beach on the north end of San Juan Island.
Another perfect day in the Northwest!
Naturalist Shelly and Captain Mike
Tags: Bald Eagle, Bald Eagles, Cattle Pass, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Haro Strait, Orca whale, orca whales, Orcas, Rhinocerus Auklets, San Juan Channel, san juan islands, San Juan Safaris, Steller\'s Sea Lion, Transient Orcas, whale watching near seattle, whale watching tour
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Sunday, April 22nd, 2012
California Sea Lion
A Warm Spring Day of Whale & Wildlife Watching from Friday Harbor, San Juan Island
Today we took off with reports of our resident orcas coming north on the west side of San Juan Island.
We headed out of Friday Harbor going north making a stop at NWR Yellow Island, and rock outcroppings with 43+ snoozing Harbor Seals. We made our way along the coast of Speiden Island. Often times this is a great place to spot Bald Eagles – no Eagle this time. But we did see about 10 Sea Lions. All but one was a Stellar. The other was a California Sea Lion -deep dark brown in color with the telltale knot on his forehead as if he had been clobbered.
We made our way slowly into Haro Straight between Henry Island and Stuart Island. Up came dorsals. Out came whale breath. Over all there may have been 15 – 20 animals. They were traveling in small groups of 6 – 8 and it appeared to me that they were in a resting-style mode.
Residents can be very vocal. No vocalizations today – we dropped the hydrophone three separate times.
Residents can be very playful and energetic. None of that today. Lots of slow “up” and sinking back “down”. The water was glass-like. No wind. No noise. It felt very peaceful bobbing in the water with the engine off.
On the way home we did see at least two mature bald eagles, one in a nest. The boat made another quick stop on the end of Speiden. The Stellars and California Sea Lions were still in the water where we left them. Just before pulling into Friday Harbor we spotted a California Sea Lion hogging a red buoy. I think I saw some zzzzzz’s over his head.
And there was one Common Murre fishing next to the buoy to complete our wildlife viewing for today.
Naturalist, Colleen Johansen
San Juan Safaris Whale & Wildlife Watching
Tags: Bald Eagle, Cactus Island, California Sea Lion, Common Murre, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Haro Strait, henry island, j pod, K Pod, L pod, Orca whale, orca whales, Orcas, san juan island, san juan islands, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Spieden Island, Stellar sea lion, Stuart Island, yellow island
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Saturday, April 14th, 2012
Excited by an early morning report that a large number of Orcas had been sighted off Cattle Point on San Juan Island, we could not wait to get out on the water at noon. Heading north in San Juan Channel, our first stop was at Yellow Island to check out a healthy number of Harbor Seals hauled out on the rocks. Next stop, Green Point at Speiden Island, where more than a few mammoth Stellar Sea Lions dove and rolled on all sides of the boat. Several Harbor Porpoises surfaced long enough for a quick look as we passed Speiden, en route to Stuart Island. Bald Eagles were sighted, either soaring overhead, or posed in treetops. Easy cruising under clear skies and calm seas, but no whales.
After cruising around Stuart Island, we headed over to Canadian waters to check out the Cormorant rookery on Mandarte Island. Saw both Brandt’s and Pelagic Cormorants sitting on nests and a lone sentry Canada Goose on top of the rock. Hearing reports of Dalls Porpoises, we headed back into Haro Strait to catch a quick glimpse of one between Gooch Island and Turn Point, Stuart Island. Cruising along the west side of Spieden Island gave us a good look at the monumental number of newborn baby Mouflon Sheep scattered all over the steep, grassy sides. Another last look at the Stellar Sea Lions surfing in the currents off Green Point, then we turned for home. Although the whales eluded us today, it was a priceless day in the San Juan Archipelago — warm, sunny, spring-weather, a calm sea, and a plethora of Bald Eagles, Pinnipeds, Porpoises, and Pelagic birds.
Naturalists Shelly and Kathy
Tags: Bald Eagle, Bald Eagles, Dall\'s Porpoise, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Harbor Seals, Haro Strait, Mouflon Sheep, Orca whale, orca whales, Orcas, San Juan Channel, san juan island, san juan islands, San Juan Safaris, seattle whale watching, Spieden Island, Steller\'s Sea Lion, whale watching near seattle, yellow island
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Friday, September 16th, 2011
Despite the chilly weather and gray skies today was another amazing day. Whales were down south of Salmon Bank. On our journey south we saw the usual (yet always exciting) seals, sea lions and harbor porpoise. Once we were out in the straight we had an unexpected encounter with 2 little minke whales (and 2 more in the distance). After the wonderful surprise Minke sighting we pressed on even farther south. The whales were headed south and west. The first two residents we came upon were L88 and L26. They were milling in one spot for several minutes, rolling around each other with some interesting behavior. After a while they straightened up and followed the rest of the pod west. We weren’t sure what exactly the whales were doing. Some of them seemed to be traveling at a good clip. Some of them were milling in all directions. Finally we saw several good size salmon leap out of the water; a good indication that hunting was indeed happening. Right before we turned to head back home a little whale surfaced just in front of us. We got a great look at the saddle and identified the little guy as K34, a juvenile (well, almost teenage) male.
It was a brisk day on the water, but worth it to be out with orcas and minkes!
Oh, a word to the wise, if you are reading this and will be coming out with us….bundle up! The weather has changed. You can never have enough layers and being prepared and warm will ensure that you get the most out of your wildlife adventure! The good news is, the whales don’t care if it is a bit chilly. They are always prepared. See you soon!
Laura, naturalist
Tags: Cattle Pass, Harbor Seals, K Pod, L pod, Orca whale
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Tuesday, September 13th, 2011
Ok, readers, today was my last day of the season out on the water in the Pacific Northwest and we were duly rewarded with wonderful sea conditions and one of the ocean underdogs: Minke Whales! Sure, it was a little overcast but the sea responds well to this. As we made our way out from the harbor and towards Cattle Pass, we saw twenty to thirty harbor porpoises and numerous swimming harbor seals and steller sea lions. We even saw a bald eagle–my first in about two weeks! Passengers were constantly on the lookout for appearing and disappearing wildlife as we watched six to eight steller sea lions pop up and disappear off Whale Rocks.
Just between Whale Rocks and Salmon Bank, as we headed out, Naturalist Laura spotted a small–juvenile–minke whale being very surface active. This minke was not foraging under the usual cloud of swarming sea birds, but rather finding its own dinner. A little further out we saw two more minkes and continued to watch them in the flat calm perfect conditions that the Salish Sea rarely doles out. They were hanging out with hundreds of sea birds and a few hungry seals.
Hoping to see a glimpse of the orcas, we continued around San Juan Island with a jaunt through Mosquito Pass by Roche Harbor and a stop for some young harbor seals at Sentinel Island. We even checked out the strange wildlife at Spieden Island, finding many mouflon sheep that appeared to already have their darker winter coats. Two adult bald eagles and a juvenile all sharing a salmon on the shore topped off our adventures. Time for me to migrate myself… Back to Maui!
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, Cattle Pass, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Orca whale, san juan island
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Monday, September 5th, 2011
Today was a day of lots and lots of harbor seals! Everywhere! And many of them were lined up like sausage links! Transient orca sausage links!
We first went north towards Waldron Island and found them basking on a nearby rock. Next, we went further north into Canadian waters and found them off of Saturna Island where five of them were lined up in a row. Out by Sentinel Island, we found another thirty or so, with about six babies hauled out along the shoreline in their little “nursery” area. And we even saw several swimming through the many channels we traveled through on our wildlife safari.
But it wasn’t all seal sausages today. We also saw the elusive harbor porpoises off of Turn Point on Stuart Island, the most northwestern point in the continental US! They were milling about and surfacing at random.
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Saturna Island, Transient Orcas
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Thursday, September 1st, 2011
It warms my heart when I see full grown adults get excited–yelling, pointing, shouting, oohing and aahing–over marine life! ‘Cause I’m one of those adults too!
Today, with no orca reports in the Salish Sea, we headed out on the water with a boat full of curious and eager passengers and lots of hope to see marine life. South from Friday Harbor, we started off with some harbor seals hauled out on the rocks, five of which were lined up side by side like sausage links! Further on at Cattle Pass, we saw a plethora of sea life from gulls of every variety to cormorants (aroma of fecal matter included) to more harbor seals to fifteen or so big Steller sea lions grumbling at one another.
Out of the pass, we had heard, swam a minke and so we went to investigate. After five minutes of searching–with the distraction of sea lions nearby for any short attention spans–the Captain of the Sea Lion spotted the tell-tale curved Minke whale dorsal fin. And another two minutes after that, passengers noticed it too! It appeared a little on the small side–a juvenile perhaps?–and continued swimming in what looked like foraging maneuvers. After twenty minutes of watching, we decided to move on and take our luck around San Juan Island in a circumnavigation.
Along the West side of San Juan Island, we found several harbor porpoises headed south, and at Spieden, we saw bald eagles and non-native Mouflon sheep and fallow deer. With every wave we crested and every splash we saw, our guests were in good spirits, excitedly pointing and telling their neighbors, “Porpoise, there! NO! Over THERE!” Wildlife! It’s wild. It’s life. What’s more exciting?! Well, other than the curious humans shouting about it to each other!
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, Cattle Pass, Cattle Point, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, minke whale, Mouflon Sheep, san juan island, Spieden Island
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Saturday, August 27th, 2011
It was easy, maybe too easy, finding killer whales today. We headed up north from Friday Harbor, and just east of Spieden Island we encountered both K and L pods. They were everywhere around us! Breaching, spy hopping, and tail slapping. After watching them for a while, we headed back south towards Cattle Point. We saw harbor seals, Steller sea lions, and a juvenile bald eagle. Then, as we headed back into the harbor we encountered the killer whales again! And they were still being super active! We saw at least six more breaches. I was also able to identify Mega from L-pod. It really was an amazing day!
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Cattle Point, friday harbor, Harbor Seals, K Pod, L pod, orca whales, Spieden Island, Steller\'s Sea Lion
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Thursday, August 25th, 2011
After two whole days without orcas around (but with Humpbacks and Minkes!) our residents returned to the sound in full force.
There were lots of animals around on the way up to see the whales: harbor seals, harbor porpoises, and even a bald eagle! As for the whales, there were groups representing all 3 pods up in the area between Stuart and Pender Islands. When we came on scene the whales we were with appeared to be resting.
After about 20 minutes they suddenly turned around and sped up. There were whales everywhere. We were surrounded! As we prepared to leave the area a Humpback appeared, heading north. We had heard about the animal earlier in the day. We kept our distance and didn’t stop to watch the single whale, as it was entangled in fishing gear and there were boats around with the hopes of untangling it from the line.
Finally, on our way back we stopped around Speiden Island to view some mouflon sheep that were moving around right on the rocks near the water.
Laura and Kristen, Naturalists, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Humpback Whale, minke whale, Mouflon Sheep, orca whales, pender island, Spieden Island, Stuart Island
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Sunday, August 21st, 2011
The reports were that the killer whales were headed far west, out towards the Pacific Ocean. But this gave us a chance to see all the other wildlife the Salish Sea has to offer. So we headed north out of Friday Harbor on our way to Patos Island. On the way we spotted a whole bunch of harbor seals, including pups, hauled out on rocky areas as well as in the water. We then saw a bald eagle, perched overlooking the sea. Plus, this far north we were able to see an amazing view of Mount Baker! There were also a lot of harbor porpoises coming up around the boat both on the way up and back. Finally, right before getting back into the harbor, there was another bald eagle.
Tags: Bald Eagles, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, killer whales, salish sea
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