Posts Tagged ‘Humpback Whale’
Friday, May 11th, 2012
Today was amazing! Before the boat even left the slip, we saw a curious little harbor seal poke his head out of the water to check us out. Then, we actually left Friday Harbor and headed north towards Spieden Island where we saw mouflon sheep at the southern point. Along the island there was a group of sika deer right by the water’s edge, and a couple of babies running along next to their mothers. At the end of Spieden there was a bald eagle perched at the top of the tallest tree. Our next stop was Mandarte Island to check out the gull and cormorant nests. Just as we passed, we spotted harbor porpoises on either side of the boat. Some were porpoising out of the water! Not something we usually see from them!
We got really lucky just as we reached Turn Point, a humpback whale was spotted north of East Point! It was decision time; continue our course, or extend our trip and go for it. We decided to go for it and headed further north. And was it worth it! The humpback whale blew magnificently in the distance. We watched as it surfaced a few times before flashing its fluke in a fluke up dive. After what seemed like not time, we had to turn back to San Juan Island.
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, East Point, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Humpback Whale, Mandarte, Mouflon Sheep, san juan island, Sika Deer, Spieden Island, Turn Point
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Monday, May 7th, 2012
point roberts
Today we definitely went the extra mile. Out of the harbor we were immediately faced with a tough decision… head south to a confirmed Humpback Whale sighting that we could easily reach, or take the chance of catching up with some Orcas that were spotted in Canada and heading north.
Captain Mike went with his gut and we headed north. We made our way through the San Juan Channel and Presidents Channel seeing several Harbor Porpoises, Harbor Seals, and even a few Steller Sea Lions in the open water, but we remained on the hunt. We continued north past East point and through the Strait of Georgia. Passengers were growing weary as we made our way deeper into Canada, but the crew knew what was coming and couldn’t be more anxious. As we reached Vancouver the boats began to emerge on the sea’s horizon and we knew we were getting close. Binoculars were out and glued to everyone’s eyes and we spotted the first dorsal fin at Robert’s Bank, immediately followed by another. Turns out the Resident Orcas heard how determined we were to see them and decided to turn around and come say hi – at least that is my take on it.
We followed the first two whales for about 15 minutes and had to start heading back, but just as the boat gained speed we spotted another two. Then we started seeing several more orcas, both off in the distance, and as close as 200 yards away. The passengers and crew grew very excited and it seemed as though the Residents fed off our excitement. A young calf started Breaching, followed by an older member of the pod Lobtailing, and another Spy Hopping. It was an amazing site to see! We then continued to travel with the Residents for a significant amount of time as we made our way back home. The passengers were very tired from the excitement, but were livened up once again when we got a second look at East Point. The small rock was covered with Steller’s, Harbor seals, and even a couple of Bald Eagles separating the two. This trip couldn’t have gotten any better! Looking forward to the next day on the water!
Naturalist, Tara
Tags: Bald Eagles, Breaching, canada, East Point, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Humpback Whale, Lobtailling, Orcas, President's Channel, Robert's Bank, San Juan Channel, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Spy Hopping, Steller Sea Lions, Vancouver
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Saturday, October 15th, 2011
No orca whale reports today, BUT as we pulled out of Friday Harbor the Captain received word of a humpback whale by Halibut Island, Canada. It took us nearly an hour to get to the location but there it was – a beautiful humpback whale. It looked as though it was feeding the entire time we were with it – almost ½ an hour. When it dove down, one could see many of the ‘knuckles’ on it’s back. Two of the many dives it waved it tail gently before disappearing into the water. Speaking of water, the depth of the water in that location was about 150 feet deep.
This was the last tour of the season.
I
We will reopen for whale & wildlife tours April 14, 2012. See you next year!
Naturalist, Colleen Johansen
Tags: Bald Eagle, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, Humpback Whale, Orca whale, Orcas, san juan island, seattle whale watching, Spieden Island, Stellar sea lion, whale watching near seattle
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Saturday, October 8th, 2011
Headed south down the east side of San Juan Island.A single mature bald eagle was spotted up in a tree. We paused to view it, then off it went. We went a bit further south, then stopped a rock outcrop with TONS of Stellars Sea Lions. Lounging, posturing, snoozing, swimming. They where piled up with scads of cormorants and a variety of gulls. You could smell that these animals were all fish eaters. (Hey, watch it, I kinda like that fragrance!) The boat sat with the engine off and twirled in the current. Pretty cool right at that spot in the water.
50/50 chance of seeing whales is what I gave it. BUT . . . It was a WHALE day for sure. We were on the west side of San Juan Island south of Lime Kiln, north of False Bay, about a mile from shore. A single male resident orca surfaced. Solo. We could not see any other whales for quite some time. The boat moved further north, then we began to see what looked like two females. While sitting with the engine off, after about 20 mintues, a female off our bow start slapping her pectoral fin. Over and over.she slapped. Almost as if waving to us. She kept this up for several minutes. I am not sure just how many orcas there were. They were all very s p r e a d out. None were breaching. None were surfacing. It seemed like heavy duty prey finding.
There was a report of Humpback whales 3 miles from us - closer to Canada. Off we went. There were a few other boats already on scene. Two humpbacks were swimming side by side in sync with each others movements. Another whale was solo. I kept expecting a fluke. Sure enough, when I was not looking, Shelly saw the tail. We stayed with these whales about 20 minutes. Then we turned and started homeward – southish. The orcas were still in the same area. Stilled looked like fishing and eating mode to me.
What a great “Tail End of the Season tour this was!
Naturalist, Colleen Johansen
Tags: Bald Eagle, Cattle Pass, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, Humpback Whale, j pod, K Pod, Lopez Island, Orca whale, orca whales, salish sea, san juan island, seattle whale watching, Southern Resident Killer Whales, whale watching near seattle, whale watching tour
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Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Well, we just did the math. From August 1- 29 we have ran a total of 49 Whale Watches. Of those 49 trips we successfully located whales 47 times. And not just Orca, but Minke and Humpback Whales as well!! That is a 96% success rate at seeing whales on our trips.
On top of whales we have also been seeing Stellar’s Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoise, Dall’s Porpoise, and Bald Eagles on a regular basis. One day we even encountered an Elephant Seal.
Every day is different. We never know what exactly is going to happen. That is what makes everyday exciting!
Captain Mike
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Humpback Whale, minke whale, Orca whale, Orcas, 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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Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
Headed out between Shaw and Lopez Islands, past Orcas and out towards Lummi Island, we were in search of the ever-popular but very elusive (in the Pacific Northwest) humpback whale. Clocking in at an average 45 feet (school bus size) and 80,000 pounds, they are in the top ten largest animals to ever roam the Earth. Could we find one?
We saw boats out by Lummi, and continued towards them. And then, we saw a blow! And then another. But wait, there was another set of blows! We had not one but two humpback whales! As we continued to view the humpbacks, we noticed that one appeared a little smaller than the other; did we have a mother and almost-yearling calf? The larger whale would breathe for about 4-5 cycles and then fluke-up dive and then the smaller one would follow suite. Perhaps two juveniles, teens hanging out.
Inevitably, we had to go and headed to look for some harbor seals. Before we could get too far, though, we saw lots of small gray bodies porpoising (bringing part of their bodies up) out of the water. Harbor porpoises! We did also find our seals, several basking and several taking on the cold waters and swimming.
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Humpback Whale, Lopez Island, Orcas
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Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Thursday brought blue skies and calm seas. However, there were no reports of anyone seeing any Orcas in the Salish Sea. So we took the best lead we had and headed towards Victoria to try and find the elusive Humpback Whale.
On the way out we encountered lots of harbor seals bobbing in the tide and even a couple bald eagles soaring above the south end of the island. After those encounters we motored across Haro Strait toward Victoria. The last reports we heard were of two animals that had just ‘fluked up’ and gone for a deeper dive. So we slowly moved into the area, turned off the engines, and waited.
After only a few short minutes we had two mature Humpbacks surface not far from the boat side by side. We watched as they each took a few breathes, spouting about 15 feet in the air, and then getting great shots of a double fluke as the dove again. We repositioned the boat and waited for the next surfacing. As we scanned all the around, I heard passengers from another boat gasp in excitement and I turned just in time to see both Humpbacks completely breach out of the water!! Our other boat, the Sea Lion, was between us and the whales, but one of the Humpbacks got so much air that I could see it over the top of the other boat. It was Incredible! Humpbacks are some of my favorite whales in the world.
After all that excitement we headed towards home and found a giant male Steller Sea Lion hauled out on the rocks. Every day is different, and every day is a Safari!
Mike
Captain – San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Seal, Haro Strait, Humpback Whale, Steller\'s Sea Lion
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Monday, August 8th, 2011
Very unusual sighting today…a humpback! It was right on the west side of San Juan Island. We motored around cattle point and saw a bunch of boats in one area. Everyone eagerly searched for what could possibly be nearby. Then we saw the spout followed by its large back. We watched for a while and were able to see it go down for two deeper dives, arching its back and exposing its fluke. Plus, when it exhaled, it sounded like it was wheezing because it made a high pitched, scratchy sound. It was just amazing!
That wasn’t all that we saw today. We saw a minke whale, not so far from where we spotted the humpback. There also were lots of harbor seals in the water and hauled out on the rocks. Plus, at least ten steller sea lions were on top of whale rocks. One of which was attempting to scratch his back using it hind flipper. And finally, we spotted three bald eagles on the way back into Friday Harbor. What an afternoon!
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, Cattle Point, friday harbor, Harbor Seals, Humpback Whale, minke whale, san juan island, Steller\'s Sea Lion
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Sunday, June 5th, 2011
What a day. If I go into every detail this blog could be of epic proportions. I’ll try to reign it in a little bit and we’ll see what happens.
It all stated with the nicest, warmest day of the year; the first day I have worn a t-shirt without several other layers over and under it (and that lasted until we picked up speed). Toward Cattle pass we could see Mt Ranier, tall, majestic, snow covered, and over 100 miles away. We headed out toward the Straight of Juan de Fuca on glassy, calm water. Behind us Mt Baker was illuminated as though from the heavens. We continued on toward Victoria. It was a perfect day for a nice, long drive.
After an hour of eye-straining binocular use a blow appeared in the distance. A large, dark body rose to the surface. We continued on in the direction we were headed. As we drew closer we could see that this was one of our more infrequent visitors. It was an animal I knew very well. My old friend the humpback whale. My second sighting of the season, the solitary giant was taking slow, frequent breaths at the surface. The first fluke up dive brought a hushed cheer from the enraptured group. Knowing the humpback’s penchant for lengthy dives I started to explain the incredible breath holding abilities of the species. Just then, as if to prove me wrong, the whale surfaced. More slow breaths and then another dive. Again the whale surfaced relatively soon after the dive. We stayed until the next dive and then turned back to begin our long drive home. On the way back in we spotted another black body at the surface. This time there was no visible exhalation, which could only mean…minke. Species number two. As we were moving in for a better look a second Minke surfaced about 200 yards off our starboard side. Surprise minke! Just when the day couldn’t get any better we spotted a pair of stellar’s sea lions hauled out on a buoy and a pair of bald eagles sitting on a rock near another pair of HUGE steller’s. We returned a little bit late, but ecstatic from out epic day on the water.
Laura, naturalist
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Seals, Humpback Whale, minke whale
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