Posts Tagged ‘L pod’
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
Yes, we saw orca whales today on the 2nd of October – late in the whale watching season. We took off from Friday Harbor, San Juan Island heading north toward Spieden Island. As we neared Speiden, one of the guests spotted a large brown head which turned out to be a great big stellar sea lion fishing by himself. We stayed on the south side of Speiden and Shelly spotted a mature bald eagle up in a tree. Down below the Mouflon Sheep and Sitka Deer were roaming about.
We pushed on to Haro Strait and started south down Henry Island to the west side of San Juan Island. We were a bit south of Kellet’s Buff and north of Lime Kiln Point when orca whales came into view. It was part of L pod that we were viewing. We sat for about 40 minutes watching the orca pursuing fish. Surfacing for air, switching directions back and forth the whales this up the entire time we sat there. Capt. Mike put down the hydrophone and there was some whale calls that could be heard. Light calling – not a lot.
As we headed further south on the west side, some Dall’s porpoise started riding our bow. Brief, but what a treat. As the water was gliding I by, I screamed out “loon!” and sure enough it was. Then at the southern tip of the island I spotted a BROWN Pelican in a raft of sea birds. Brown pelican may be common where you are from, but they are a bit of a rarity here in the islands. Near Lopez Island, we stopped at a large rock outcropping to view at least 30 stellar sea lion, what seemed like hundreds of cormorants and gulls. One could definitely smell these animals prior to actually seeing them.
What made this trip so enjoyable for me was that every guest on the boat seemed interested in anything Shelly or I could tell them about the area, birds, trees and wildlife.
This is the last daily tour of the season for us and what a trip it was.
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Seal, Haro Strait, L pod, Lopez Island, Mouflon Sheep, Orca whale, orca whales, Orcas, salish sea, san juan island, seattle whale watching, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Spieden Island, Steller\'s Sea Lion, Strait of Juan de Fuca, whale watching near seattle, whale watching tour
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Saturday, October 1st, 2011
Well, things are definitely winding down. In just a few days there will be no more trips and probably no more whales until next year. We were super lucky today and found a small section of L pod down in Haro Strait off the west side. The water was super calm even though it was a bit rainy.
On the way home we stopped at got some final looks at all the Steller’s at Whale Rocks and called it a day. Until next year…
Mike
San Juan Safaris
Tags: L pod, Southern Resident Killer Whales
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
We only have a few more trips left in our season up here, but the whales don’t know that. Today we found members of our resident pods K and L, almost 50 whales, spread out in Haro Strait heading up to Turn Point. We were able to identify K20 (possibly with a new calf? yet to be confirmed), L87, L41, L88, and K40. We got to see a wide range of behaviors and all our passengers were very excited.
On the way home we stopped along Spieden and saw many harbor seals on the rocks, as well as four-legged mammals grazing on the hillside including some bucks and a few rams. The icing on the cake was the Bald Eagle standing on the shore line with a salmon in its talons, and a handful of Steller Sea Lions lazing in the water at Green Point.
Mike
Naturalist
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Seal, Haro Strait, K Pod, L pod, orca whales, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Spieden Island
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Monday, September 19th, 2011
I thought yesterday was one of the calmest days we have seen this season, but I was wrong. It was today. We found some Orcas outside of Cattle Pass towards Hein Bank. The first animal we got a good look at was L41. He was generally traveling South, but not with any speed. So we had some fun times hanging out with him.
After a little bit we headed farther north and came across a lot more of L41′s family. They seemed to be mostly milling and resting, but after about 10 minutes of swimming in circles one of them breached unexpectedly. That seemed to motivate the rest of the group to start tail slapping and spy hopping. To end the encounter one of the smaller animals had a nice breach right in our passengers line of sight.
On the way home we stopped for the Steller’s around Whale Rocks, and just as we were entering the harbor we were able to shut down the engines and let a nice pod of Harbor Porpoise swim right past us!
Mike
Naturalist – San Juan Safaris
Tags: Harbor Porpoise, L pod, Orca whale, Orcas
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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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Thursday, September 15th, 2011
Today started off gray and rainy. We got everyone suited up in rain jackets and blankets as we started down San Juan Channel. We definitely took some spray over the side and the rain was getting everyone sitting up on the bow. But we had a hardy group of people on board that were ready for the adventure.
We stopped just outside of Friday Harbor to check out quite a few Harbor Seals hauled out on the rocks and got an added bonus of a Bald Eagle perched in the middle of everything. As we continued south we came across Steller Sea Lions lazing in the rain on whale rocks. Definitely the most I have seen this fall all together in once place. Very impressive.
As we headed up island towards the area where the resident Orca had been seen one of our passengers spotted a blow a little off shore. Sure enough he had found some members of L pod. We were the only boat in the area and our passengers enjoyed viewing the whales all by ourselves for a while. We had ‘Mega’ and some of his family with us at first. We then realized there was something else in the water with the Orca. A group of Dall’s porpoise had come on to the scene and some of the members of L pod seemed to be traveling with them. Something I have never seen before!
On our way home we had a last encounter with ‘Racer’, one of the L pod females. She has a very distinctive saddle patch and numerous passengers got great photos. By the time we made it home the skies had cleared a bit and the sun was shining on us in the harbor.
Mike
Naturalist San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Dall\'s Porpoise, Harbor Seal, L pod, Orcas, San Juan Channel
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Monday, September 12th, 2011
We had a beautiful blustery day today heading south out of Friday Harbor. After hearing reports of whales south west of San Juan and heading further SW we blazed on out off of Hein Bank! We were kindly greeted by a group of 10-12 traveling Orcas, all members of L-Pod. Having a wonderful photographer on board we were able to document and identify several of the whales we watched! Baba (L-26), Crewser (L-92), Ballena (L-90), Wave Walker (L-88), and the large male known as Gaia (L-78). It’s always so amazing when you are able to identify these animals; we are able to tell who is who by the unique shape of their saddle patch (the white patch underneath their dorsal) and dorsal fin. Once we have identified individuals in the pod we are able to show passengers how each of these L-pod members are related with our matriline catalogs, it’s very often that these animals travel and are sighted in groups that they are most closely related to.
Making our way back towards Friday Harbor we came across a very large group of stellar sea lions all hauled out and sunbathing on ‘Whale Rock’, with a smaller group of harbor seals hanging on the other side. So cool to see the HUGE size distinctions between these two species! Little harbor seal heads continued to pop out of the water all around our boat as we headed on in from this amazing day out on the water.
Alex
San Juan Safaris
Naturalist
Tags: friday harbor, Haro Strait, L pod, Orca whale, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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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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Saturday, August 20th, 2011
These days I hail from Maui, Hawaii and it’s rare for me to say it’s hot in Washington. But today, it was hot! In town. And quite comfortable on the water as well. We traveled out to be next to the Olympic Peninsula and the snow covered mountains; and it was a day of epic weather, water and visibility.
We started our trip headed south from the harbor to some harbor seals lounging on their rocky haul-out. At Cattle Pass, we found their cousins, the stellar or northern sea lions hauled out on their rocky post only these animals were a little grumpy. Several pairs and trios were growling at one another and encouraging each other off the rock and out of the way. There’s something about a ten foot 2,200 pound growling animal that you just don’t want to mess with.
Just north of False Bay on the west side of San Juan Island, we caught up with some zig-zagging orcas! L-pod was cruising around and we were able to identify L-85 “Mystery” with his shorter but wide dorsal fin and comet-shaped saddle patch of white. At one point, we were surrounded by whales on all sides and we just shut down, dropped our hydrophone into the sea and listened to them. We heard lots of orca sounds, from high-pitched squeaks and squawks to whistles and clicks. We discovered that animals from J and K-pods were headed south towards our spot and we eventually saw K-21 “Cappuccino,” a 25-year old mature male. For an endangered species like these southern resident killer whales, it’s always a hopeful feeling to see some of the “big guys,” the mature males, still around doing well, perhaps crusin’ for ladies (as the kids say these days)!
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: friday harbor, Harbor Seals, L pod, Orcas, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Steller\'s Sea Lion
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Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
It was a beautiful trip from the beginning today! Heading out of Friday Harbor on a wonderfully clear day we were able to get some amazing views of the snow-capped Mt. Baker. The usual sunbatheing Harbor seals were all out in about swimming on both sides of the boat and we got a great view of a tiny harbor seal pup swimming along! Continuing on our way out we passed by a few stellar sea lions also in the water and one with a fish in it’s mouth! We rounded cattle point and headed up the west side of San Juan as there were reports that the elusive L-pod was in the area! And boy were they! We estimated that we saw the majority of L Pod today with sighting over 30+ members of the pod! It’s very seldom that we are able to see an entire pod together like today! They were putting on a bit of a celebration with lots of activity that started with a tail slapping youngster… then led to a mature male breaching entirely out of the water! The activity continued as we got a very good look at “Mega” (L-41) the largest male out of all 3 resident pods! As our whale viewing time started running low, we had a hard time leaving as we were completely surrounded by whales! We got a few surprise close looks as we slowly made our way out of whale territory and watched the partying continue behind us as we ventured back to Friday Harbor!
Alex Hill
Naturalist
Tags: Cattle Point, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, L pod, Orcas, san juan island
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