Posts Tagged ‘minke whale’
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
For today’s trip we headed south through the San Juan Channel in between Lopez and San Juan Island. Across from Cattle Point we reached our first hot spot for wildlife viewing. Here we found Harbor Seals one side of a small rocky island and Steller Sea Lions on the other. The Steller’s were fairly large and very photogenic today! We then moved on just around the south side of San Juan Island into more open water.
We didn’t have to go very far, about 500 yards, and we saw two Minke Whales! The water couldn’t have been better for viewing today! The Minkes broke through what appeared to be glass. They were so smooth in their actions and so flawless. Fortunately, we were able to cut the motor and stay with the Minkes for a while, it appeared they were enjoying their situation and had no intentions on leaving. Once everyone got a good view we headed back motoring around small islands between San Juan and Lopez. On our way home we saw a few Bald Eagles, more Harbor Seals, a Canada Goose, and even a pack of about ten Harbor Porpoises.
It sure was another amazing day out on the water.
Naturalist, Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, Cattle Point, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Lopez Island, minke whale, San Juan Channel, san juan island, Steller Sea Lions
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Monday, May 14th, 2012
Minke whales are one of the most underrated cetacean species. No one ever says “let’s go whale watching for minke’s.” But if you’ve had the opportunity to actually see a minke whale, you’d think they were not only beautiful animals, but pretty darn cool as well.
Well today we had that opportunity! We left Friday Harbor headed south towards Hine Bank. It was absolutely beautiful! Warm, sunny, and the ocean surface was as smooth as glass. Along the way we were able to see a large group of harbor seals hauled out on a rocky island and a few harbor porpoises. As we reached Hine Bank, coordinates 48 degrees 20.80 minutes N, 123 degrees 04.089 minutes W, we slowed to almost a stop. Minke whales are difficult to spot because they have a low blow, a small dorsal fin, and if there are waves they tend to block our view. But, we definitely had no trouble today as a minke surfaced right ahead of our boat! And because the water was so flat we saw more of the body than I’d ever seen before.
We spent some time watching that lone minke surface and dive methodically around our boat before heading back towards Salmon Bank. Again, it didn’t take very long before we spotted two more minke whales! (Coordinates 48 degrees 24.53 minutes N, 122 degrees 59.06 minutes W). Their blows were audible and their smooth, rounded backs sliced through the glassy water again and again, keeping us mesmerized.
Heading back to San Juan Island gave us more wildlife viewing opportunities. Before docking we saw a lone Steller sea lion hauled out on whale rocks, and finally a beautiful bald eagle perched on top of Long Island that took flight just as we were pulling away. It was a truly amazing day!
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Hine Bank, Long Island, minke whale, Salmon Bank, san juan island, Steller Sea Lions, whale watching tour
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Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
After 2 days of howling wind and sporadic downpours it seemed as though mother nature deicded to give us a break. It was a beautiful day. There was sun and there were whales. We even saw a Minke surface as we were watching Steller’s Sea Lions at the south end of Cattle Pass.
When we got to the residents the whales were spread out on the south/ west side of the island. They looked to be moving a little bit offshore but were generally milling when we arrived. The first whale we encountered was L21 traveling (or hunting) with a female and juvenile male. There were whales everywhere but toward the end of the trip we ended up with a group that included L20 and a very small, very orange calf. Perhaps a new K baby! He (or she) was tail slapping, mini spyhopping, and laying on his (or her) back for a while with tiny pectoral fins up in the air like little ping pong paddles. Very exciting. What a day.
Laura, Naturalist
Tags: Cattle Pass, friday harbor, K Pod, minke whale, Orca whale, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
I feel like we have had a lot of great trips this summer and have been luck so far in September with a fairly high percentage of whale sightings. Of all the trips we have had since we started in April there are a handful that stick out vividly in my memory as exceptional. Today might have trumped them all.
The one nice thing about this cloudy weather is that it is glassy, flat, and the flat light makes for easy spotting. We left the harbor today and headed north. Half way up the San Juan Channel we encountered Dall”s Porpoise. They were in a good mood and stayed nearby, bow riding and surfing our wake for several minutes. Out in front of us a little seal popped up with a fat salmon in his mouth. As we were leaving the Dall’s we saw what looked to be at first a large Stellar’s Sea Lion, then as we shifted our vantage point resembled a piece of driftwood, but eventually moved to reveal that it was, in fact, a large male ELEPHANT SEAL! What? Here? Yes. The large, protruding nose was a dead giveaway. He was rather shy and slipped below the surface, not to be seen by us again.
We headed out the Speiden channel into Haro Straight. As soon as we got into Haro we could see blows, and dorsal fins, and more dorsal fins. It was so flat that we could see for miles and we could tell that there were whales in every direction for miles. We were the only boat with the J pod trailers. We shut down and watched a small group composed of J16, J26, and J42 and 36. They looked to be just traveling. There were no long dives and their pace was slow and steady. We could hear each and every breath from whales near and far away from us. A single female surfaced off our other side and we watched her glide gracefully past us. There were so many whales in all directions that we dropped our hydrophone to take a listen. It was amazing. It was as if we had stepped into the middle of a crowded party. It was so calm that we could even hear echolocation clicks. While we were sitting, watching, and listening to the orcas something big exploded to the surface about a quarter of a mile away from us. It was like watching a submarine shooting to the surface. It happened two more times. In that time I was able to gather my wits and identify the large, torpedo-like object as a breaching Minke Whale. I have never seen a Minke breach before. It was awesome!
On our way back in we saw Harbor Seals, land mammals on Speiden Island and another Dall’s Porpoise that surfaced off our bow with a loud exhalation that made me jump in surprise.
You know it is a good day when your passengers just giggle the whole time. You know it is a really good day when your captain calls his friends to tell them he just saw a breaching Minke and your naturalist needs to take a time out because she is in total sensory overload. Today was that day. Amazing.
Laura, Naturalist
Tags: Haro Strait, j pod, K Pod, minke whale, Mouflon Sheep, Orca whale, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales
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Friday, September 2nd, 2011
The sun may have been shining today, but it was raining marine mammals!!! Shortly after leaving Friday Harbor and heading south we saw a large group of Harbor porpoise. We cut the engine and the miniature Cetaceans that are famously shy were all around the boat and even porpoising out of the water, exposing much of their flanks. Then once in Salmon Bank a Minke whale’s long back broke the surface and was soon followed by its small hooked dorsal fin.
As we entered Cattle Pass back toward the harbor, we received the exciting call that there were orcas beside Lopez. Captain Mike quickly maneuvered the boat in a 180 and we were back out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Four to five orcas, one a juvenile, were seen cruising around the rocky outcrops near Iceberg Point. They were of the transient community with solid saddle patches and wide dorsal fins that angled further toward their posterior than the residents. We left them as they slowly started making their way north.
On our way back, we noticed that Whale Rocks were crowded with gigantic Steller sea lions and encircled by a few harbor seals. This happened to be not far, and in the same direction the transients were moving towards. We wondered if a pinnipede smorgasbord was in the making.
Kirsten, naturalist
Tags: Cattle Pass, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Lopez Island, minke whale, San Juan Safaris, Steller Sea Lion, 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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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 9th, 2011
Wildlife abounds in the San Juan Islands, but only if you like bald eagles. And harbor seals. Oh, and Stellar sea lions. And minke whales, pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, common murres, cormorants, turkey vultures, mouflon sheep, black-tailed deer, fallow deer, sika deer, and maybe some bald eagles and vultures fighting over shreds from a dead-and-beached harbor seal carcass. But only if you’re into all that!
From Friday Harbor, we got the call of vultures and bald eagles fighting over the tidally-beached carcass of a seal off Shaw Island. We love gruesome and feeding (especially gruesome feeding or feeding on gruesome) and went a-searching for it. Along Spieden and Sentinel Islands, we saw mouflon sheep, sika and fallow deer, a stoic bald eagle and plump warming harbor seals. As we came around the west side of San Juan Island, we spotted a cacophony of sea birds and right among them, two minke whales surfaced! After watching these two whales feeding for about twenty minutes, we came along Whale Rocks to see stellar sea lions. And they were making a racket! One jumped in the water and then tried to crawl back out to his “spot.” The new owner of the coveted spot (another big male sea lion) bared teeth and made grumpy sea lion sounds. After five minutes of sea lion spit in his face, the original vacate-er jumped back in and swam around to challenge another male. Finally, he won the spot but then decided it wasn’t worth it and jumped back in the frigid northwest waters after the usurped male. Maybe he just wanted a fishing buddy.
Another fine day on the Salish Sea.
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, minke whale, Mouflon Sheep, salish sea
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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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