Posts Tagged ‘Orca whale’

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An “A” Whale and Wildlife Charter Tour

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

  Today with beautiful weather the two Kenmore Air sea planes touched down at the dock and we were there waiting to take the guests for a wildlife tour.  The group included people from Denmark, Sweden and Japan.

We went down the east side of San Juan Island stopping a few times to view birds and harbor seals. We had a good look at a mature bald eagle, solo, at the top of a tree. As we neared the southern-most tip of the island, we stopped (turned off the engine) and sat to watch some big stellar sea lions.  10-15 sea lions sunning on a rock outcropping with 100’s of pelagic cormorants. The rocks were literally covered with animals.

We started up again heading north. There were a number of commercial vessels out fishing today with nets out. The guests and I saw several orca whales go right up to one of these boats. I wondered if they were going to try to get fish out of the net, but then they just moved along. There were also many markers bobbing about as crabbing season has RE-opened.

Further north up the west side we saw a male orca solo.  We were stopped and watched him for a bit.
We started up going slowly north were we encountered a few more orca whales. I remember a group of 3, either all females or females with a young male. The whales were not coming out of the water – just enough to breath. There were many small groups of whales and seemed to be spread out over a large area.

With the engines off and the hydrophone down (50’) we were treated to the whale calls/song/clicks. I can never grow tired of this.  There was a good deal of vocalization today too!

We moved a bit more north were different whales were seemingly on a northern journey. Again, with engines off, we sat just staring to the coast of San Juan Island where whales were popping up and sliding back down. We even saw 2 tail slaps that looked like a juvenile.

We came home stopping near Speiden as one of the guests spotted 4 Harlequin Ducks swimming by. The captain turned the boat around so that Peter, the birder, with a 400 mm lens, could get a really good photo. He was thrilled and so was I. (hope he sends us the photo).

How would I grade this trip? The fog from the morning lifted and the planes came on time, it did not rain, it was not cold, we saw Stella Sea Lion, Cormorants, Harbor Seals, Bald Eagle, Orca Whales, Harlequin Ducks, Heermann’s Gull, Loons, Common Murres, Pigeon Guilemots and more. It was an “A” Trip.

Naturalist, Colleen Johansen

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Tail End of the Season

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

 

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Orca Whales, A Loon, A Brown Peligan, Dall’s Porpoise & Stellar Sealion on our Last Daily Tour

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.

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nice weather, nice whales

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

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Sassy juveniles

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Another fabulous day.

Our first stop was for a few Harbor Seals hauled out on the rocks.  Our second stop was for the ever elusive Harbor Porpoise.  It was one of the few times that I have seen a large number of them, too preoccupied while hunting, to care that we were watching.  Most of the time all we see is a little black blip at the surface and have to spend the next several minutes trying to convince passengers that the blip was actually a porpoise.  Today everyone got to see one up close.  Capt. Mike shut down and we sat in the calmest water imaginable watching no less than 10 porpoise cruising around us.  When we finally left them we continued on south toward Cattle Point.  We stopped for a couple of gregarious Steller’s Seal Lions and then ventured out into the straight.  L Pod was pretty much at South Beach when we first came upon them.  They were spread out over a tremendous area.  Once again the calm water made for easy identification of the saddle patch.

Among the first whales we saw were L2, L79, L72, and later L41 (Mega-my favorite).

We also had an amazing encounter with two juvenile whales who shot up, out of nowhere, in front of the boat, while we were shut down and proceeded to swim laps around us while we watched in amazement.  The water was calm and clear and we could see the white flash from their bellies as they scooted in past us in a blur and then darted out to regroup before doing it again.  In my whole summer out here I have not seen behavior like that from orca whales until today.  Orcas may pop up near a boat and pass by at close proximity, but it is always with an air of dignity, as though they are on a mission and could care less about boat or the people on it.  They always keep their composure and when they do let loose a little it is typically in the company of other orcas with boats watching from afar.  Today was different.  There was no breaching or rolling upside-down.  No tail slapping or lollygagging at the surface.  These two little guys were behaving, totally and completely, like a couple of hooligans.  It was awesome.  Even Capt Mike had to leave the wheelhouse and squeeze up to the railing to get a better view.  It was one of those exceptional moments that makes you want to do a fist pump and yell, “Yessss!”

Laura, Naturalist

 

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From An Up and Coming Young Marine Naturalist On Our Tour September 20, 2011

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
Resident Orca Whale by Guest David Paris September 20, 2011

Resident Orca Whale by Guest David Paris September 20, 2011

 

Ode to the Orca

In a colossal embrace matter melted with music

Orgasms of fantasy and light.
It was so that the breath of the goddess took form,
Her chants crystallized in an ocean with twilights instead of waves,
Mask of the unknown,
Uterus of the first spawned orca.

The aeons pre-universe elapsed nurturing her gestation

and it was only when she was fully grown that time could born
for the sun is just a mirage of her belly,
the night, the tattoo of her skin embracing the infinite.

Oh! Priestess of life!

mother and channel of sublime
the light in the blue finds its path by following your chant
hence you are the luminous sentinel and the maker of the abyss
forger of darkness at your own image and likeness.

Unintelligible creature, terror is the shadow that your movement sows!

for in those with whom you share the ocean destiny exists and it is to fear you,
preys of knowing themselves your victims by antonomasia;
at their birth they learn from the waters that you mean death and angelical paroxysm.

The tale at you pupil is the law of blood and watch

written with the ink of lightning
over magma and submarine mountains.
Those of us who have suffered enough sacrilege,
dream with the return of the law that you embody and prophetize.

Hailed be him who finds himself at the face of the Orca,

for he could say that he has known the Truth!

“Quisiera yo que la majestad humana fuera sólo la encarnación del reflejo de la tuya. Pido mucho y este sincero deseo es, para ti, glorioso. Tu grandeza moral, imagen del infinito, es inmensa como la reflexión del filósofo, como el amor de la mujer, como la belleza divina del pájaro, como las meditaciones del poeta. Eres más hermoso que la noche. Responde, océano, ¿quieres ser mi hermano?”

Conde de Lautréamont

 

Translation:

I wish that the human majesty would be only the incarnation of the reflection of yours. I ask much and this sincere wish is, to you, glorious. Your moral greatness, image of the infinite, is immense as the thoughts of the philosopher, as the love of women, as the divine beauty of the bird, as the meditations of the poet. You are more beautiful than the night.
Answer, ocean, would you be my brother?

 

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sensory overload

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

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Gorgeous, Gorgeous….

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

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Another awesome day!

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

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Aloha Hello Minkes, Aloha Good-Bye Pacific Northwest

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

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