Posts Tagged ‘orca whales’

« Older Entries

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in charter boat san juan island | No Comments »

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

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in charter boat san juan island | No Comments »

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.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in charter boat san juan island, san juan island | No Comments »

Finishing Up Strong!

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: , , , , , , ,
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | No Comments »

Killer Whales Everywhere!

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: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | No Comments »

Whales galore

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: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in charter boat san juan island | No Comments »

Orcas Island and Orca Whales

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Today, even the Kittiwake had an adventure!  We traveled over to Orcas Island to pick up a family of ten for a private charter and from there on, we were surrounded by a continuous showing by Pacific Northwest wildlife!

First, it was a little harbor seal between Lopez and Shaw Islands.  Next, it was one then two stellar sea lions (BIG ones too–they can weigh up to 2,200 pounds and be ten feet long!) swimming in the currents between Lopez and San Juan Islands.  Further into the Cattle Pass, we discovered two bald eagles perched side by side above a water-front home.

Out into the waters off Salmon bank, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Haro straight meet, we found exactly what we were still holding our breaths for: L-pod of the Southern Resident Killer Whales!  The pod was spread out near and off shore and from Cattle Pass up towards False Bay.  It was every whale for itself, with a few being social and in pairs and trios.  Some seemed to be traveling, others hunting and one frisky pair may have been mating (was he an outsider from J or K pod?).  They were heading south but after thirty minutes of viewing, they all of a sudden went offshore and started traveling north.  At this point we decided to test our wildlife luck and moved on away from the orcas.

The visibility was excellent (we could see Mount Rainier and Mount Baker!), the wind was a mellow breeze and the ocean was flat: a rare and perfect combination for Minke whale searching!  We found “bird balls” (high densities of birds sitting on the water, potentially on a ball of bait fish like herring).  One bird ball took off all at once and minutes later, we found out why: a minke whale had come in to eat their herring!  We watched it for about twenty minutes and then moved on.

On the way back to Orcas Island, the wildlife continued to appear!  More stellar sea lions and harbor seals swimming and sunning at Whale Rocks; and our finale of harbor porpoises between Lopez and San Juan Islands.  Whew, we were exhausted after that (as evident by the six passengers–teenagers–napping on the ride back in)!  A truly wonderful day on the water.  Big thanks to the Lower family!

Serena, Naturalist

San Juan Safaris

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | No Comments »

Gray skys turned into an exceptional day

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

I was a little worried waking up this morning to overcast skies, but just before leaving on today’s adventure the clouds started to part and the sun shined through. Our luck continued as we circumnavigated San Juan Island. There were tons of harbor seals with little pups in the water and hauled out on rocks. As we went around Cattle Point a bald eagle flew over our boat, giving us one of the best views I’ve seen of one. Just further ahead, we spotted our first killer whale. Then, a little further ahead, there were many killer whales, at least ten of them, traveling close together. We were able to identify the new calf (K-44) and Cappuccino. We also believe there were some J-pod members in the mix. The juveniles were being particularly playful, spy hopping and tail slapping. One little guy also breached! In the midst of all the excitement, some salmon jumped out of the water in front of our boat. The whales then started heading close to shore, and right before they reached Lime Kiln, changed direction and headed back towards False Bay.

After spending our fair share of time with the killer whales we continued our journey around the island. We slowed for more harbor seals, some sheep and deer on Speiden Island, and another bald eagle at the top of a tree. The weather was beautiful, we saw lots of wildlife, and everyone enjoyed the afternoon.

Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | No Comments »

Couldn’t Dream of a Better Day!

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Today was one of those rare perfect days to be a wildlife watcher. The sun was shining and the water glassy as we made our way south from Friday Harbor. Our first stop was at whale rocks where there were the most wildlife species I’ve ever seen at one time. There were cormorants, gulls, harbor seals in and out of the water, and two animals we do not see often: a brown pelican and not one, but two giant Steller’s sea lions, one of which was in the water and came up right behind our stern.

We then headed to the west side of San Juan Island and found killer whales spread out and traveling towards cattle point. And as we were watching them, we were surprised by a few salmon leaped out of the water! It was a very unusual site. We stayed with the killer whales for a while longer, watching one tail slapping, and two pass us on either side of the boat. Then we made our way to salmon bank in search of minke whales. As soon as we turned off the engines, we spotted one. It came up twice before disappearing, so we slowly made our way around that area and had two more minke sightings before we headed back to town. But the trip was far from over; on our way back we spotted some harbor porpoises playing in a rip and relaxed while soaking up some of the warm sun. Perfect Day!

Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | No Comments »

An orca game of pass-the-kelp

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

Right out the gates, we headed south and just before Cattle Pass we encountered a harbor seal munching on a salmon it had just caught!  At first, two gulls were interested in the seal’s catch but each time it surfaced, another gull and then another and then another came on until there were ten gulls fighting for a piece of the salmon prize.  Wait a minute, did the gulls even do any of the dirty work to catch that salmon?!  Oh, scavengers.

Around the west side of San Juan Island, we started to see the tell-tale dorsal fins of the orca whales!  We saw a cow-calf pair, two females and then a lone male traveling south along the island.  Eventually, we saw three females/juveniles playing pass-the-bull-kelp!  One animal had the kelp crossed over its dorsal fin while the others swam around in random directions to potentially catch it as the first orca dropped its “toy”.  Among some of the vessels offshore, we saw another eight whales in a closer group.  Based on the vocalizations we heard on the hydrophone, we were seeing a very spread out resident pod of orcas.

As we continued around the northern part of San Juan Island and then Henry Island we saw more bald eagles on Henry and Battleship islands, both perched at the tops of their respective trees scanning the sea.  At O’Neal Island, we saw one more bald eagle and then headed for home.

Serena, Naturalist

San Juan Safaris

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | No Comments »

« Older Entries