Posts Tagged ‘orca whales’
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
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
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
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
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
Posted in charter boat san juan island | Comments Off
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: Bald Eagles, Cattle Pass, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Haro Strait, L pod, Lopez Island, minke whale, orca whales, orcas island, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Stellar sea lion, Strait of Juan de Fuca
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
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: Bald Eagle, Cattle Point, friday harbor, Harbor Seals, j pod, Mouflon Sheep, orca whales, san juan island, Spieden Island
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
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: Cattle Point, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, minke whale, orca whales, san juan island, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Steller\'s Sea Lion
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
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: Bald Eagle, Cattle Pass, Harbor Seal, henry island, orca whales, san juan island
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
Monday, July 18th, 2011
We started seeing the dorsal fins of K pod after exiting the Speiden Channel and spotted Deadhead (K-27) with her new son (K-44). The boy is her first offspring and he will remain unnamed until after he has survived a winter and is officially considered part of the pod. Researchers do this because of the alarming fact that only around half of the calves survive the first year of life. The first-born calf has an even lower survival rate which is believed to be partially due to the large amount of toxins they receive through the milk. The organic toxin Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) is extremely concentrated in the orcas of the Salish Sea with the transients having the highest levels recorded in any marine mammal. PCBs are soluble in fats so they are found in high doses in the fat-rich milk of mothers. A female unloads a huge portion of the toxins she accumulated throughout her life onto her first child, with subsequent calves receiving much less of the chemicals. With hopeful thoughts of this little ones future, we watched him lobtail next to the cliffs and lighthouse of Stuart Island while the sun warmed the scene.
Kirsten, naturalist
Tags: Deadhead (K-27), K Pod, K-44, killer whales, orca whales, PCB, salish sea, Stuart Island, toxins, Transient Orcas, whale watching tour
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
Monday, July 18th, 2011
Herb has been out with San Juan Safaris for years now and on so many trips that he is an “honorary staffer”. Along with knowing a lot about whales, and I am talking Hawaii to Massacusetts, he has a great eye. He has been very generous this year and in the past sharing all his photos. Here are just a few of the many taken in the past 3 days.
Spy Hop by Herb Hartman
Marine Naturalist Serena by Herb Hartman
Kittiwake aka the adult boat 12 guests, 12 years and older by Herb Hartman
Maturea Bald Eagle by Herb Hartman
Tucker - the whale poop sniffin' dog (go ahead, ask us) by Herb Hartman
Parallel Orca Whale by Herb Hartman
3 porpoise by Herb Hartman
Guests on the Kittiwake watching whales by Herb Hartmann
Smooth orca by Herb Hartman
Tags: Bald Eagle, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, j pod, Orca whale, orca whales, san juan island, seattle whale watching, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Strait of Juan de Fuca, whale watching near seattle, whale watching tour
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off
Sunday, July 10th, 2011
Another beautiful day as we motored south down the San Juan Channel toward Cattle Pass. It was slightly overcast but we could see Mt Baker standing tall to our east. We stopped to look at a juvenile bald eagle sitting atop a rock otherwise covered with seals and had an “awwww” moment when a tiny seal pup surfaced behind his mom, looked at us with his big, brown eyes and then did a crazy little half breach dive.
We rounded Cattle Point and cruised west, toward False Bay. In the distance we could see a handful of boats scattered over miles. As we drew closer we could see dorsal fins here and there. We sat, turned off the engines and observed whales in every direction. We were watching a female moving along our port side when we spied a mini dorsal fin on the other side of her. It was the smallest orca I have ever seen.
When we dropped the hydrophone our suspicions were confirmed. We heard the familiar kitten-like calls of K pod. It could only have been the new baby K I have heard so much about over the last few days. The mom and calf moved but we sat and observed other individuals moving through the area. We listened to faint calls and it was even calm enough to hear echolocation noises.
Laura, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Cattle Pass, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Orca whale, orca whales, Orcas, san juan island, San Juan Safaris
Posted in orca whale watching by seattle | Comments Off