Posts Tagged ‘Salmon Bank’
Monday, June 17th, 2013
Today we left Friday Harbor with a full boat of eager passengers who were determined to see some Orcas, and L Pod did not let them down! Captain Mike, Naturalist Andrew, and myself, did not have to go far to encounter L Pod stretched out along south end of San Juan Island. We stayed with a subgroup of L Pod hanging around Salmon Bank for the majority of the trip. This proved to be an excellent decision when a group of females and juvenile males repeatedly displayed breaches, tail slaps, and even the occasional barrel roll!
L Pod consists of 39 individual and they all seemed to be out and about today. Only L87 was missing, who seems to have done a switch-a-roo and is commonly seen swimming alongside Granny, our 102 year old J Pod member.
Since the Orcas were out in full and dispersed along the horizon, it gave passengers aboard the M/V Sea Lion an excellent opportunity to see panoramic views of our resident pod! I don’t think that it hurt to have glassy water and brilliant blue skies to add to the trips overall success. Looking forward to another great day on the water tomorrow!
Caitlin, Naturalist- M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Castle Rock, friday harbor, Granny, j pod, L pod, L87, Residents, Salmon Bank
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Wednesday, June 5th, 2013
Heading out of Friday Harbor, we zipped out towards Salmon Bank, where reports of J Pod and a few L’s were hanging out. Captain Jim and myself were able to make great time out to the whales since we were riding out in style in the Kittiwake, our original San Juan Safaris boat! Kittiwake is a great boat to get a very personalized and scenic view of the whales. This trip only emphasized that point. Our guests, along with the crew, were extremely surprised when Blackberry, J-27, and a few others from J pod, popped up right next to our boat! J Pod seemed to be moving steadily northwards but made a quick underwater change of direction. It’s difficult to say what exactly caused this sudden change in direction, but it is possible they were on the prowl for their favorite food source, Chinook salmon. What ever the reason, this was a first time sighting of Orcas for our out of town guests, and I don’t think it could have gone any better! Overall, today was a success with great sightings and great company.
Caitlin, Naturalist- Kittiwake, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Chinook Salmon, friday harbor, j pod, Kittiwake, L pod, Resident Orcas, Salmon Bank
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Monday, June 3rd, 2013
Leaving Friday Harbor we headed towards the west side of San Juan Island where, Captain Mike and myself, met up with a few members of L Pod. We were able to cruise up the west side of the island and get great looks at some of the mature males of L Pod such as Mega, Solstice, Mystery, Skana, and Spirit! The west side is an excellent region to spot Orcas because of the high density of salmon coming through that area.
On our way back towards Friday Harbor we took a small detour over Salmon Bank where we also spotted a lone Minke whale! Although these whales can often times be pretty quick to disappear because of their non-fluking behavior and impressive speeds, we were able to get 3 great looks at this whale when it surfaced near our vessel.
If getting great looks at these two different types of whales wasn’t enough, we also got to enjoy whale watching with great weather! Blue skies galore! Hoping the next few days are as awesome as today.
Caitlin, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: friday harbor, L pod, Minkes, Salmon Bank, West Side
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Thursday, October 4th, 2012
The Southern Resident Killer Whales came and went today. We hussled away from the dock with reports that orcas were veering offshore of San Juan Island heading westbound. Concerned that we might not be able to catch up with them before running out of fuel (just kidding!), Captain Craig set a straight and swift course to intercept our aquatic brethren. We joined the fleet half way between San Juan and Discovery Island. What a sight! There were whales stretched out across the entire horizon, multiple pods of Southern Resident Killer Whales. They traveled tight together in their family groupings. Most of the animals seemed focused on their westward progress, but some took the time to breach and tail lobb.
On the way back we took a more relaxed pace and looked for wildlife near Salmon Bank. Our patience paid off when a few Minke Whales popped up among the rafts of feeding birds. We observed a few sharp looking loons in addition to the Common Murres and gulls. We also surveyed the hottest real estate for Steller’s Sea Lions in the San Juans, Whale Rocks.
Naturalist Andrew, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Common Murres, discovery island, Loons, minke whales, Salmon Bank, Southern Resident Killer Whales, Steller's sea lions
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Saturday, September 29th, 2012
Well whale watchers, it’s been a great season! Today was my final tour and a memorable one. We started off with a Minke Whale sighting in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Salmon Bank. This whale couldn’t seem to get enough of the crowd, surfacing more times than I’ve ever seen a Minke Whale do so. After traveling with him for a while, we decided to head further west in search of more critters. We soon found 15+ Dall’s Porpoise just a couple miles offshore of Eagle Point. This was only the second time I’ve seen these animals in all the 5 months I’ve spent on the water here, so I was running around the boat squealing and pointing like a little kid at Disneyland. They eventually began to play with us, riding with the water of our bow and also in the wake of our stern. Simply awesome! We then headed for home, stopping by the eagles nest on Long Island where a mature Bald Eagle sat perched near the top of a tree just afore the nest and swung by Whale Rocks to see the massive mumbling and grumbling Steller Sea Lions.
It’s been a whale of a season to say the least, and I will deeply miss the water, the animals, the adventure, and most importantly the crew! But until next time my friends…
Signing off,
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Dall\'s Porpoise, Eagle Point, minke whale, Salmon Bank, Steller's sea lions, Strait of Juan de Fuca
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Tuesday, September 25th, 2012
The Salish Sea was once again teeming with marine mammals and seabirds. September is definitely proving to be my favorite month of the season; the scenery is breathtaking, the weather is gorgeous, and there seems to be a superabundance of wildlife taking advantage of these very productive waters.
As we cruised through the San Juan Channel and Cattle Pass we saw a number of Harbor Seals and Steller Sea Lions. The Steller Sea Lions seemed especially curious, pausing to take long looks at us before they continued their foraging efforts.
Roughly 1.5 miles offshore of San Juan Island near Salmon Bank we found a Minke Whale (48°25.39N, 122°59.35W). The Minke Whale was busy foraging, zigzagging over the bank in search for its next gulp of small schooling fish. The whale even surprised us by surfacing 100 yards from the stern of the vessel!
Having heard reports of Dall’s Porpoise in the area we next motored towards Middle Bank where we saw over a dozen Dall’s Porpoise working the rip tides. As we cruised by the Dall’s Porpoise, several of them decided to take a short break from foraging to surf the bow wave. We were all mesmerized as their black and white bodies darted and zipped back and forth across our bow only surfacing for a split second to catch a breath of air.
As we began our return to Friday Harbor, Captain Mike spotted 3 Humpback Whales near Eagle Point (48°27.40N, 123°02.59W). We initially only saw what we thought was 1 Humpback Whale then we saw 2 surface at the same time; a mother and a calf. Then, the next thing we knew a third individual was at the surface! We turned off our engines to watch these majestic beasties and listen to their powerful exhales. The whales were initially traveling east before they dove and changed direction turning south and heading right for us. With our engines already off and the animals within 100 yards we waited for the Humpback Whales to travel by. I later apologized to all of our guests who were videotaping the whales because my squeals and giggles of delight could be heard echoing throughout the vessel. :D
One final stop at Whale Rocks concluded our trip. Here we saw over 30 Steller Sea Lions sprawled out over the island. Most of these bachelors seemed to be enjoying their afternoon siestas but several others were causing a raucous that resulted in very vocal, verbal disagreements.
Naturalist Amy, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
Tags: Cattle Pass, Dall\'s Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Harbor Seals, Humpback Whale, minke whale, Salmon Bank, Steller Sea Lions
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Saturday, September 15th, 2012
Once again, it was beautiful day in the San Juan Islands with bluebird skies and flat calm waters. And, the Salish Sea was teeming with wildlife and seabirds.
In the San Juan Channel and Cattle Pass we saw Harbor Seals, Harbor Porpoise, Steller Sea Lions, and a number of different seabird species. Here the tide is funneled through Lopez Island and San Juan Island creating upwelling. Eager for a meal, marine mammals and seabirds congregate in this area, taking full advantage of the abundance of prey. Marine mammals are intelligent animals and focus their efforts in areas where food tends to be predictable and abundant. Sure seemed like they were having a feast.
Further south a Minke Whale was also busy foraging in the highly productive waters over Salmon Bank, evident by the 100’s of seabirds attacking a number of different bait balls of fish! The Minke Whale was unusually cooperative, surfacing every few minutes and providing excellent views and photographic opportunities. This Minke Whale was definitely not a “sneaky Minke” today!
On our return to Friday Harbor we saw another 15 Harbor Seals, packed in like sardines on Mummy Rocks where a mature Bald Eagle perched above overlooking the scene as if playing “King of the Mountain.” Then we swung by Whale Rocks where over 20 Steller Sea Lions were either swimming, resting, or visibly arguing over prime haul-out territory.
Naturalist Amy, San Juan Safaris Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours
Tags: Bald Eagle, Cattle Pass, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, minke whale, Salmon Bank, San Juan Channel, Steller Sea Lions
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Friday, September 14th, 2012
What a fabulous day on the water! We started the trip off with an abundance of wildlife as we made our way through San Juan Channel. We saw dozens upon dozens of Harbor Seals hauled out, sun bathing on any rocky islet available and bobbing through the riptides in search of food. We also saw three Steller Sea Lions swimming amongst the riptides, what seemed to be another marine mammal thanksgiving!
Once we reached Haro Strait we encountered our first Minke Whale just south of Salmon Bank about a mile offshore of San Juan Island (48°25.00N 122°56.00W). We watched it surface a few times and then all of a sudden another Minke popped up right across our bow. Soon after, a third surfaced on our starboard side. Once we were surrounded, we cut off our engine and simply watched. Surprisingly the Minkes weren’t being very mysterious, instead they were being extremely active! They came up multiple times by our boat, allowing us to hear their blows and see the full extent of their 30-35 ft long bodies and they were lunging like crazy showing us their full rostrum and stealing away the food from any birds in sight.
The Minkes were surprising, the birds went flying, and the people were smiling!
On our way back in we visited the Bald Eagles nest and the Steller Sea Lions hauled out on Whale Rocks. They too were enjoying the sun, about 15+ of them out basking away, and about 5 or so playing around in the water.
Another great day full of wildlife and whales!
Naturalist Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Seals, Haro Strait, minke whales, Salmon Bank, San Juan Channel, san juan island, Steller Sea Lions, Whale Rocks
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Wednesday, August 29th, 2012
Although Minke Whales are typically solitary animals, we saw 3 of them today traveling in close proximately to one another in Haro Strait (south of Salmon Bank and San Juan Island, 48°24.97N 122°59.02). They were all doing their Minke thing, traveling from bait ball to bait ball and lunging after any food in their path. They surfaced multiple times showing off the full extent of their bodies from rostrum, to dorsal fin, to the entire length of their back. At one point they even surrounded us, one on each side of the boat. As we turned around to head back in, we were pleasantly surprised with the third Minke who had paid us a nice visit across our bow, up close and personal, and continued to cross alongside our port for all guests to see.
These 30+ ft. whales are often underappreciated, but today they were brilliant!
Naturalists Jen Jelly and Tara, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Haro Strait, minke whale, Salmon Bank, san juan island
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Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
Minkes today!
Although our Southern Resident Killer Whales were nowhere to be found today, we did have luck finding Minke Whales. Not just one, but two (maybe even 3!) Minkes were in the Salmon Banks area, on the south side of San Juan Island (48°25.33’N, 122°59.94’W). Just rounding the corner out of Friday Harbor, a Bald Eagle majestically perched at the top of a fir on Turn Island. On the way out of San Juan Channel, eight Stellar Sea Lions sunned themselves on Whale Rocks, while young Harbor Seal pups seemed to be everyone in the water. On Goose Island, Glaucous Winged Gull chicks still covered the east side of the rocks, while Cormorants sunned themselves near the water’s edge. Along with the wild life viewing, today’s sunny weather, and an exciting current racing with the flood tide through Cattle Pass, it was another excellent day on the water!
Shelly, Naturalist
Tags: Bald Eagle, Bald Eagles, Cattle Pass, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, Harbor Seals, killer whales, minke whale, Salmon Bank, San Juan Channel, san juan island, san juan islands, seattle whale watching, Steller Sea Lions, Steller\'s Sea Lion, whale watching tour
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