Posts Tagged ‘Transient Orcas’
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Summer seems to have left the islands as quickly as it arrived, but the animals are still around! We headed out in to Haro Strait this afternoon and came across a group of Transient Orca. The Residents haven’t been seen in a day or two, but the Transients were a great encounter. The mature male of the group had a huge dorsal fin which gave our passengers a very big target to photograph.
On the way home we added another cetacean to our check list when we came across a nice group of Dall’s Porpoise. They weren’t too interested in the boat but just slowly meandered along as we got a few good looks. After leaving the Dall’s we encountered a large bird ball that gave us high hopes for finding a Minke Whale. Sure enough after a few patient minutes we had one surface a few times near the group of birds.
To end the day we stopped at Whale Rocks to get some looks at the large Steller Sea Lions both on the rocks and in the water, as well as harbor seals. Finally a few harbor porpoise popped up long enough for everyone to see as we were all looking at a Bald Eagle perched on Lopez!
Mike
Naturalist – San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, Orcas, Steller\'s Sea Lion, Transient Orcas
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Monday, September 5th, 2011
Today was a day of lots and lots of harbor seals! Everywhere! And many of them were lined up like sausage links! Transient orca sausage links!
We first went north towards Waldron Island and found them basking on a nearby rock. Next, we went further north into Canadian waters and found them off of Saturna Island where five of them were lined up in a row. Out by Sentinel Island, we found another thirty or so, with about six babies hauled out along the shoreline in their little “nursery” area. And we even saw several swimming through the many channels we traveled through on our wildlife safari.
But it wasn’t all seal sausages today. We also saw the elusive harbor porpoises off of Turn Point on Stuart Island, the most northwestern point in the continental US! They were milling about and surfacing at random.
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Saturna Island, Transient Orcas
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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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Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Transient killer whales were the big sea creatures in town today! We filled up the Sea Lion vessel with eager passengers and went out to the Rosario Strait just past Orcas Island in search of ocean life. In the distance, we could see a splash then a white cloud indicative of whale snot (a blow) and then a black fin. After another minute, two more whales surfaced and then a female and a little orca. But wait? Was that another two orcas 400 yards away from the group of five? Why, yes it was! And then, even further, we saw yet another group of four or five transients. It was a party! Generally, transient (mammal-eating) killer whales are found in pods of four or five but today it seemed that multiple pods were gathering in larger numbers. Theories as to why this occurs can include anything from spreading the gene pool to socializing to hunting. At one point, we did also see a harbor seal pup in the menagerie, perhaps trying to escape becoming a killer whale meal. We learned later that T036 and T036B were part of the group we saw.
Further along in our travels, we found a lone bald eagle perched on a navigation marker off Lawrence Point on Orcas Island and a handful of plump (and safe) harbor seals hauled out on rocks off both the Orcas and San Juan Islands.
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagle, Harbor Seal, Orcas, san juan island, Transient Orcas
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Monday, August 29th, 2011
Today we traveled all the way to Victoria to see one lone transient. He was magnificent. It was a long haul but when we arrived he appeared to be patrolling up and down the rocks. He has one of the broadest dorsal fins I have ever seen.
The word on the street was that he had been harassing a sea lion prior to our arrival. When we got there he was just cruising, back and forth along the rocks, occasionally rolling slightly on his side as if he was looking up toward the rocks to see what was on the lunch menu. It was pretty cool. After a bit of whale watching we began the long journey home. Thanks to a ripping 5-6knot tidal flood, we made it there in record time. We stopped for a group of Steller’s Seal Lions hauled out on whale rocks and in the water below. On the way home the clouds parted and gave way to sun and flat water. Seals were lounging. Porpoises were frolicking. Fantastic.
Laura, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Cattle Pass, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Orca whale, Orcas, san juan island, San Juan Safaris, Steller\'s Sea Lion, Transient Orcas
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Monday, August 22nd, 2011
It wasn’t exactly the nicest day on San Juan Island, but having it rain did not prevent us from going out and seeing the wildlife the Salish Sea has to offer. We first saw a bald eagle perched in a dead looking tree. Then, we saw some whales I haven’t seen for over two months…transients! There were four of them, traveling very quickly, their dorsal fins waving in front of us. It was the T-19 group, and I love seeing the transients because they are really the coolest, top predator of the sea! After spending time with them we headed back to Friday Harbor, taking a scenic route around Orcas Island. Through this area we spotted another bald eagle, as well as a blue heron, some harbor seals, and a few harbor porpoises. This rainy day definitely did not keep any of the wild life away.
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: Bald Eagles, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seal, salish sea, san juan island, Transient Orcas
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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
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Thursday, June 30th, 2011
Today we left the harbor and went up over Lopez and out into Rosario Straight. We were nearly to Anacortes, just outside of Burrows Bay, when we saw a massive dorsal fin slice through the water. There were a couple of smaller fins in the vicinity and as we drew closer there was a huge explosion of water as an orca breached clear and landed on its side. Another breach followed shortly after and we noticed that there were whales very close to the rock. They were moving fast, changing direction a lot and finally our suspicions were confirmed when one of the whales surfaced, on its back, with a salmon in its mouth. We were able to identify Blackberry of J pod and Onyx (L-87). The whales gradually moved around the corner, deeper into the bay. We followed L-87 all by himself to the south and then rounded the corner to meet up with the whales in the bay. There were spyhops and then more spyhops, a few breaches, and lots of tail slapping. One younger individual swam on its back and tail slapped for a good 5 minutes straight. We prepared to leave 3 or 4 times but couldn’t tear ourselves away from the activity. It was the largest display of surface behavior I have seen all season.
Finally it was time to go, but only after we stopped to see a pair of Peregrine Falcons sitting in a dead tree. We saw eagles and hawks as well on our way home.
It was a nice little Thursday.
Laura, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris
Tags: j pod, Orcas, san juan island, Transient Orcas
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Friday, June 17th, 2011
Today we got spoiled: we had a choice between two transient killer whale pods! The first group was called in as located off Sidney Island on the Canadian side of the Haro straight. We left the harbor with these whales in mind but then we got another call; a second pod was seen between Saturna and South Pender Islands.
Once we caught up with this second group, we found that there were three animals in the pod: one male, one female and one calf. Even with lots of helpful eyes on the water, references to our transient catalog and chats with other vessels, we were not able to positively identify this pod. They showed some splashing and direction changes and then began heading west along South Pender Island.
On our venture back to US waters and Friday Harbor, we saw a few perched bald eagles and many plump harbor seals at John’s Pass. Watch out, seals, the transients are near and roughly two-thirds of their diet is YOU!
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Islands
Tags: Bald Eagle, friday harbor, Harbor Seal, Orca whale, san juan island, Saturna Island, Transient Orcas
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Thursday, June 16th, 2011
Today we left the harbor and headed north toward Sucia Island. Once there we spotted a small pod of transients. There were 3. One female, one male, and one calf. They were taking long dives with a few breaths at their surface intervals before they dove again. They were cruising along, with one quick stop that I thought might have been a hunting opportunity, but after a brief spyhop from the big male they continued along their merry way. When we first saw them they were on the east side of the island. When we left them it looked as though they were about to complete their circumnavigation as they turned the corner and headed up the west side.
We peeled away and turned back toward the harbor. We stopped to view some harbor seals and a bald eagle and then stopped to watch a group of harbor porpoise cruising at top speed and porpoising at the surface (ironically right outside of the harbor).
Laura, naturalist
Tags: Bald Eagle, friday harbor, Harbor Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Orca whale, Transient Orcas
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