We headed south out of Friday Harbor this afternoon with word that there were killer whales around False Bay. On our way to the west side, we spotted a few harbor porpoises in the distance and some harbor seals poking their heads out of the water. Once at False Bay we caught a glimpse of three dorsal fins and some spouts, then there were six+ dorsal fins all coming up from underneath the glassy Salish Sea. It was J-pod. They were slowly traveling close to each other, nearly synchronized in their surfacing. It was an amazing site to see.
After spending some time with the whales, we headed back towards Salmon Bank. As soon as we got to that area, we spotted a single minke whale and watched it surface a few times before it disappeared into the depths. Then, on the way back into town, we came across another minke whale! Plus we stopped to check out a large group of harbor seals that were checking us out from the water, and a large pod of harbor porpoises that surrounded the boat and were proposing out of the water. It was an exceptional day in not only the numbers of species we encountered, but in the quantity of each species we saw as well!
Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris