Olivia | June 2nd, 2019 | M/V Kestrel | 11:00am
Warm, sunny day in the San Juan Islands! I accompanied co-Naturalist Alexandria and Captain Gabe as we set out on our adventure tour. We headed north through the San Juan Channel past Shaw and Orcas Islands, and straight up to the Strait of Georgia where our whale sightings were being reported for the day. On route out there, near Jones Island, we found a group of Harbor Seals lounging about it the sun. These seals are currently at carrying capacity here in the San Juan Islands, meaning we have the max number of individuals that the environment can support, which is exactly what you want! That is amazing, especially when higher numbers of these small pinnipeds bring in many larger whales that we know and love.
Once we hit the big body of water, we decided to go up towards Patos Island Lighthouse that had a beautiful view of Mount Constitution and Turtle Back which both call Orcas Island home. After scanning the horizon for any unexpecting cetaceans, we started to head towards Saturna Island where the reported sightings were, only to stumble upon a massive bloom of Moon Jellyfish! Captain Gabe and I heavily debated if there were thousands or millions of them surrounding our small boat. This was one of the most incredible sights we have ever seen and definitely stole the show in our minds for the miraculous part of the trip.
Even though this bloom was mesmerizing, we decided it was time to go check out the whale sightings! Over by Saturna, we saw not one, but TWO Humpback Whales! Based on our best photoidentification, we suspected these individuals to be Divot and Stitch traveling together. These individuals averaged 3-4-minute dives while feeding, which made it easy for us to spot, watch, and HEAR while they were at the surface, and chatting about them while they were under water.
All along our trip there and back, we spotted many Harbor Porpoises and over by the Cactus Islands, we even saw three Bald Eagles, both roosting in the tree and soaring above the islands. Highly suggest this Adventure Tour if you love to go fast and have a personal connection near the water!