I can’t think of a better Saturday afternoon spent than on the deck of MV Osprey! We departed Friday Harbor for our afternoon tour and headed south down San Juan Channel towards Whale Rocks where we encountered our first cetacean of the day -- a Minke Whale! The Minke Whale is a type of baleen whale, which unlike our toothed whales in the Salish Sea such as the orca, has baleen keratin plates that allows them to filter feed. These mammals eat mainly small schooling fish and can be found feeding along shallower shoulders of the Haro Strait and where lots of currents and bodies of water converge, such as where we found ourselves at Whale Rocks.
After watching some dives of the Minke whale, we turned our attention to the group of Steller Sea Lions lying above the water line thermoregulating. This species of pinniped can dive over 1,500 feet and can hold their breath for over 10 minutes. While most of these Stellers will travel north to the waters of Alaska during the summer, in increasing number have begun to stay back in the Salish Sea year round.
We continued our journey along the southern coast of Lopez Island, Captain Michael gave us a tour of the serene McArdle Bay where we spotted a Bald Eagle and its nest in the treetops! We also spotted a pair of turkey vultures. Both of these species are scavengers, always scanning the forest floor and shoreline for a meal. As we rounded out of the bay we saw a blow from a humpback about a half mile off our bow! We met up with “Scratchy”, a humpback born off the shores of Maui in 2016 who has returned to the Salish Sea to feed for several years since its birth. We got some great looks at this baleen whale’s exhalations and even some fluke tail dives!
Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the dock! On our way home, we spotted a Brown Pelican (a rare sight here in the Salish Sea). What a great day of whale and bird sightings in the San Juans!