What a great trip we had on board M/V Kestrel! Captain Brian (complete with the adorable Co-Captain Aurelia AKA Capt. Brian Jr.) and myself along with a great group headed out to the West Side to see what we could find!
We stopped by some Stellar Sea Lions on Whale Rocks and then continued past Cattle Point over to the West Side. We were lucky enough to have the privilege of hanging out with three different groups of Transient, or Biggs Killer Whales, all within a mile or so.
It was one of those awesome trips where no one completely knew which way to look because all around each different family of Transient orcas was treating us to some awesome views. After spending a bit of time with the orcas in our immediate area we headed toward Mosquito Pass to get some good looks at some larger males. It was unique that we had only been with female orcas up until this point, and we wanted to ensure our guests got to see the difference between the dorsal fin sizes.
After spending a great amount of time with orcas we decided that it would be an awesome and unique opportunity to circumnavigate San Juan Island so we headed north. What trip would be complete without stopping by Speiden Island to check out some Sitka deer, Fallow deer, and Mouflon sheep. We stopped and checked this island out as well as got a look at a beautiful eagle and then headed back down south returning to Friday Harbor.
What an awesome day it was out on the water!
Until next time,
Naturalist Alexandria