MV Osprey
Helena
7/17/2022
I can’t think of a better Sunday afternoon spent than on MV Osprey here in the Salish Sea! Our adventure began east through Upright Channel, the breeze was light and the sun was poking through the puffy white clouds -- perfect conditions for a day on the water.
We stopped first to observe some Harbor Seals hauled out on a rocky reef in Lopez Sound. It is pupping season for these pinnipeds so we also had the pleasure of getting looks at some adorable pups (about three feet in length). Sitting above them patiently waiting to scavenge on any afterbirth or stillborn pups were nearly a dozen Turkey Vultures.
We continued through Thatcher Pass into the Rosario Strait where we met up with two members of the Bigg’s Killer Whale family pod, the T077s. The Bigg’s Killer Whale ecotype of orca is the marine mammal eating population of orcas that call these waters home. The individuals we encountered today are siblings:
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T077C “Neftali” b. 2006
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T077D “Alcyon” b. 2009
These two young males kept us on our toes as they zigged and zagged up and down the Rosario Strait. At one point we had fantastic looks from about 250 yards away as these brothers exhaled right along the cliffside of Decatur Island -- photo worthy for sure!
The journey home was just as jam packed, my bird list growing by the minute:
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Pigeon Guillemot
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Bald Eagle
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Great Blue Heron
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Turkey Vulture
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Common Murre
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Rhinoceros Auklet
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Pelagic Cormorant
Before rounding Brown Island into Friday Harbor we found a lone Steller Sea Lion swimming gracefully in the middle of the channel. So much to see at every turn!