Olivia | July 30th, 219 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm
This afternoon we had a full boat of wonderful passengers. Captain Gabe, Co-Naturalist Laura, and I talked about how much we loved everyone we chatted with and had such a variety of backgrounds on board. We set out north through the San Juan Channel towards Boundary Pass. We were lucky enough to leave the dock today with a potential whale report that was north of Saturna and heading southeast towards Tumbo and East Point.
On our way to see these whales, we stopped at White Rocks to check out some Harbor Seals that were snoozing along the shoreline, rolling in the water to thermoregulate, and chilling in banana pose as gulls perched all around them. As we were talking about their unique gestation, we came along the other side and saw a Bald Eagle feasting for lunch time! Primarily scavengers, this large bird of prey had quite the colorful meal.
We continued through Boundary Pass spotting many Harbor Porpoises, and traveled between Patos Island and East Point as we circled around to find one of our favorite family groups of Bigg’s Killer Whales, the T65A’s. T65A2, the 15 year old male, is still off traveling with some extended family- not uncommon for these teenagers. We found them just in time for their lunch as well! Close to shore, they were having a mini feeding frenzy on some Harbor Seals, and we had excellent views of that wee little calf!
It was such a warm and sunny day on the boat, which made it really pleasurable the entire ride! We love observing wildlife in all types of weather, but it seemed extra special since we had a recently engaged couple on the boat- congrats Tori and Jake! What a day to remember. Come experience your special moments with ours and create a unique experience in the Salish Sea!