Our journey out of Friday Harbor started out a bit blustery and bumpy, but we soon discovered it did not scare off any of the wildlife! Today’s trip was full of creatures from both the land and the sea! Eagles, harbor seals, harbor porpoise, and last but not least ORCAS! As we journeyed up and over to the west side of San Juan Island we discovered a large pod of 15+ killer whales in Haro Strait; all surfacing and traveling in perfect synchronization. We believe this pod was made up of several members from both J and K pods. We were excited at the opportunity of spotting the very NEW (2 day old!) calf from K pod, it was hard to try and get a look as there were so many in the group traveling all together! Very exciting to see! We left the orcas as they continued to travel northbound and made our way to Gooch Island, just over the Canadian border, to find some harbor porpoise! The journey back home was just as adventurous as we saw several bald eagles soaring through the sky and two perched at the top of a dead tree on Stuart Island! Quite the successful day full of wildlife and whales!
Alex, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris