Northbound along the west side of San Juan Island, we encountered about eight orcas allegedly belonging to both J and K resident pods. From the get go, we saw curious whale behavior of tail-slapping, a pec fin slap and eventually even a head stand with the white of the tail exposed! As they continued swimming north away from the island, the whales maintained a fairly tight formation and we were able to get a possible ID of the lone adult male of the group as J30, Riptide. Was he with family or new friends or both? We were unable to confirm.
After our orca viewing, we traveled over towards Sentinel Island to see about forty harbor seals hauled out on the rocks enjoying the very welcome warming effects of our recent acquisition: sunshine. On the north and east side of Spieden Island, we saw several bald eagles in various forms, from flying low over the water to flying high over the island to perched in various trees. We even saw the ultimate eagle experience as one was harassed by a pair of oyster catcher birds screeching at it as it flew over another rock o' harbor seals. Quite a bold move to harass a raptor with giant sharp talons, a flesh-ripping beak and as much as a six foot wingspan.
Serena, Naturalist
San Juan Safaris