First things first...
Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there who raise us to love and appreciate the ocean and all of the amazing things living in it.
We left the harbor as if on a sheet of glass. It was calm enough to see a ripple a mile away. We headed north and around toward Battleship Island in search of giants. The calm seas and lack of wind afforded us a quick and comfortable ride out into Haro Straight. As soon as we got past Battleship one of our smaller, younger passengers started yelling and jumping up and down. Whales!
The enormous exhalation and tiny dorsal fin were definitely not those of an Orca. What we had encountered was a much less frequent visitor to the islands.
The two Humpback whales took 3 small breaths and then rounded out their backs, curling down until their massive flukes lifted toward the sky. A cheer broke out from every boat within 2 miles. We waited. Ten minutes later the duo surfaced again. Again, 3 surface breaths and then a dive. We prepared to wait another 10 minutes but the pattern changed. The whales surfaced after only a few minutes had passed. They dove quickly but surfaced again a short time later. Each time we were clued in to their surfacing by the sound of their exhalations. Magical.
Once more the whales came to the surface, lifted their flukes and dove. A moment later we began to notice footprints in a neat little line off our starboard side. We knew they were swimming just below the surface. We shut down the boat and waited in anticipation. The footprints continued for maybe a quarter of a mile before the whales finally surfaced again. We watched as the dove and headed off toward Canada.
With plenty of time remaining in our trip we turned north toward Stewart Island. We pulled in close to shore to take a peek at a pair of bald eagles and were surprised by a Steller Seal Lion that popped up behind us. Then a Harbor Seal Surfaced as well. Suddenly we noticed a tiny animal scurry out of a little cave and slide down into the water. We watched as a River Otter swam along the rocks, looking for a snack.
More eagles (including 2 juveniles) and seals on the way back in. What a day for charismatic megafauna!
Laura
Naturalist, San Juan Safaris