Today we headed to the south end of San Juan Island with some fabulous guests, many from foreign countries such as Japan, Germany, and even Australia! We were happy to see such diversity on board today. As we headed through the San Juan Channel, we were all excited to see our Dall's Porpoise having a grand old time ridding the waves off of our stern and bow! Both myself and Emily (the other naturalist on board) had never seen these small mammals and were equally excited to witness this display of fun behavior! We spent about fifteen minuets with them, watching as they played in our waves, swam around and under our boat, and popped up everywhere! Dall's Porpoise and Harbor Porpoise are actually two of the six species of Porpoise that inhabit the worlds oceans and we happen to have both here in the Salish Sea; the two have actually begun to hybridize! After seeing the Dall's Proposes behavior today, I'd have to say that they are my favorite!
After we parted ways with our Porpoise friends, we headed out to Hein Bank to catch some Minke action. Hein Bank is a great spot to catch these small whales, because of its underwater topography. There are many upwelling zones here that Minke whales love to forage in due to their shallow waters and large surplus of food. The Minkes we saw were definitely taking advantage of this food!
On our way home, we saw some Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals, and even another Minke right in the San Juan Channel! What great day of wildlife viewing!
Heather, Naturalist, Sea Lion