Today we departed the docks of Friday Harbor with high hopes of seeing Orcas in the area. Recently the waters of the Salish Sea have been quiet active with groups of Transient Orcas, or mammal hunting Orcas. It's always an amazing experience to be able to see these incredibly social and intelligent predators in their natural setting. We didn’t have a whale report, so we spent most of our trip looking for killer whales, and at other amazing wildlife!
Although killer whales are often what most people come to see, the Salish Sea and surrounding San Juan Islands are packed with breath taking sights. From stellar sea lions, harbor seals and porpoise, to seeing the beautiful views of the Olympic Mountains. Guests on board today even got to see four different individual Minke whales on Hein Bank! And, just when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, at the end of our tour Captain Mike and I received a report of whales near Deception Pass. Even though it was the end of our tour, guests on board were more than willing to extend their trip to see killer whales- we went for it!
When we got on seen with the T065A group of transient orcas, we noticed they were down on long dives and traveling very close to shore, a behavior known as near-shore foraging. The T065As seem to prefer near shore foraging, and had already made a kill a couple hours before we arrived at their location. About fifteen minutes into viewing this mother killer whale and her four offspring, they made another kill. We actually saw T065A-3 carrying a chunk of meat in its mouth; following that, blood filled the surrounding water. This skilled group of hunters had killed yet another harbor seal. It really was incredible to watch, and all right next to Deception Pass! In the end, or 3-4 hour whale watch turned into a 5+ hour tour, and we were the only boat from Friday Harbor to view those killer whales that day. We’ll always go the extra mile (or ten) to give our guests the best chance at seeing these amazing mammals!
Heather, Naturalist, M/V Sea Lion
San Juan Safaris