Sarah | 02/16/2019 | 12:00pm | M/V Sea Lion
Today we were treated to an amazing day on the water with great conditions and wonderful wildlife. Captain Mike and I left Friday Harbor and decided to head north. This time of year, the weather and sea conditions often create incredibly productive waters to our north yielding great wildlife sightings.
At Green Point we stopped to check out some Steller’s sea lions hauled out on the rocks. These massive sea lions are the largest species of sea lion in the world, with males growing to twelve feet long and weighing in at a whopping 2,400 pounds. Steller’s sea lions are seasonal visitors to the San Juan Islands, migrating here for the fall, winter, and spring around their summer breeding season in Alaska. While cruising the rest of the Spieden Island shore we had the opportunity to see many bald eagles and the resident populations of non-native Moufalon sheep, fallow deer, and sika deer.
We decided to next head for north Haro Strait and into Canadian waters around Sidney Island. There had been a rumor of killer whales in the area from earlier in the day, and it seemed like our best opportunity to see something big and black and white! Working within the Pacific Whale Watch Association we are all obligated to share wildlife information with one another. As we searched in the shallow waters in Sidney Harbor towards James Island, we got a call from a boat headed back south towards Victoria: they had found the family of killer whales!
As we got on scene we quickly realized that we had a family of Bigg’s killer whales, previously known as transients, known as the T090s and T69Ds. We had a great and respectful encounter with the whales marveling at their beauty and power as they cruised through the tranquil winter waters. We’re back on the water tomorrow, can’t wait to see what we find!