Olivia | July 31st, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 5:30pm
This evening, the whales made our job very easy! Captain Pete and I brought our passengers around the northern side of San Juan Island, through Spieden Channel, and down towards Lime Kiln. Prior to getting there, we spotted the same family group of Bigg’s Killer Whales that we saw south of San Juan Island earlier that morning. The T46B1’s were feeding right outside of Mosquito Pass and comprised of three individuals, including the small “white whale” that has Leucism.
We reminded our passengers that we do not always get this lucky to see Killer Whales so close to our Harbor, and that someone must have had good karma on board to make this happen. Like I said, none of us were complaining, especially with the jaw dropping sunset views radiating the opposite side of our boat. We even were able to get some great views of all the teeth raking on that small, white calf! We watched as they hunted and socialized all the way up to Spieden Channel (back tracking where we came from) and as they continued into Canada, we parted ways to go check out what else we could see.
We utilized this opportunity to chat about Spieden’s interesting history while observing exotic ruminants grazing on the southern side of the island. Perched above them in a large pine were two bald eagles scanning the water, followed by a few Harbor Seals swimming in the evening sun. There is always something about this time of day that makes our animals both come alive and be completely at peace. This feeling was spread to our passengers and an incredible way to end the day.