09/14/17 – M/V Sea Lion – 12 PM
M/V Sea Lion left Friday Harbor today with a group of bright-eyed guests and reports of two humpback whales just beyond San Juan Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Heading south down San Juan Channel, several shy harbor porpoises quickly surfaced just beyond our wake. These cute little cetaceans get 5 to 6 feet long and only weigh up to 200 pounds. So tiny!
As we made our way past Cattle Point, the southern-most point of San Juan Island, and into the confluence Strait of Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait, two boats became visible off our bow in the distance. With the Olympic Mountains majestically rising from the background, two blows were spotted between the far-off boats like 15-foot towers of mist. Hooray! Just as we came into the area, one of the giants lifted its 15-foot tail, or flukes, out of the water signaling a deep dive. A few moments later the second whale dove, revealing the half black, half white ventral fluke pattern; the underside of its tail. This gorgeous pattern can range from all black to all white and is used to identify each individual as it is as unique as the human fingerprint! Keeping pace with the humpbacks in the crisp fall air from at least 200 yards away, folks onboard were able to feel the sheer size of these two giants. At 40-50 feet long, they were almost as long as the 55-foot M/V Sea Lion their audience of excited humans were aboard. After some amazing surfacings and several dives, we decided to head out of the area in search of other wildlife.
Heading back towards San Juan Island, we made a pit stop at Whale Rocks, a popular Steller sea lion haul-out! With the wind not in our favor, we got to experience the musk-like smell of the 30 plus animals that were resting. Two large males barked unhappily as a third waddled his way up from the water into their sun-bathing spot. Several others were sprawled out using small rocks as pillows or waving flippers in the air as they slept in the sun. A small cluster of harbor seals sought refuge from the water on the further-most rocks from the sea lions, providing us the chance to see just how large the size difference of these two pinniped species is.
As we continued our journey to Friday Harbor, the wildlife sightings didn’t stop! A bald eagle sat majestically in the top of some trees on Lopez Island. Everyone was so in awe of this winged-beauty that we almost missed the harbor seal haul out right behind us! After a few quick glances at the rock sausages, Friday Harbor Marina was our next destination.
Wow! What an amazing day out on the water!
Naturalist Courtney