M/V Kestrel | May 12, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria
What a perfect way to spend Mother’s Day! Guests onboard M/V Kestrel got to spend the day with a mama Humpback and her baby! As we were heading out to start scanning the water this morning we were very excited to see what the day had instore for us! We had gotten suited up in our exposure suits, walked down to our trusty zodiac, and were boarding when Captain Gabe received a report of 2 Humpbacks that had been spotted off the coast of Victoria!
We decided that this would be a great way to check out whales and have a very scenic day. We headed south down San Juan Channel and made our way to Whale Rocks were we checked out Steller Sea Lions. They were very fun to watch, growling and barking and make quite the racket!
As we headed west we decided to swing a little south down to Hein Bank to see if we could pick up anything in this shallow area. We hung out there slowly scanning the area and eventually picked up some Harbor Porpoise that were swimming around having a grand time!
After enjoying the beautiful view of the Olympics we continued out and picked up these amazing humpbacks! It was a beautiful day out there and the backdrop for this Humpback and her kiddo was absolutely amazing! All guests photos from today came out amazing!
We were lucky enough to spend a great amount of time with these awesome creatures and then eventually had to head out. On our way out we went in between Victoria and Discovery Island, so we got some amazingly scenic views on our way out.
Captain Gabe decided it would be a good opportunity to circumnavigate San Juan Island so that we could continue to scan the area and see what wildlife was around. We got some amazing glances at a Bald Eagle off Henry Island, and scooted over to Spieden Island to see some of the sheep and deer that live there.
Finally it was time to return back to Friday Harbor, we got back on the dock excited about what a beautiful day we had had.
Until Next Time,
Naturalist Alexandria