This Friday, we got a very welcome break from the heat wave that hit us earlier this week. Capt. Pete and I headed out to a cool, calm afternoon. We’re currently in the shoulder season where anything can happen. This area is most famous for seeing the Southern Resident Killer Whales, but they make up only a small portion of the cetaceans and marine mammals that call this place home. They are also not even the only type of Killer Whale that inhabits this area! There is another ecotype that comes to this area, they are called the Transient Killer Whales and they travel here in smaller family groups and eat marine mammals exclusively. Other cetaceans that can be spotted here are Harbor Porpoises, Dall’s Porpoises, Pacific White-sided dolphins, Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, and last year even Fin Whales.
So these are what we were searching for today, since the Southern Residents usually don’t arrive until the summer to chase their main food, Chinook Salmon, as they run towards their natal streams. First, northward we went to look for pinnipeds our seals and sea lions. We came across a whole heap of Harbor Seals warming up on the rocks on Flattop Island. The adults rested and lazily stared back at us with their puppy dog eyes while the pups raced up and down the rocks to play. Next we headed further north towards Henry Island. Soon enough we started to see blows off in the distance. This is the best way to spot whales – when they breathe! The plume of air and vaporized water rises several feet into the sky, and sometimes based on the shape of the blow, you can tell what type of whale it is. This one had a slightly heart shaped blow, and that is an indicator that it may be a Humpback Whale! As we slowly approached our suspicions were confirmed! This Humpback was feeding off of an area known as Kellett Bluffs on Henry Island. Humpbacks have made a recent come back in the past couple of decades in this area. It used to be very rare to see them in this area since whaling and lack of protections reduced their numbers dramatically, but we’re hoping our increased sightings of them here are a sign of the populations’ increase! When Humpbacks do come into these waters, they are here to feed and rest before they continue on their migration north or south depending on the time of year. Right now, this adult female is heading north to continue feeding up near Alaska most likely. We have some regular individuals that we usually see every year, and this was one of them – Heather. These awesome creatures are identified by the unique patterns and shapes of their flukes, and throughout their lives they become as unique as a human’s fingerprint. We stayed with Heather as she dove multiple times, showing us her elegant fluke, and then surfaced after eating her fill along the steep submarine cliffs off of Henry Island. It was breath-taking to see her massive size juxtaposed with her elegance in these cold clear waters of the Salish Sea.
As we started to mosey our way back towards Friday Harbor, we stopped to see another pinniped species, the Steller Sea Lions! These huge guys – the biggest sea lion species in the world – were hauled out on the rocks showing their massive manes. These Sea Lions look like Grizzly Bears with flippers and push each other around to find their favorite spots to res on the rocks. After enjoying their grunts and roars, we headed back home with the sun peaking out at the end of another San Juanderful day.
Naturalist Erick
M/V Sea Lion