[06/07/2017 – M/V Kestrel – 2:00pm]
Today’s M/V Kestrel trip was arguably one of my favorites of the season so far. We had an amazing time with two species of cetaceans and the plentiful other wildlife of the Salish Sea. Leaving Friday Harbor we took a right, heading south, through San Juan Channel towards Cattle Pass to check out some seals and sea lions before continuing on into Haro Strait. The water was glassy and we had multiple reports of whales in the area.
Reports and Sightings?
Day to day these reports vary. We cannot predict the movements of the whales each day, as orcas have been known to, and will, travel over 100 miles a day. Humpback whales are also great travelers, and can move miles day to day. We wake up each morning hoping upon hope that we can find cool wildlife for the day, there is absolutely no way we can “forecast” sightings for a week away… even the next day is unpredictable! With that being said, we work with the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) to share sightings, and that dramatically increases our sighting success. There are currently 30+ companies on the PWWA and we are all obligated to share wildlife information with one another. A report is a good start, but there are absolutely no guarantees until you look at the wildlife yourself.
Humpback Whale
We started our day with a humpback reported just west of Henry Island. The boat that had found the whale had left it and called in its position to our network, we headed to the area in the hopes of tracking it down. Driving north we put ourselves in prime position to find the animal, and we were in luck! In the distance we saw the tell-tale sign of a whale, its blow, rising over the water! For humpback whales this blow can be 15-20 feet tall over the water. Upon closer inspection of this whale’s flukes we realized that we had BCX0870 “Scoop," who looks very similar to another whale BCX01057 "Divot."
Orcas!
After a great encounter with the humpback whale, we headed back south to the killer whales, who were traveling north past Kelp Reef. We had amazing looks at two families of Bigg’s, marine-mammal-eating, killer whales known as the T101s and the T124s. Usually we see smaller groups of these stealthy whales traveling together, as it reduces the amount of sound they create that could potentially alert their prey to their presence. Most notably we got great looks at the new calf in the T124 family, who is only a few months old, and is still quite the peanut! This baby at birth measured 6-8 feet long and weighed in at about 300-400 pounds! Drinking fat rich milk from mom, this little one is getting nice and fat!
After a great encounter with the orcas, we headed north to Spieden Island where we found some of the non-native deer and bald eagles, before heading back towards Friday Harbor.
