[Sunday, 5/27/18 - M/V Kestrel - 2:00PM - Naturalist Erick]
This Sunday was another beautiful, sunny day during Memorial Day Weekend. Captain Mike and I headed out on M/V Kestrel to go find some super cool creatures to watch and learn about. We went north first towards Flattop Island and made a quick stop there to look at some Harbor Seals that were sunning themselves on rocky shoreline. There was a ton of them resting there and a few blinked their sleepy eyes back at us. Then a few popped out of the water right in front of us - soo cute!! After that seeing that cute scene we continued east to look for a Humpback Whale that had been spotted earlier that morning. After stopping and scanning for awhile Captain Mike spotted just a little bit south of White Rock in between Flattop Island and Waldron Island. We watched this fairly young Humpback Whale slowly swim northward. Even when it went underwater after a breath it stayed pretty close to the surface, so close that we could see the water pulse where it was pumping its tail as it swam. This young one is heading north on its annual migration from tropical breeding grounds to food-rich subpolar waters. Next we left the Humpback and headed through New Channel took a peek at a few more Harbor Seals and a few Bald Eagles perched in the trees. We scotted around the western point of Spieden Island and soon began to see more blows. It was a group of Bigg’s (Transient) Orcas between Battleship Island and McKracken Point. These are the type of orcas that prey on marine mammals and this particular family was the T124A’s. They are a pretty tight-knit family that consists of three generations. Families in orcas terms are totally matriarchal. Each one is led by an older female and she is usually leading her offspring and sometimes, like with this family, is traveling with her children’s children as well! We watched them scotted through Spieden Channel as they were traveling and hunting and followed them as they rounded Green Point getting very close to the rocks. As we looked closer you could see that they were corralling some Steller Sea Lions that were right next to the shore. They looked terrified. Even though the big male Steller Sea Lions often weigh over a ton, they still are a possible prey item for the Bigg’s Orcas! Once the orcas passed the point their behavior did indicate that they had caught something underwater but it was hard to tell if it was a sea lion or a Harbor Seal. We watched this cool family for a few more minutes and then headed out. We made one more stop on our way back home to check out a pair of Bald Eagles on O’Neil Island. This pair has a nest here and since Bald Eagles are monogamous and mate for life its the same pair returning every year. Whale folks, until next time!
Naturalist Erick,