Maxx | M/V Kestrel | August 31st 2024 | 10:00am
A loose rumor of whales ignited our tour today- s share based report as we left the harbor claimed a small family had been spotted over Salmon bank, south of San Juan Island. We have a heading.
Kestrel flew south through the San Juan Channel, stopping only briefly at Goose Island to admire a small haul out of Harbor seals and of course all the incredible pelagic birds that call this tiny island home. Double Crested cormorants sunned themselves atop their stick nests while Glaucous gulls scurried below them, the smaller grey chicks hatched a few weeks prior obvious when compared to their much whiter and older parents.
We continued out a bit further, passing Cattle Point lighthouse and stopped. Time to scan. In a matter of two minutes we found them. One surfacing is all it took- we were seeing the T018s. Not only is T19B, “Galiano,” a huge Killer whale, his dorsal fin is thicker and more rounded at the top; a complete juxtaposition to his younger brothers classically sharp and angled dorsal.
They swiftly moved into Lopez’s southern islands, seemingly with one mission on the mind: food. As they bounced between the small islands this family of three must’ve snagged at least two harbor seals while we viewed them alone. Much of the hunt and feeding happens below the water and unless A. a whale surfaces with something in its mouth, B. the water turns red, or C. birds fly in to pick up the scraps, we often have to use our imaginations and best circumstantial inferences to interpret feeding behavior. Sure enough, the birds almost immediately flew in after their first haul out hit and followed them to their next a bit further to the east. We left these whales as they hugged the shoreline of Iceberg Point, circling back to Whale Rocks and Seal Alley to check out Steller sea lions on our way back home to Friday Harbor. Twas’ a great trip, an absolute 10/10.