[7/21/17- M/V Kestrel- 10AM & 2PM]
J pod is still here! We left Friday Harbor and headed East towards Rosario Strait, where the whales were hanging out pretty much all day. On our way we stopped at a beautiful eagle’s nest on the northern tip of Lopez Island. Eagle’s nests can get about 6 feet deep and ten wide wide and can weigh over 2,000 pounds.
Once we got some good eagle looks we continued East towards Anacortes were we encounter J pod! Most of our viewing was of the J38, cookie, and the J17’s. The whales were engaging in a lot of social behavior during our first trip, including some breaches and cartwheels. On our second trip the whales were slowly traveling South while hunting for salmon in the area. These whales are specifically looking for chinook salmon, more commonly known as king salmon, they are the largest of species that we have here in the Salish Sea. We continued to watch as the whales were hanging out and were very lucky to get some great views since the whales were so dispersed.
On our way back toward the dock we stopped to see some harbor seals and saw a few pups along the shoreline as well. Pups only spend about 5-6 weeks with their mothers before heading off on their own, most of that time is spent nursing. An 8-ounce glass of harbor seal milk contains between 1200-1400 calories, so they are spending most of that time just fattening up.
Naturalist, Rachel
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