Today we left Friday Harbor with reports of Jpod heading up the west side of San Juan Island. On our way to the whales we stopped by a group of foraging bald eagles. There were about 9 bald eagles grouped together by Ripple Island. There was a combination of adult and juvenile bald eagles. Until about the age of 5 bald eagles will be completely brown with light spots throughout their body, causing them to be commonly mistaken for golden eagles. After leaving the bald eagles we headed towards Turn Point where we were planning on meeting the whales during their travels. We first came upon the J19's including the new baby J51. As we watched the J19's we realized that all of the 27 whales in J pod were present in the area. We watched a great deal of social behavior such as spy hopping and kelping! Kelping is when the whales drape the bull kelp stems and leaves across their body as they swim through the water. We also got some great looks at J35 (Tahlequah) and her son J47 (Notch). We enjoyed watching the whales this afternoon and think that our guests enjoyed themselves as well!
Naturalist Rachel
M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris