Thursday was a great day. Sunny, calm, and we headed east which usually doesn't happen. towards the east side of Orcas Island. When we hit the rips off of Obstruction Pass you could see the clear green-tinted water of the Salish Sea churning as currents collided and looking downward you could actually see some Chinook Salmon! And where there are Chinook is the best place to search for Southern Resident Killer Whales. K pod appeared! We first spotted Scoter (K-25) with his very wide dorsal fin and some other members of the family of K-13, Skagit. They were indeed hunting some of those Chinook Salmon we had seen earlier and they were getting into it turning left and right and making deep dives to catch their favorite food - this activity is called 'milling'. It's amazing to see them work together and separately as they can be so maneuverable and in sync while being so close to each other. This groups headed north a little bit and we and they eventually met up with another K pod family the K-14's, Lea's family. They seemed to have just caught a bunch of salmon because boy were they having fun. Tail slaps and pec slaps galore sent water flying this way and that. They seemed even a little extra curious today as many of them started spyhopping to sea what was the fuss on the surface. Then...then the cartwheels started! Cartwheeling is probably one of my favorite surface behaviors and it is when the orcas take their back half of their body and sling it to the side out of the water. This move makes a huge arch with their flukes and a gigantic splash. We were having almost as much fun as they were that soon enough we had to start heading back to home base. As one kid on the boat said, "Woooooooo!"
Whale that's all folks,
Naturalist Erick
M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris