Erin | M/V Kestrel | Saturday, June 22, 2019 | 11:00 AM
It was a truly adventurous trip aboard the M/V Kestrel this morning. We began our trip heading north out of Friday Harbor. There were some orca reports in the Strait of Georgia, and we figured we would give it a shot to try and see them. On our way there, we stopped at Flattop Island. We saw lots of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks, some of which were heading into the water. We then went around the island and saw at least 6 bald eagles scavenging on a dead animal. We saw many of them in flight, and there was a mix between adult and juvenile bald eagles. It was an amazing sight to see! After we got some great looks at the eagles, we continued toward the orca reports. We went through Jorgenson Pass, which was a special treat. After we went through the pass, we were in the open ocean of the Strait of Georgia.
We were travelling slowly and started searching the area for any whales that might be passing through. After a few minutes, I spotted a tall dorsal fin in the distance. It turned out to be a male killer whale travelling by itself!! It was the orca known as T124C. At first, he was travelling north, but then he changed directions and began to travel west and was doing so in a zigzagging pattern. It was incredible to see his powerful breaths and dives. After watching him for a while, we continued north toward the original orca reports we heard about.
When we got to the area that they were in, the three pods that were travelling together had split up. We got our sights on three orcas, one of which was a calf! They were moving very quickly; perhaps they were hunting. They were then joined by three additional orcas, who kept their pace of travel. We watched them for twenty minutes or so, and then it was time to head back toward the harbor. It was an absolutely delightful day out in the Salish Sea!
Naturalist Erin