Olivia | August 4th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 1:30pm
Captain Erick, Co-Naturalist Jordan and I, along with our full boat of passengers, decided to head south for an opportunity to see some Bigg’s Killer Whales in the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Hein Bank. Along the route, our captain was thrilled about seeing heaps of Phalaropes! These small birds are not often seen this close to shore, and typically feed on plankton. One female breeds with multiple males and leaves them to raise their eggs. Erick decided they were the “Beyoncé of all Sea Birds.”
We came across two family groups of Orcas, the T137’s and T46’s comprising of around 9 individuals including 3 teenage males with large dorsal fins! We had the chance to see them socialize, listen to them breathe, and watch them lunge into the water. Aside from an amazing Killer Whale experience, we had the Olympic Mountain Range silhouetted in the background making for aesthetically pleasing photos for our passengers.
On our long route back, we had gorgeous views of Mount Baker standing tall, guiding us towards the islands and even stopped at Whale Rocks to check out some early returning Steller’s Sea Lions! If you read any of my blogs, you know I love days with both Orcas and Steller’s, making this a trip high in my book!