What a beautiful day it was out today! Lately the Orcas have been cruising the west side of San Juan Island so when the reports came in today of whales over by Lummi island I was really excited. Whales and somewhere new to see! Lummi Island is located just off of Bellingham. We barely made it out of Friday Harbor before we encounter Dall's porpoise frolicking in the wake of boats passing by. The adorable black and white porpoise are often found riding the bow of boats. After a few glimpses of the tiny cetaceans we continued on in search of our larger black and white friends the Orca.
We all marveled at the gorgeous day and the wonderful view of Mt. Baker in the distance. Reaching Lummi Island the guests were delighted at the site of a towering dorsal fin gracefully sliding by. Just as reported earlier we were observing J pod. Members of the pod were widely spread and appeared to be casually traveling along. Moving further offshore we encountered the infamous Ruffles and Granny. The flat calm waters made it easy to see the saddle patches of the Orcas. The saddle patch is unique for each individual and is used in photo identification. After our time with the Orcas we headed back through Obstruction pass viewing harbor seals and a bald eagle. Looking forward to more days like this one!
-Casey