[7/4/17 ~ 1:30SL ~ Naturalist Sarah C ]
Happy Fourth of July! A huge event in Friday Harbor, the fourth is celebrated with parades, live music, barbecues, fireworks, and, of course, orcas! To make a beautiful sunny day even more perfect, our whale watch left the dock with multiple reports of orcas in the area, leaving us with a few spots to choose from. What a treat!
With our full boat of excited passengers decked out in their best red, white, and blue apparel, the Sea Lion set forth eastward with Captain Pete and naturalists Sarah C. and Lauren on board. We shimmied our way through the small passages between Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, and Blakely Islands, complete with stunning views of cedar-lined cliffsides and an almost glowing Mount Baker, to pop out in Rosario Strait. We'd heard on the radio that there were orcas sighted out here, but nothing could prepare us for the show that we were about to witness!
Our sighting started with a bang - one family group of transient killer whales was hot in pursuit of some unfortunate seal below the surface of the water. Splashing and circling, followed by a small swarm of seagulls overhead, indicated a successful hunt. As we followed them around the Peapod Islands, we were astounded to find even more orcas in the same area. Two family groups, at least!
We watched as these 10-odd whales traveled and hunted and played, and the longer we watched them, the more family groups we spotted. From a distance, two more groups coming in off our left. And was that a third on our right? Before we knew it we were surrounded by about 5 family groups of transient killer whales. Some of them were identified as the T101's, the T46's, and the T65's.They were playing, and breaching, and tail slapping, and all around having an amazing time. It seemed they were enjoying this long holiday weekend as much as we were!
To add some patriotism to the excitement, we even got to witness half a dozen bald eagles, adults and juveniles alike, as they rested atop the rocky cliffs of the same islands these orcas were perusing around.
We headed back to Friday Harbor feeling very lucky, only to be met by yet another group of killer whales! The T37's, traveling with lone male T103, were resting off the coast of Lopez Island when we arrived, but were soon distracted by a tasty sea, and our passengers were able to witness yet another orca hunt in action. Feeling 100% satisfied, we finally returned to Friday Harbor with ample time for a patriotic drink before the fireworks and festivities continued.
