This morning we had early reports of the K14s traveling along the west side of San Juan Island. We had a morning trip and were excited to get going. Captain Jim took myself and our guests south in order to encounter the orcas. Along the way our guests were able to enjoy Harbor Seals and Northern Sea Lions! Once we got to the Orcas, guests were able to see an adult male and a young male swimming side by side! It appeared as though this family group was just traveling and searching for food. Captain Jim then heard of a report of a Minke whale close by and we decided to go check it out! Guests were able to see some great lunge feeding behaviors from this Minke. This type of whale is a baleen whale so they are able to expand their throat and engulf a lot of water which has the food they are looking for. After getting some great views of the Minke we went to take once last look at the Orcas, Harbor Seals, and Northern Sea Lions! Once getting back to the dock, the guests were very happy about all the wildlife they were able to encounter!
Aimee
Naturalist, M/V Kittiwake, San Juan Safaris Whale Watch & Wildlife Tours