Today we left Friday Harbor with a report of orcas traveling south at a fast past around East Point. We headed towards boundary pass in order to meet the whales as they traveled south. When we came upon the whales they were very spread out through the northern end of boundary pass. It is very common to see the whales spread out over wide distances in order to cover the most distance to find salmon. We watched the J16's which consists of the matriarch J16 (Slick) and her four offspring J26 (Mike), J36 (Alki), J42 (Echo) and J50, her newest offspring. J36 also had a new calf this winter, J52 who will be named at the end of this upcoming summer. We then got to see the L47's which consists of L47 (Marina) and her three offspring L83 (Moonlight), L91 (Muncher) and L115 (Mystic). Also with the L47's is L83s offspring L110 (Midnight). The L47's were traveling as a tight knit group at a faster pace then the J16's were traveling. After watching the L47's we then got to see J16 eating a salmon! We watched the J16's traveling and socializing together which included some behaviors such as breaching and spyhopping! On our way home we got to see some seals sun bathing on the rocks and a bald eagle in flight. Below is a picture of J36 (Alki) and her offspring J52 taken by Rachel on the trip today. It was a great day out on the water and we hope our guests enjoyed it as much as we did!
Naturalist Rachel
M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris