M/V Sea Lion | September 5th, 2019 | Naturalist Alexandria
What a great day we had today! We were so excited when we got on board M/V Sea Lion and knew that we had reports of orcas within our range. To make matters even more awesome, these sightings were of Resident Orcas- an Ecotype that we have seen only a handful of times this season. This day promised to be quit the treat! We headed out into San Juan Channel and began the trek south to where these incredible animals were being seen!
After getting some great looks at Cattle Point Lighthouse on the southern tip of San Juan Island we ventured North West slightly, making our way into Haro Strait. As we were getting on scene we were impressed to see a massive dorsal fin that belonged to a male resident orca. After getting a better look we were able to ID this individual as Blackberry! Blackberry has an awesome dorsal fin and it was quite a treat to get to see this awesome orca along with the rest of his family.
They treated us to some tail splashes, surface action, and even a breach! It was so incredible to get to be in the presence of these animals! After spending a great amount of time with these orcas Captain Pete caught wind of a humpback nearby. We couldn't let the opportunity to see a humpack pass us by, so of course we headed over to this report. We were able to hang out with them for a few surfacings and even got to see an incredible dive resulting in this humpback fluking. It was the perfect photo op!
It was then time to begin venturing back to Friday Harbor, but not before we swung be and said "hello" to some Steller Sea Lions hauled out on some rocks on our way back in.
Until Next Time,
Naturalist Alexandria