Kelly | M/V Kestrel | 9/17/22 | 2:00pm
The wildfire smoke has officially cleared here in the San Juan’s! Today was the first day on the water since the smoke blew in that we were able to see Mount Baker in all its glory. Captain Gabe and I Left Friday Harbor on our Adventure Whale Watch and Wildlife tour prepping for a long run through deception Pass and into Skagit Bay. This was the only reported location of killer whales in the area.
As we transited south down San Juan channel and through Cattle Pass, we slowed the boat to check out a large grouping of Steller Sealions hauled out at a location known as Whale Rocks. The Steller’s were truly putting on a show! Impressive acrobatic maneuvers from sealions swimming in the kelp beds, and massive males brawling on land for the most ideal spot on the rocky island. Watching these Steller sealion is always a full sensory experience…not only do we get to watch these charismatic pinnipeds folic on the rocks, but we can also both smell and hear them. Steller’s have a noticeable aroma that you can smell from many yards away and make a distinctive belch-like calls.
After those memorable looks at Steller’s, we encouraged guests to hunker down and prep for a long transit over to Deception Pass. We had only made it about 10 minutes into this transit when a report came over the radio, “A lone male killer whale found at Salmon Bank”. Salmon Bank is an area of shallow water only about 15 minutes from our current location! Excited that we didn’t have to transit for an hour straight, we changed course and headed that direction.
What was originally reported as a lone orca, turned into a family of 4! The large male was traveling parallel to his family, transiting a couple hundred yards away. The family was identified at the T007B’s and consists of:
• F T007B “Spiller” 1982
• M T007B3 “Knox” 2005
• ? T007B4 “Moonraker” 2010
• ? T007B6 “Domino” 2018
In the distance, more dorsal fins arose from the water! Another family of orcas was meeting up with the T007B’s. This family was identified as the T100B’S and consists of:
• F T100B “Freya” 1997
• ? T100B 2010
When multiple families come together, we refer to that as a T-party. It often appears to be social hour when this occurs, but this meet up was clearly for hunting purposes. As soon as the two groups met up, the hunt commenced. The large male “Knox” partially breached out of the water and the entire group began to mill in the same area. Soon, the birds started to swoop in and take advantage the chum from the unlucky marine mammal that was being consumed under the water.
What an exciting day on the water! A big thank you to everyone that joined us on our Adventure Whale Watch and wildlife Tour with San Juan Safaris.