Olivia Esqueda | March 22nd, 2025 | M/V Sea Lion | 2:30pm Charter
This afternoon was such a special treat out on the water with the Orca Behavior Institute’s Biggs 201 Class. Lucky for us, we were able to leave the dock about 10 minutes early, which worked in our favor since we had a whale report flirting with the line of the range our vessel could travel in the allotted timeframe to get folks back for the 6:25pm ferry!
We immediately started traveling south through San Juan Channel keeping San Juan Island on our starboard side and Lopez off on our port. Passing Cattle Point Lighthouse, we witnessed a Bald Eagle perched right on top, which was just an appetizer for the number of birds we encountered once we dipped into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Such as Surf Scoters, Pigeon Guillemots, Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres, Marbled Murrelets, Pelagic and Double Crested Cormorants, and many, many more!
Scanning the entire way, we finally got in view of the Bigg’s Killer Whales family known as the T046B’s, roughly 8 orcas all spread out. This marine mammal eating orca population is the most common ecotype found in the Salish Sea, and has not only been growing exponentially in numbers, but in the amount and duration of visits to this area year after year. The extended T046 family is one of our favorites, as T046B’s mom (T046, Wake; born before 1966 and deceased as of 2023) had been captured for captivity in the Budd Inlet in 1976 but was fortunately released and has gone on to birth one of the most prolific documented families including many grandchildren and great grandchildren! This extended family has been such a heartwarming success story.
T046B, Raksha, was born in 1988 and has given birth to six calves of her own and even has 3 grandchildren. Well… let’s make that four! We were so lucky to see a brand-new calf with the family! While it still needs to be officially confirmed, it appears to be the calf of T046B3, Sedna born in 2011, making her a first-time mom. This little calf still had fetal folds from being inside mom’s womb, meaning she is still very new. This calf was first spotted around the first day of spring, which feels a bit perfect since in many cultures, spring symbolizes fertility, reproduction, birth, rebirth, and renewal.
Already looking forward to seeing what surprises the next trip holds!