[Naturalist Sarah – 11/18/2017 – M/V Sea Lion – 12:00]
November whale watching in the San Juan Islands is exciting. When we leave the dock we have no idea what we might find. Typically this time of year I expect to see amazing bird activity, harbor seals, Steller’s sea lions, humpback whales, Bigg’s killer whales, minke whales, and many other amazing species. Every now and again we get a sighting surprise.
Preparing for the Trip...
As I was getting the boat ready for our trip, our sighting network was abuzz… there were whales rumored to be on the west side of San Juan Island in Haro Strait. We communicate with other whale watching companies in the Pacific Whale Watch Association, shore-based whale watchers, and members of the public to scan the most water. As I went up to the office to gather our guests for the tour we still had no confirmed sightings. In the space of time that it took to walk up to the office, introduce some wildlife, and myself, and then walk everyone down to the boat the rumored whales had been found… and preliminarily they were reported as members of the Southern Resident population!
Typically we expect to see Southern Resident killer whales from about May through September, corresponding with the summer run of their favorite food, Chinook salmon. This summer our Chinook salmon numbers were very low in the inland waters, so we saw more of the Bigg’s, marine mammal eating, killer whales than our Resident killer whales. This fall has been different though. With a good run of Chum salmon, we have seen quite a bit of the Resident pods J, K & L.
Whales ahead!
We headed out towards Constance Bank and encountered members of J and K pods. Most notably we got awesome looks at members of J Pod. It is always so nice to see those familiar fins and saddle patches! Off the bat we had an amazing encounter with the huge adult male J27 “Blackberry.” J27 was traveling near his younger bother J39 “Mako” and a sprouting K Pod male K35 “Sonata.” The two young whales were being very social, engaging in many tactile behaviors. Everywhere we looked there were orcas, and, in the distance, the snowcapped peaks of the Olympic Peninsula stood with a light blanket of clouds.
AMAZING Vocalizations, Listen Below!
After hearing vocalizations at the surface, we decided to drop our onboard hydrophone to listen in on the whales. The vocalizations were amazing! The majority of the calls that you will hear in this recording from the day are the characteristic “hee-haww” J Pod calls, but very faintly in the background you can hear some of the “meowing” K Pod calls. Have a listen HERE!
End of the Day
We finished our encounter with a surface-active visit from J44 “Moby” off of the stern of the boat. As the little whale passed us, he lazily launched himself into a belly flop as if to have a better look at the humans actively watching him pass by.
With a great encounter in the books, we headed back towards the San Juan Islands, stopping to check out some Steller’s sea lions and bald eagles in the dying afternoon light. In November you have to be prepared for everything!
Please enjoy some photos from the day!
