Olivia Ellman | M/V Sea Lion | September 8th, 2024 | 12:30 pm
Our Sunday afternoon Classic Whale Watch left Friday Harbor already hearing reports of whales close by in San Juan Channel, so we wasted no time heading in that direction. We traveled south in the channel, but didn’t have to go too far before we reached a group of Bigg’s/Transient Killer Whales. As we approached this group of eight individuals, we realized there were actually two different matrilines traveling together making this a T-Party! The first family was three members of the T18s, made up of mom Nootka (T19) and her two sons Galiano (T19B) and Spouter (T19C). These boys stood out above the rest with their massive dorsal fins and were traveling alongside the other younger members of the other family, the T49As. This family is made up of mom Nan (T49A) and four out of 6 of her calves, including Nat, Neptune, Nebula, and the adorable two year old Charlie II. Both families continued traveling north up the channel, turning northeast between Shaw and Lopez islands. We got to spend a lot of time observing them travel, and we wondered if they may begin to hunt as they turned to explore the shorelines while we also spotted some harbor porpoises passing by. Fortunately for the porpoises, the whales just continued their travel and treated us to some closer surfacings.
Before long, it was time to say goodbye to our whale families and continue on our way. We traveled interisland, exploring between Orcas and Shaw and then heading north up towards Spieden Island. We stopped there to look for any other wildlife along the shore, and were happy to find a few harbor seals resting in the sun and a group of Mouflon Sheep grazing. This was a great end to our afternoon, and we enjoyed the sun coming out as one final treat as we returned to Friday Harbor.
Check out our SmugMug to see photos from our trips on M/V Osprey at https://sanjuansafaris.smugmug.com/.