Abby | M/V Osprey | 8/11/2021
Naturalist Jordan, Captain Gabe, and I set out on an adventure to find some orcas. We had already seen them on our first trip, but they were still quite far at this point. We decided to take a gamble and press on towards Canadian waters, hopeful they would directionally trend in our favor. We headed north through San Juan Channel, a bald eagle making an immediate appearance as it regally sat atop a tall pine. We made a quick pit stop at Flattop Island to view some harbor seal mums and pups, but quickly exited as those whales started heading south in our direction.
We crossed into Canadian waters, sun kissing the trailing wake of our vessel. Soon thereafter, three exhaled plumes graced the horizon. We found the orcas. We were lucky to see three teenagers, probably in that awkward stage rebelling against mom…
We had:
· Jude T049A2 (Male, 2007)
· Neftali T077C (Male, 2006)
· Alcyon T077D (Female, 2009)
What was unique about this group was that we had one individual from one family (Jude) and a brother/sister duo from another family group. Not the average day!
We were able to hang out with these three for over 30 minutes, breaths echoing in the distance. It’s not often that we can view whales for this long, especially with Saturna Island posing as a picturesque backdrop.
As we left the scene, smiles lined our faces, and the salty ocean air cooled our bodies. It has been awfully warm lately… Jackets popped back on as we headed towards the harbor, hearts filled with gratitude for the wildlife we had just witnessed.