[Friday, 8/17/18, M/V Kestrel]
On Friday, Captain Mike and I took Kestrel out for two trips with great folks on each one. On M/V Kestrel we go extremely fast so we can cover lots of water to look for the coolest wildlife in the Salish Sea. We headed out and on our first trip we ended up on the east side of Orcas Island in Rosario Strait. It was a group of Transient Orcas (Killer Whales)! We also call this type Bigg’s Orcas. They are the type of Orcas that we see in the inland sea that feed on marine mammals. This group was hunting around the Pea Pod Islands. This group of small islets hosts a bunch of HArbor Seals which are these orcas favorite food! This group was circling around the pea pods trying to surprise a Harbor Seals. Each family has their own hunting strategies which they pass down from generation to generation. They circled around and they probably caught one or two seals and they started to swim north. On our way back we also saw a bunch of Harbor Porpoises and a Bald Eagle! On our next trip we went further north to Tumbo Island to watch some more Transient Orcas! Here they played a similar game. They traced around several small sandstone islets where there were a ton of seals. At one point one of the orcas created a wave to wash seals off the rock! So cool! On our way back we stopped and saw more seals, some Steller Sea Lions, and a Bald Eagle! What another great day out on the Salish Sea!
Naturalist Erick
San Juan Safaris