Today we left Friday Harbor and headed South toward Cattle Point. On the way to the area where the whale reports were we spotted some harbor seals with their pups and a bald eagle. We went through Cattle Pass and headed East to the southern side of Lopez Island. Once we got to Iceberg Island we found the J17's which include Princess Angeline and all of her offspring. Traveling with the J17's was K21 (Cappuccin). We parked ourselves a respectful distance from the whale and allowed them to travel West past us as we watched them with our motor off. We also got passed by the J22's, better known as the cookie clan! The whales were all headed West toward Salmon Bank. We followed the whales to the South side of San Juan Island and then they began to relax and start milling around the area. We saw some surface activity as well include tail slapping, cartwheels and breaching! We then headed back to Friday Harbor and on the way we saw a juvenile bald eagle in flight. Juvenile bald eagles commonly get confused with golden eagles due to their brown coloration. It takes about 4-5 years for an eagle to get the adult plumage, consisting of the white head and tail feathers. We had a perfect day for photography on the water. There was a slight overcast and calm waters allowing for great quality pictures. Our guests enjoyed their time on the water almost as much as we enjoyed having them!
Naturalist Rachel
M/V Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris