Lauren Fritz, M/V Sea Lion, 07/25/17, 1:30 pm & 5:30 pm Tours
There was lots of excitement this morning when we heard reports that J-pod, one of the Southern Resident Killer Whale pods in this area, was still hanging around in the Salish Sea. Earlier whale watching tours had spotted them cruising around out in Rosario Strait. We didn't know it at the start, but we would have the chance to see these amazing whales on both of our tours today!
Naturalist Sarah and I made sure Sea Lion was sparkling and ready for some exciting tours out on the water. After she was all prepped, we made our way to the office to greet our wonderful guests and introduce ourselves. We excitedly discussed our Southern Resident Killer Whales and why any chance we have to spend time with them is special - I personally hadn't seen J-pod in over a month! This season has not been a prosperous one for salmon in the Salish Sea (or so it would appear - as our Residents main food source, salmon numbers tend to dictate how much we see of these whales). Therefore, the J, K, and L-pods have been spending more time out in the open ocean searching for higher numbers of their favorite fatty Chinook salmon. But today was different, and we made sure to recognize what a special opportunity this was.
Sea Lion motored through one of my favorite interisland routes on our way out to Rosario Strait. We had a chance to admire a huge bald eagle's nest by the Lopez Island ferry terminal, watching both a juvenile and an adult as they picked at the afternoon's catch. It wasn't long before we were passing through Obstruction Pass, our outlet into Rosario. It was time to keep our eyes peeled, and sure enough, J-pod was only a mile or so out in the Strait!
On our first tour, these animals were spread out and foraging. I love watching this behavior - the pod could be spread out over a few miles, and it's fun to scan the water watching for blows in all directions. On our second tour, they were traveling and resting in a much tighter group. They even graced us with a pass-by. We definitely got some amazing looks on both of our tours. The highlight was seeing all 24 of these whales spending quality time together, and getting close-up views of each of them as they swam by Sea Lion. Slick, Scarlet, Echo, Mike, Blackberry...the list goes on, they were all here! Even L87 Onyx was around. What a special day.
I've posted my favorite photos from the day - please enjoy. Thanks again to all who came out with us. We hope you enjoyed spending time with J-pod as much as we did!
Naturalist Lauren, San Juan Safaris
See all 14 photos
