A calf surfaces right next to mom!
L 101, Fluke, shows his belly
L73, Flash, was the first orca we saw this morning.
Our three pods of resident orcas came back in last night! On our way out to see them we stopped at Colville island to look at a bald eagle and several harbor seals. We did see one seal mom with her pup on the rocks there. Next we came across L-pod orcas just offshore from the south end of San Juan Island. The first orca we came across was L73, Flash, and he gave us some great views. Next we watched L72, Racer, and her son L105, Fluke. They were playful and circled around several times raising their tail flukes in the air on many occasions. Next big Gaia, L78, came by giving everybody a thrill. Later we caught up with Fluke again who had split off from his mom and found a young playmate. The two young orcas swam side by side and played with each other as we watched. Fluke swam upside down and showed his belly on a few occasions. Next we saw an orca breach twice in a row. Other L-pod orcas we spotted on our trip included L41, Mega, and L89, Solstice, among many other I did not identify. It was great to have our resident orca back! Naturalist Bart Rulon
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Moonlight Rises (L83 & Midnight L110)
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
Glistening In the Fading Sun
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
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Coho Belly Rolls (L108)
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
The Finale!
Photo by Naturalist Kate Janes
PM: "The evening brought the Island Explorer 3 to the south end of Haro Strait where we found members of L pod heading east. The first subpod we encountered had Racer (L72) and her youngster Fluke (L105) as well as 49 year old Ophelia (L27). We watched them continue their eastward swim as more whales flooded the area in the same direction. We saw Midnight (L83), Moonlight (L110), Baba (L26), Crewser (L92), Flash (L73), Tanya (L5), Saanich (L74), Nyssa (L84), Ino (L54) and the show stealer little 3 year old Coho (L108) who did belly roll after belly roll right next to the boat and even swam right along the starboard side allowing our guests a glimpse of his beautiful white markings!" - Naturalist Kate Janes
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