Orca Whales South of Saturna Island
The Island Explorer 3 is on scene with Orca Whales! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for updates from Naturalists Michael Colahan and Brooke McKinley.
A.M. Trip
We departed from Anacortes this morning pointed west, into some fog that had moved across Rosario Strait. Entering Thatcher Pass with increasing visibility, our guests saw the first of several bald eagles, perched on a Pacific Madrone. A beautiful tour of the San Juan Islands brought us to the boundary waters of Canada, where we enjoyed an incredible show with Southern Resident Orcas! J and L pod whales were just meeting up, and they quickly displayed their excitement for the reunion. Breaching, tail-lobs, spyhops, as well as mating behaviors were evident as the whales slowly drifted west in the current. After over an hour of this great activity we moved on, enjoying sunny skies as we cruised back to our dock. Harbor seals, porpoise, and a few Great Blue Herons were also on tap for our folks today. Great trip!
-Michael Colahan
The afternoon trip took us down Rosario Strait toward the south end of Lopez Island. We did a slow down at the south end of Colville Island and found some harbor seals hauled out. We continued east and found some orcas at the south side of San Juan Island. We saw Riptide and a young female possibly working on adding to the next generation of baby orcas. As this was going on, the fog rolled in. Riptide, being a 15 year-old male, may have been trying to set the mood with the fog... The fog rolled in pretty quickly, but we soon caught up with the whales again. Then the fog dissipated and we got to spend some time with Surprise!, Pooka and L112, who were spending time with Riptide. They gave us some great looks. L112 even breached three times for us! It was amazing! We also spent some time with Ino, Indigo and Nyssa. We had such a great time with the whales today, but we had to leave. On our way back, we did a slow down through the south end of Lopez Island and Castle Rock. We saw a couple of harbor seals hauled out as well as a few mothers and pups. The baitfish were also jumping like popcorn! It was a fantastic place to slow down and enjoy! It was simply a spectacular trip this evening!
L112 showing us her stuff!
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 1:03 PM
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