Whale Watching Report

We headed south to start our trip today. Along the way we watched harbor seals hauled out on the shore of Bird Rocks, and Colville Island. Eventually we worked our way north along the west side of San Juan Island. Four transient orcas were near Lime Kiln Lighthouse and we followed them as they swam along the shoreline. Soon after we arrived we saw the orcas swimming toward a bunch of kayakers pulled over by some rocks offshore from San Juan County Park. They circled around and chased down something under the surface. Eventually the big male, T19B, came up with an animal of some sort in his mouth. We couldn't tell what it was, but I would guess that it was a seal. The four orcas continued to swim along the shoreline. During our visit we saw two spyhops from these orcas. The scenery was beautiful as the orcas swam along the rugged shoreline. The orcas reached Henry Island and that was when we had to say goodbye to them. As we cruised away we got a view of an immature bald eagle on Battleship Island before we traveled through the inner San Juan Islands for a very scenic return trip. Naturalist Bart Rulon