We Are Family

Well, it appears that J-Pod has officially returned to the water. We've had them in the area the past few days and we'll cross our fingers in hope the salmon is good enough for them to stick around. We've been able to observe J-1 the past few trips, however this trip was a perfect opportunity to view J-26 and J-27. We began our orca encounter by spending some time with J-27, Blackberry, and then moved south to J-26 and family. J-26, also known as Mike, is a 17 year old male (as is Blackberry) and his dorsal is easily distinguishable by its lean to the left. Our guests were fascinated by the orcas' family lives on the way to seeing them and got to observe a nuclear orca family with Mike, his mother J-16 (Slick), and his new sister J-42 (to be named). J-26 was foraging about 100 yards off our portside (left) and his mother and sister were closer to land (about 300 yards away). The encounter proved touching for our guests as they got a chance to see the bond between mother and calf, even if that calf is grown up and 17 years old. Mike, although an adult male, still sticks somewhat close to mama.

Our orcas are the stars of the wildlife show, they are not the only creatures we want our guests to experience. So much of our wildlife goes hidden because they end up being the back-ups to the whales. However, our guests were able to gain an appreciation not just for orcas, but for Bald Eagles and Harbor Seals. We got some great looks at Bald Eagles as they hung out on the rocks near shore and as they sat in their nests on Long Island (not in New York, but south of San Juan Island). The Eagle eggs are laid now and we look forward to watching them with chicks.

If you are interested in more info on our trips, please feel free to give us a call and we'd be happy to share our adventures with you!