A day of J Pod meandering along the westside of San Juan Island
With both our trusty vessels, the Sea Lion and Kittiwake, loaded with guests, we departed Friday Harbor in search of the beloved Southern Resident Community of orcas. Having heard word that the orcas were on the western side of San Juan Island heading north, we decided to head north to meet them. However, as we always tell the guests, the orcas here are wild animals - and therefore can do whatever they want. This was exactly the case today. A passenger aboard the Kittiwake (a faithful guest, who we were fortunate enough to have aboard our boats numerous times this week) commented that he had seen the orcas at Lime Kiln Point in the morning, heading south. Well, as we rounded the northern side of the island, we heard they had decided to head south again.
When we caught up to the group, which we determined was members of J Pod, they were meandering close to shore without any sort of driven-purpose. A group of about six orcas were travelling close, side by side, slowly making their way south. We stayed with the group for a while, enjoying views of numerous dorsal fins surfacing simultaneously. After, we jetted further south down the islands and caught a few views of J26, Mike, as he travelled in our general direction. His dorsal fin leans a bit to the left, making him easy to identify when he is heading toward or away from the boat. After spending time with the orcas and a mess of others boats (it was crowded on the water today) we headed south, to make a circumnavigation of the island. We stopped at Long Island along the way to check out the Bald Eagle nest and watch a few Harbor Seals laying out on the rocks in the sun. The Harbor Seals were more friendly today then they usually are. There was a group of about twenty seals in the water checking us out. Two seals close to our boat tousled a bit, in a playful manner, as they seemed to also closely inspect our guests.
It was yet again another beautiful day on the island. I can only hope there are many more to come!
Ashley, Naturalist
When we caught up to the group, which we determined was members of J Pod, they were meandering close to shore without any sort of driven-purpose. A group of about six orcas were travelling close, side by side, slowly making their way south. We stayed with the group for a while, enjoying views of numerous dorsal fins surfacing simultaneously. After, we jetted further south down the islands and caught a few views of J26, Mike, as he travelled in our general direction. His dorsal fin leans a bit to the left, making him easy to identify when he is heading toward or away from the boat. After spending time with the orcas and a mess of others boats (it was crowded on the water today) we headed south, to make a circumnavigation of the island. We stopped at Long Island along the way to check out the Bald Eagle nest and watch a few Harbor Seals laying out on the rocks in the sun. The Harbor Seals were more friendly today then they usually are. There was a group of about twenty seals in the water checking us out. Two seals close to our boat tousled a bit, in a playful manner, as they seemed to also closely inspect our guests.
It was yet again another beautiful day on the island. I can only hope there are many more to come!
Ashley, Naturalist
posted by San Juan Safaris Whale Watching at
6:41 PM
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