1 Minke + 2 Orca Pods + 3 or more Harbor Porpoise!

A day complete with all the wildlife the San Juan Islands have to offer! And mother nature brought out the sun for the holiday weekend!!

Left the harbor going south, checked out Goose Island and the noisy Glaucous-winged Gull residents and Double Crested Cormorants tending to their nests. With the tide still low there was plenty of haul out space for Harbor Seals on the bit of sand that's exposed on the north end of Goose.

Kept moving round the bend and about 2 miles off of American Camp we spotted a Minke Whale!! A little detour to the left and we were able to watch a few of the Minke's dive sequences! Typically an individual will have a sequence of shallow dives, surfacing to breathe every 30-60 seconds, followed by a deeper dive that will last for several minutes. It was a perfect chance to show just how hard it is to predict where a Minke will surface from one dive sequence to another when it resurfaced about 1/2 mile away!

Onward... up the west side, where we met up with the J & K Pods of Orcas cruising with the flooding tide. They were moving and most were hugging the shoreline! A few peeled offshore a bit. We ended up with some great looks at J27 (Blackberry), and what looked like the J-16s as they came up to Open Bay. There were breaches off in the distance, tail slapping, probably some socializing going on between Orcas.

We left the scene and made our way to Speiden Island watching all the grazing land mammals...Mouflan Sheep, Fallow Deer, and Sitka Deer. A nice little group of Harbor Seals were busy swimming around and a look at a mature Bald Eagle on the limb of a dead tree!

Completing our circumnavigation of San Juan Island, just before we entered Friday Harbor we watched a small pod of Harbor Porpoise swimming about! Just an all around great day on the water!

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist

A good end to a foggy day

Today I looked outside the window and it was raining and misty. When I stepped outside the house, the rain had stopped and with the mist I could only see about a block. Would it rain today? The happy answer is no!

Captain went out on the Kittiwake to the southern part of San Juan island, past American Camp. There was a large mix of orca whales. It was a super pod (when two or more pods meet with each other)! Members of all the family pods were there. Males, females, and a few young calves-enough to make a beautiful panoramic view of nature. We saw a breach, a cartwheel, and a few spy hops! They were traveling very closely together, breathing and diving between and over each other. The orcas blended together. The islands were covered with swirling fog, and there wasn't a trace of the Olympics. The water looked like liquid metal in the light. Then the sun broke through the white clouds, dispelling the mists. It was great!

We also were fortunate enough to run into a minke whale: a small baleen whale. It surfaced several times before we had to go on our way. Seals, a flock of black turnstones, and a curiously out of place brown pelican greeted us on our way home.

Until next time,
Sarah McCully, Naturalist

She may kill me, but here is a photo of Sarah taken by a guest Chalie Owen, Colleen

A Rare Encounter

Today was a lucky day, despite the Residents being out of range. We had Transient orcas in our area and decided to run up north to get to them.

The Transients are the same species as our Resident orcas: Orcinus Orca, but they belong to two different cultures which eat different foods, speak a different "language," have different family structures, and even look slightly different. These differences are also common in human cultures. We humans are all the same species, but we belong to different cultures. The "Ts" are always a treat because we don't see them near as often as our famous Residents.

We met up with the T18s and T30s north of Saturna Island in Canada (over 40 miles round trip)! We had some awesome looks at the two sprouter males, T30A and T19B. T30A is fifteen years old and T19B is thirteen. (For a thirteen year old he's quite large and we look forward to seeing him all grown up and monstrous.) He's almost reminiscent of our Resident male J30, who is also huge for his age.

Just to give you an idea how special this trip was, our friend Adam, a marine biologist, has NEVER seen the T30s after thirteen years of being on the water studying these guys! How cool is that???

Megan Young, Naturalist

The Whales headed to Canada, so to Canada we went.

This morning, I awoke to cloudy skies and chilly weather. Figuring it may rain, as it has had a tendency to do lately, I packed my rain pants and headed to work. Well, I've heard that if prepare for rain, it doesn't rain. That mentality seemed to work today, because by the time we were ready to leave, it was sunny and warm. Captain Denny, our guests and I headed north toward Canada. We caught up with the leaders of the group heading north, likely to the Frazer River to fish for salmon. The group of orcas we were traveling with today were some members of L Pod, including L41, Mega and L57, Faith.
We saw a couple spy hops, but for the most part the group was travelling northward in tight clusters. We travelled with them until we reached East Point, then headed back to Friday Harbor.

Ashley, Naturalist

Marine Mammal Extravaganza

Below: J16 with year old calf J42 taken by Adam U on June 3, 2008 aboard our boat the MV Sea Lion.

Today was mirror calm as we headed out from Friday Harbor to South Beach, on southwestern San Juan Island. We got word the Southern Residents were back within range and were moving south down San Juan Island.

When we arrived on scene, we got a few decent looks at some females, but they weren't arching at all and it was difficult to see the saddle to get a positive ID. We continued to parallel the animals, but moved north to meet up with the larger groups ahead. We had some great looks at L74 (Saanich) a 22 year old male as he moved down island with other members of L Pod. L74 has an interesting family group because there are no longer producing females in this matriline (aka the old L9s). The only female is L5 (Tanya) who is 44 years old and her youngest calf (that we know of) was born in 1986 and is a male named Flash. Flash and Saanich are cousins and there were reports of Flash and Tanya in our vicinity, but we paralleled Saanich so as not to get stuck in a bad position. We allowed L74 to move on and stopped to get a nice look at L67 (Splash) as she logged at the surface near the Center for Whale Research boat. We watched her logging for a few minutes and then she seemed to become more active and gave us a nice look at her saddle and nicks, this was great for our group because she's an easy animal to learn what to look for in the identification process. We did not see her youngest calf, L101 (Aurora) in the immediate vicinity and are unsure whether he's been seen this year. We will have to keep our eyes peeled and our ears open for any reports of L101. Splash was the mother of Luna (L98) the orca who found his way to Nootka Sound of the west side of Vancouver Island. Let's hope she has better luck with L101.

Not only did we have an incredible orca encounter, on our way back to Cattle Pass, we saw a Minke Whale lunge feeding in a bird ball! (See the drawing of a Minke Whale above.) Minkes are the smallest members of the "finner" whales and often get overlooked because of the charismatic orcas. It was nice for our guests to see orcas (Dolphins/toothed whales) and a Minke, which is a baleen whale. We got a few good looks as the Minke as it headed towards Cattle Point and then moved on to see a group of FOUR male Steller Sea Lions playing near Whale Rocks! They were rolling around and splashing over each other, which was quite the show.

We had an incredible trip in which we got great looks at many of the marine mammals that call the San Juan Islands home... at some point during the year.

We still have space available for tomorrow. Call in for a reservation: 800-450-6858.

Megan Young, Naturalist

A Whale of a Party!

Captain Nancy, our guests, our other boat the Sea Lion, and I departed Friday Harbor on this beautiful August day. After a few days of iffy weather, people started to speak of autumn's arrival, but today summer snuck back into our lives, delighting everyone aboard the boat. We headed south, passed through Cattle Pass and around Cattle Point - just as we rounded the point, we were already seeing boats! It seemed everyone else had the same idea we did -boatloads (ha) of boats gathered to watch the orcas. When we first arrived we watched J Pod and some members of L Pod swimming relatively close to shore in several small groups. We had heard word that K Pod was coming from the west in our direction. Everyone kept their fingers crossed that the three pods would meet up.
Our hopes were met when we began seeing boats that were travelling with K Pod in the distance. Soon, a whale mixer was underway. J Pod and L Pod members gathered together, and soon all three pods were socializing in one main large group and a few other smaller groups. There were tailslaps galore, a few breaches, and non-stop chatter was heard through the hydrophone. There were at least 65 whales in this super pod (which is what it is called when the three pods meet up). It was truly an incredible show. During super pods, many times mating will be occuring. This is because an orca will not mate with a member from his or her own pod, they are too closely related. Orcas are a matrilineal society, meaning they stay with their mothers there whole lives, making each pod a group of closely related individuals. It was breathtaking to watch this superpod interacting. K Pod had been out in the open ocean for quite a while now, so J and L Pod welcomed them back in a stunning display of tailslaps, breaches, clicks and squeals. What a magnificent day out on the water!

Ashley, Naturalist

What bay is this?? FRIDAY!

With the weather once again feeling like summer...we ventured north in the direction of Vancouver, BC where the Orcas were reported to be heading south. By the time we reached Orcas Island we heard they were moving away from us, northbound. Far from our reach...not too worry....there's plenty of other wildlife to see here in the San Juan Islands! We spent a beautiful afternoon island touring past National Wildlife Refuges such as Flattop Island & White Rocks and we spotted harbor seals hauled out, bald eagles, cormorants, and auklets. A mother harbor porpoise and calf played in our wake off our stern as we came around Green Point, off Speiden! We were able circle all of Stuart Island and and enjoy stunning views of Mount Baker with some fresh snow atop! Our guests enjoyed the trip and a chance to see the abundance of nature the San Juans have to offer!

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist

J Pod!

Received word that the whales were off the west side of San Juan Island moving north. Since they were close by we were able to take our time looking for other wildlife! We stopped to see the Eagle chick on O'neill Island, still hanging in its nest....this one was born very late in the season and will probably not fledge for another few weeks. Then we were fortunate to see an adult bald eagle on Speiden Island as well as mouflon sheep, fallow deer, and sitka deer all out grazing.

As we approached Henry Island the J Pod was moving north across to Stuart Island. Great views...a tight subpod with a calf...the Orcas were spread out...we had J19 and J41 cross by our stern offshore of the others. Looked like almost the entire J Pod was there, maybe a few members further south where the other boats were. We paralled J1 and the other Orcas swimming close by to him till they were off of Turn Point, Stuart Island. Throughout this encounter, we had a few direction changes and one great look at J1 on a deeper dive foraging. There was some splash activity...a few breaches, more foraging, and tail slaps. As we rounded Turn Point, it seemed the pod had not quite decided which way to go....north through the Gulf Islands or northeast through Boundary Pass.

We returned through John's Pass, getting a few more good looks at Harbor Seals hauled out near the Cactus Islands, and Bald Eagles perched keeping an eye out for prey. To top it off we even saw the beautiful schooner Adventuress out with full sails as we entered Friday Harbor.

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist

L Pod is back with the baby L111!

Met up with members of L-Pod off of Lopez Island this afternoon. We observed around 20 Orcas including the newborn calf L111 moving north at a steady pace offshore of the island. We were fortunate enough to get positive IDs on most of who we saw. The Orcas included the big male L41 (Mega) with his sisters L77 and L94, as well as the L21s including that little female L111 who was first seen on 8/12/08! Also in the group were L72 (Racer) with brother L95 and 4-year old son L105.

The group was first swimming slowly together in a tight group then switching to a side by side formation. As they moved north past Cattle Point, San Juan Island they swam closer to shore. Just off Eagle Cove the Orcas spread out, with some changing direction, moving offshore and presumably foraging. A few breaches along the way, which our guests always love! The ominous rain clouds hung overhead and the lighting was beautiful as the Orcas' dorsals sliced through the water.....

We were able to shut down quite frequently and towards the end of our encounter dropped the hydrophone in. The Ls were vocalizing with high pitched squeals, which reminded me of small childrens' shrill laughs. In between vocalizations there was much echolocation. We were surprised with great looks and sounds of L72 and son L105 foraging nearby and playing in loose kelp! As they swam past the echolocation clicks were so loud! L105 also did a tail stand as they swam along.

On our way back, the male Stellar Sea Lion was just lounging in the rain on Whale Rocks with Harbor Seals hauled out just around the corner. A male Harbor Seal put on quite a display for us with his flipper slaps and splashing.

The guests onboard were overjoyed at the encounter we had with the wildlife today and very interested in learning more about how our actions can affect life in the ocean, no matter how far from the sea we live.

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist

It's a baby.

Today I went out on the Kittywake with Captain Denny. We went south, past San Juan island. There were L-pod family members spread out all over the area. A lot of females were together, with males occasionally swimming by. There was also a tiny orca calf! It must have been the one that was just born last week. Compared to the others, it was very small! We all admired it, and wondered if it would be the last born in the summer-or do we still have a few surprises left?

An eagle was by her nest as well. She was observing the world, and just relaxing. That seems to be the theme of the day. The sun isn't out, but that doesn't matter today!

-Sarah, Naturalist

Transient kill

Last night we were treated with a great show of transient orcas right between Patos and Sucia islands. About twelve transient orca whales were gathered together hunting right along a tide rip just north of these two islands. This is an area where the water shears either towards Rosario Strait or to Boundary pass as it empties towards the Strait of Juan De Fuca into the Pacific Ocean.

During our observation we noticed the sound of rain however it was not falling from the sky. The sound was actually thousands of bait fish at the surface of the water swishing around loudly. This seemed like the perfect place for other creatures to be feeding on them, and in the presence of the orca as well. A perfect scenario to see a possible kill. As more clouds rolled in I noticed a porpoising female orca swimming away from us at about twenty miles an hour. Soon after, the rest of the group surrounded her and they paraded towards us to show off their hunting skills. We could not really make out what she had captured(my guess is a porpoise) but it did not take long before dinner was over. The group dove and were under the water for about eight minutes before resurfacing with no sign of the kill. It seemed as though dinner was served and they seemed happy. It was a great show and a wonderful learning experience as well. Till next time.

Captain Mike Krammer, naturalist

What rhymes with...?

The sky cleared, and the sun shone through the clouds. At last-the sun! I hadn't seen it for a few days long enough to notice! The wind wasn't very cold either.

Today on the boat we saw a Minke whale! I hadn't seen one since early June. It was excellent to watch in the mellow water. There was a research boat along with it. Minke-the smallest of the baleen whales-are just as fascinating as orca. They are gray and white, with little dorsal fins on the back. Everyone was excited to see it.

We saw eagles flying and landing as well. They were close enough to look like they were posing (I swear, we don't pay them in salmon! Why doesn't anyone believe me?).

-Sarah, Naturalist

Mining for the Wanderers

Yesterday on the Sea Lion captain Pete, naturalist Megan and I went Northwest to the other side of Saturna Island, and later that night around Coal island. We went as fast as we could-transients were out there! There was a large group-larger than I had seen before with transients. It was only my third time seeing them, so it was even more special.

They were fantastic. Early in the day there was tail lobs and breaches. Later on they were resting-coming up in unison, and going back down together. It was great! A few males were mixed in with several females, and there was a youngster in there too! It took a while to get there, but it made it even better when we did see them.

The sunset made the sky look like it was lit on fire, and in the distance we saw lightning. What an unusual day!

-Sarah, Naturalist

Sunset with the new L baby!

Last night we were also fortunate to have another look at the new L111 baby with mom L47 and siblings! The same subpods that we saw earlier that afternoon in Bellingham Channel were now further north almost off of Point Whitehorn. It was a bit of a run to get that far north, but well worth it! This group of Ls of about 15 or so Orcas was traveling at a steady speed all day and staying in a tight knit group during both trips that we observed them. There were a few times when these Ls split off into two or three family groups....but after a few dives would join back up side by side....very much a protective group of moms and their calves. A few female adults would at times spyhop and look around. Very graceful Orcas and we were so fortunate to see that little calf L111 following by swimming in the draft of it's mom. What an evening, capped off by an outstanding sunset!

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist

L111 Confirmed!!! Welcome to the world little one

Photo: L47 and L111 taken by Center for Whale Research Staff member Dave Ellifrit on August 12, 2008 under MMPA permit #532-1822.

Our suspicions were confirmed this afternoon when we encountered a group of Ls in Bellingham Channel. L47 was in this group with her now three children, including newly designated L111 who was born less than 48 hours ago!!! Also in this group was L72 (Racer) her son L105 (Fluke) and her brother L95 (Nigel). There were more animals than just the L21 subgroup and L72 and family, but they were so bunched up it was difficult to identify the rest of the members. It's always exciting to meet a new member of the Southern Resident Community, and we're really pulling for this little one as three of it's older siblings died the same year they were born (see below message from the Center for Whale Research). Our guests were thrilled to see this new addition to our family, even year-old L110 made this guy look small! We're hoping to watch this little one, as well as K42 (the other calf from this summer) grow up into producing adults for this community. Our animals are endangered for a reason and it's important to us to educate the public about the reasons for their plight in hopes of fostering a sense of concern for our animals and the environment in general.

Good luck L47 and little L111!

Megan Young, Naturalist

The Center for Whale Research discovered a new calf in L pod, early afternoon, August 12, 2008. The new calf, designated L111, is the 6th calf of L47. L111 joins sisters L83 and L91 and nephew L110 as the newest member of the L21 subgroup. L47, at age 34, is not only a new mother but also a grandmother. Her last calf, L107, was born in the summer of 2005 but did not survive more than a few months. Based on L111's size and the apparent fetal folds (visable in the above photographs), Center for Whale Research staff believe the calf to have been be only a few hours old. Also, L47 was observed by Center staff without a calf in the evening of August 11, additionally indicating that L111 was born less than 24 hours before its discovery. The total number of individuals in L pod has yet to be determined this year, however the Center has proposed that there may be at least two L pod whales missing this year. Therefore, this is an important event in L pod and the Center staff is hopeful that the calf will survive. As of December 2007, there are 43 whales in L pod. If L111 returns to the San Juan Islands next summer, it will be officially counted in the population. For more details on the first encounter with L111 please go to: 2008_Eounters_035.html

Unconfirmend L Pod Baby

Our evening trip last night was extremely exciting because we may have had some of the first looks at the newest member of the Southern Resident Community! We spent our time with the L47s (Marina, Moonlight, Muncher, and L110... soon to receive a name ~ make sure you vote for Marley). However, there was one other member in this group who appeared to be just hours old. L110, who is just turning one year old made this animal look quite small. The calf appeared to be swimming closest to L47, Marina and was very pinkish orange, but difficult to get a perfect look at because it was being sheltered in the middle of the group. The other whale watch operators on the water agreed that it appeared to be the newest member of L Pod who would be less than 24 hrs old!!! This means that we got some of the first looks at this potentially new member. We are awaiting word from the Center for Whale Research to confirm our sighting. Hopefully we will know within the next few days whether our suspicions are confirmed and L47 has a new kid. This would be her fifth calf. Her older two are still alive, however her two most recent passed away as young calves. If this animal is truly new and truly hers, lets hope it makes it through this next tough year.

Megan Young, Naturalist

Congrats Adam U!!!

Congratulations to Adam U on his acceptance to the masters program at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. We're very happy for him and he will be greatly missed!

Good luck Adam and don't forget about the little guys here on San Juan Island!

Isn't the little one cute?!

We spent the afternoon in close proximity to where we were yesterday, just off of San Juan Island. Members of L pod was coming down island at full speed when we got out there! Porpoising as if they had someplace to be......we had a few nice looks at a young Orca calf...possibly L-109 (just over a year old) or L-106 (a 3 year old male) swimming near it's relative L-27? .

We were later caught offguard by a calf coming at our stern, and as required by law, we just shut down waiting for the little one to pass by. Interestingly, he or she was swimming in various directions staying within close proximity to the boat. Perhaps a little curious about the world around him or her? There was a spyhop or two and then the calf swam off. We and another boat were very surprised by a loud splash and then another as the calf did 2 full breaches, entirely clearing the water!! It was awesome! Unfortunately nobody onboard got a photo since we were all so surprised! Everyone, myself included was reminded by how much larger these animals are (even the young ones) when you see the entire body; they look so much smaller when you just see them surface to breathe.

On our way back in we were also excited to see a male Stellar Sea Lion just on Whale Rocks, hauled out holding his head back. This was no California Sea Lion, the Stellar was huge!! The males way up to 2000 lbs!! He made the Harbor Seals look like nothing.

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist

Orcas basking in the sun! Brown Pelican up here?!

Yesterday was incredible! One of the most peaceful and breathtaking days on the water. About a dozen or so L-pod Orcas were just off of Eagle Point and South Beach off San Juan Island. It was one of the calmest days out there this summer...I've really never seen it like this before! The Straits were still....the water was glassy for both our 1pm and 5:30pm sunset trips! I couldn't believe it. We love it when the whales are so close by because it offers us the opportunity to spend time observing them as well as looking for other wildlife as well. And we love it when the water is glassy, the better to see the whales.

On both trips we saw the L-12s...grandmother Alexis with her grand-calves....L-41 (Mega, a large male with 2 notches on the trailing edge of his dorsal), L-77 (Matia, a 21 year old female), and younger sister L-94 (Calypso, born in 95). The other subpod included L-85 (Mystery), with cousin L-22 (Spirit) and her 2 sons L-79 (Skana) & L-89 (Solstice). I believe L-87 (Onyx) was probably in the area as well since he's often seen traveling with sister L-22.

It was a gorgeous sight because all the whale watching boats were able to shut down on this calm day and just listen as the whales slowly swam...we could hear their breathing and L-12 (Alexis) would log at the surface for minutes on end. Logging is a behavior where the whale just sits at the surface very still, as if suspended. We were able to hear echolocation at the surface!!! With the hydrophone in the water, there was very little vocalizing, but some echolocating on both trips. It was great to hear the waters so silent, with the calm waters every boat had their engines off!

Both L-12 and one of her daughters L77 or L94 were logging, and rolling onto their sides, with flipper slaps and a little spyhop with just their chins sticking out! These L-pod members were here all day....changing direction...just milling about. In the evening the L-12s paraded south together to Salmon Bank, with Mt. Baker in the background. It was such a calm clear evening that we could even see Mt. Rainer far off to the south!!

And on the earlier trip we even saw a Brown Pelican just outside of Friday Harbor! Brown Pelicans are generally not seen this far north in the islands. A rare sighting here indeed! Not to mention in the evening, there was something swimming at the surface with 2 small fins....judging by it's motion I'd say perhaps a small, 1.5-2 foot long spiny dogfish? Not sure, but this non-threatening shark and others are known to also hang close to the surface to thermoregulate and absorb the sun's heat. You never know what you'll see!

Our guests really enjoyed both trips. It is quite amazing to experience nature like this...so serene and peaceful. Just taking in the views, the Orcas and wildife in their natural environment!

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist

Living to Learn, Learning to Live

Below: Photo taken June 3, 2008 by our guest Adam U. There are three identifiable whales in this photo. The third fin from the left belongs to DoubleStuf (J34). In front of DoubleStuf is his younger sibling Cookie (J38) and behind the two of them is their mother, Oreo (J22). DoubleStuf has a very skinny young-sprouter fin, Cookie is only five and so much smaller than the others, and Oreo has two little black spots on her eye patch on the left side, which you can see if you click on the photo.

Today was an incredible day, not just because we saw Js and some Ls... which is always incredible, but also because we had guests who were very excited to learn. They wanted to hear about our animals and environmental issues on the whole... which makes our staff very happy.

We first encountered the whales just off South Beach and they travelled back and forth from False Bay to Salmon Bank for about an hour. The animals were split up into small groups, with some inshore and others about two miles offshore. We specifically encountered multiple small groups and were surprised to see that some of the matrilines were split up so that animals of similar ages were foraging together. We saw fifteen year old J28 (Polaris), who is my personal favorite, travelling with her ten year old little sister Tahlequah (J35) and thirteen year old Tsuchi (J31). These teenage and preteen girls seemed to enjoy our company and we paralleled them for a while before seeing the J14s (Samish, Riptide, Hy'shqa, and Suttles) who were the only full matriline we saw today. We also got brief looks at J22 (Oreo) with her five year old calf Cookie (J38), however her sprouter son DoubleStuf (J34) was not in sight. We also caught some surfaces from J26 (Mike) as he travelled with L57 (Faith) and L53 (Lulu). We left the animals at about 3:15 pm as they headed down island toward Iceberg Point, but given their afternoon behavior, that is subject to change.

We encountered a nice group of animals, but we had an even nicer group of people. Our guests were extremely interested in the orcas and their plight, as well as in discussing environmental issues as a whole. I personally believe that we owe it to this population of animals to not simply enjoy them, but to learn about them as well. Regardless of personal opinions of conservation and environmental issues, I think we can all agree that if we don't change our destructive habits these orcas won't be the only ones suffering. Orcas are the apex predators in this ecosystem and are key indicators to the health of the environment. If they are having problems now, what are we as the dominant predators on the planet in for? Mothers on the boat voiced that they were concerned for the future their children would have to deal with if we don't make changes. "We do not inherit the environment from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." ~ Native American Proverb.

Megan Young, Naturalist

J Pod Males and L57 Spend Some Time Male-Bonding

This morning Captain Craig and I took a group of excited guests out around the south side of the island. We had heard word that members of J Pod and some members of L Pod were travelling along the west side of the island. So off we went! We arrived on scene around the False Bay area. In the distance we began to see dorsal fins! As we came closer, we began travelling with a group of males from both J Pod and L Pod. J Pod has two males, J 26, Mike, and J27, Blackberry, who are both 17 years old. We saw these two guys travelling alongside L57, Faith, a member of L Pod. They also seemed be travelling with J42, the youngest J Pod member, and her mother, J16, or Slick, for a few minutes. But, after a few surfacings with the youngster, the boys seemed to be on their own again, now travelling with Mike's younger brother (and J42's older brother), J33, Keet. It was quite the boy's club this morning ... talk about male bonding.
After a fogging and chilly morning, the weather really started clearing up. The fog burned off, and the blue skies came out. We circumnavigated San Juan Island after viewing the whales, and enjoyed a pleasant pass through Mosquito Pass. All and all, it a very excellent morning adventure!

Ashley, Naturalist

TRANSIENT Orcas in Haro Strait!

...The Resident Orcas, who are strictly fish eaters, primarily salmon hunting specialists, were reported far to the north somewhere in the vicinity of the Frasier River mouth near Vancouver, BC.

With that information known, some other boats found a group of Transient Orcas in our neighborhood, just off the northwest side of San Juan Island this afternoon!! Very exciting to receive reports of Transients; these Orcas are marine mammal hunters, specializing in a diet that includes porpoise and harbor seals that are found in our waters. Transients tend to be seen more often when the Residents are not around, (or maybe it's that we're just looking for them more when we know the other pods are not around)...either way it's always exciting to observe them because we tend to encounter them less frequently!

Both types or races of Orca can be identified by their dorsal fins and saddle patches, and we know we saw the T20s.....a large male T20 with a distinctive notch near the top, along with his sister T21 and T22, who I've been told each have a calf...and we did see at least 2 younger Orcas with this group. Also reported was a sighting of T90, and T24? (upon arrival to the scene I thought I saw another large male) or T124? (heard this from other boat captains...). Waiting to hear confirmation on identities of these Orcas. Having not seen Transients all summer, I was really happy to get to see this group. They were traveling slowly at a steady pace, taking longer dives than the Resident Orcas typically do, a few splashes and sudden changes in direction...but overall no indication of hunting or feeding. Very tough to predict where they would resurface during these long dives though.

The T20s were also encountered earlier this week, on Tuesday, in San Juan Channel as well as the previous Monday off Blaine, WA. Interesting to see this one group so frequently in the last week or so and I'm anxious to hear more on this group. As we left, the Transients they were heading north off Mandarte Island in Haro Strait.

-Jaclyn Van Bourgondien, naturalist

Orca Captures-a talk with scientist and author Howard Garrett

Listen to Puget Sound Voices tonight on KSVR 91.7FM or www.ksvr.orgTuesday, August 5th, 5-5:30PM Orcas in CaptivityThe waters of Penn Cove were once the site of one of the largest captures of orca whales in history. Out of the 45 captured in the '60s and '70s, only one, "Lolita," is alive today. We'll talk to Howard Garrett of the Free Lolita Campaign and Orca Network about the ongoing efforts to bring Lolita home to the waters of Puget Sound. Puget Sound Voices is a weekly 1/2 hour radio program produced by People For Puget Sound and KSVR, Mount Vernon. Programs are focused on news, events and opportunities throughout the Puget Sound Watershed. Tune in to Puget Sound Voices on Tuesdays from 5-5:30PM and Sundays from 3-3:30PM or listen live at www.ksvr.org. Programs can be downloaded at www.pugetsound.org.Britta Eschete, People for Puget Sound

Don't call him Ruffles! (he's sensitive)

Today on the Sea Lion captain Mike, naturalist Ashley and I went south. The orcas were in False Bay, past Cattle Point light house near American camp. Up from the depths came Granny, our 97 year old lady. She was healthy, and beautiful with the sun and the calm waters. Ruffles, the large male also from the J-pod family was there, as he and Granny are frequently together. Others joined the crowd, including Mike and several females.

There are interesting sea gulls around. I don't know them all yet, since one type can have a lot of different changes throughout it's life! I'm learning though. Some even come all the way here from Mexico!

Yesterday afternoon I saw a lion's mane jellyfish! It was amazing! I first thought it was some strange kelp, until it started grooving along like only a jelly can. I hope to see some more this week. The San Juan waters always have something going on!

Until tomorrow!

-Sarah, Naturalist

Calm Water

Today was a fabulous day! The sun was shining, the water was calm, and Js and Ls were on the move. We visited the two pods on the west side of San Juan Island. Our first trip took us to False Bay. Our subsequent trips found us at the entrance to Mosquito Pass and then north of Stuart Island. The animals seemed to be moving quite fast all day and with purpose. We got positive IDs on L57, J1, J2, J22, J34, J17, the J11s and L53. The animals seemed to become a bit playful as the day progressed and we even saw a J1 BREACH!!!! (A first for me.) We also saw multiple cartwheels and spy hops. The conditions today were perfect for whale and wildlife watching and we look forward to our trips tomorrow.

Megan, Naturalist

Orcas moving northward!!

Met the J-Pod as they were crossing Speiden Channel from the west side of San Juan up to Stuart Island! The Orcas were really spread out, traveling at a steady pace with J-1 (Ruffles) and J2 (Granny) just offshore ahead of the majority of the group. A calm, beautiful afternoon on the water.....small family groups of Orcas just meandering up towards the Canadian Gulf Islands with the incoming flooding tide. A few tail slaps and some vocalizing between whales.....

With the high tide, not many seals at their usual haul out on Sentinal Rocks, but lots of cute little heads bobbing in the water all around. A few small pups out on their own as they are starting to be weaned from their mothers. As we passed the southern face of Speiden Island, there were 2 adult bald eagles right at the cliff's edge. One took flight as we passed, and landed in a neighboring tree. Plenty of fallow deer and mouflon sheep out in the grasslands of Speiden Island and grazing away.

Lots of wildlife today, just another day here in the San Juan Islands in the summer.

-jaclyn, naturalist :)

Orcas at Hein Bank

This morning we left Friday Harbor with very calm and glassy seas. It was a very beautiful morning, perfect for watching the whales and all the other wild life. Our first leg of the journey took us through the Cactus islands where were saw an abundance of Harbor Seals and their pups. We proceeded through Johns pass and travelled the North Shore of Stuart Island where we watched a Bald Eagle overlooking the water from its perch, probably looking for a good meal. After making our turn to the south at "Turn point" we continued on to Hein Bank where we topped off our morning spending time with the Orca. Members of both J and L pods making their way to the west side of San Juan Island to feed. This was a wonderful way to wrap up our trip around the island.

Captain Mike

The Kitty, the Captain, and the Naturalist went to sea

Today on the Kittywake Captain Craig and I took customers out to the southern part of the island past Cattle point. The water was smoother than it has been, and it wasn't raining! Two days of gray skies, followed by overcast.

We saw a seagull gang surrounding a harbor seal. They were squawking and hoovering. Up popped the seal with a salmon! Before the gulls could try to steal some, it ducked back down under the water. After a few times of repeating this it was easy to see the seal was teasing the gulls! We watched for several minutes, and noticed another seal keeping watch a little farther away; maybe it was to keep the game from getting boring!

The sun broke through the clouds, and lo: there were orcas. Some jumped out of the water, while others slapped their tails against the surface. We saw J-pod family members J-8 Spieden, J-19 Sachi, and a lot of other females! Everyone became very quiet to hear them breathing. Everyone was really excited!

Until tomorrow,

-Sarah, Naturalist

J Pod off of False Bay

Today we headed out toward the southwestern side of the island, having heard word that J Pod was hanging out around the False Bay area. We arrived to the scene to find J Pod members spread out nearshore and offshore. The group appeared to be fishing, and was spread out around the area. We watched two young members of J Pod, J41, Eclipse, and J40, Suttles exihibiting a behavior that looked like playing with their food. Apparently young orcas aren't much different than young children!
As we cruised offshore, we watched a whale research boat in the process of training a dog to pick up the scent of whale fecal matter, which the researchers aboard are collecting to analyze the fecal matter to obtain different information about the whales. Fecal samples can tell researchers if an orca is a male or female, if a female is pregnant, what an orca has been eating, etc.
We had a wonderful day out on the water. After a couple of days of rain, the skies cleared and the smooth water reflected the pale blue color of the sky. Towards the northern side of the island, we could see a cloud of rain covering the area. Our group was certainly glad to be on the southern side of the island today!

Ashley, Naturalist