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