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
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
posted by San Juan Safaris Whale Watching at
9:32 AM
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