Transient Orca Photo from Saturday April 10, 2010

Sent in by our guest William Clift and taken on this past Saturday's tour, here are two photos of the Transient Orca Whales after a kill of a seal.
Note all the sea birds around jostling for their share of the left over tid bits.

This is off the east side of Lopez Island. It was an unusual location. And it was an unusual sight to catch transient orcas in the act of "the kill".

These photos will be entered in the 2010 photo contest.

Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

On The Road Again!

The whale road that is. Well, world's largest dolphin road to be exact. That is right, today we saw orcas! A small pod of transient orcas was spotted on the east side of Lopez Island near a reef called Bird Rock. When we arrived on scene it was to find two males and 3-4 female transient orcas in an active feeding pattern. We did not get to see any confirmed kills, but they were definitely an active bunch with lots of diving and not much time spent at the surface. We were able to get a good look at one of the males though and determine that it was T87. He is usually seen in the company of several females, so yesterday was not an unusual grouping. The other male with the group may have been T90, but he was being reclusive and staying well away from where the other animals were feeding.

Even though we never saw a kill, the presence of sea gulls and marine birds in the immediate area suggests that there was food in the water. Whether it was a school of fish or the remnants of the orcas' lunch we will never know. It made it much easier to track the orcas though with all of those birds around.

On our ride back to Friday Harbor we cruised around the south end of Lopez Island and up through Cattle Pass. At Whale Rocks we saw Steller's sea lions and there was a bald eagle in the top of a tree at Cape San Juan. We even got to wave hello to Capt. Craig's wife Peggy as we passed by the shore on our way up San Juan Channel.

It was a windy, but good, day to be on the water and our great group of guests had a fun time with our local wildlife. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, we would like to extend a warm welcome and congratulations to our new captain Jeff Wood and a thank you to all of you. Do not forget, we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Transient Orca Whale Today

Our boat Sea Lion spent about 1/2 an hour with 5 transient orca whales today off Lopez Island.
Captain Craig told me they even made a kill while guests were watching. He said the water was clear and calm. Today it is about 50 degrees with a slight wind may be 10 - 15 knots.

Due to demand, we have added a tour Sunday, April 18 at 12:30 PM.
Get your reservations in now. 800 450 6858.

Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Good News for Local San Juan Islands Fishes

My mind must be on fish lately. Eveything fish seems to catch my eye. Read on. . .

On Oct. 15, a large cement tide gate was removed from the tide channel of Lopez Island’s Shoal Bay lagoon.

The derelict tide gate structure was restricting the flow of water in and out of the lagoon, obstructing fish passage at low tide and causing elevated summertime temperatures within the lagoon. Shoal Bay has a rich nearshore marine environment with forage fish spawning beaches, eelgrass, shellfish beds, a sand spit and a coastal lagoon.

Pacific herring, surf smelt and multiple species of out-migrating juvenile salmon utilize the project area. The restoration project, will improve water quality and fish passage conditions at the lagoon.

More at
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/sanjuans/isw/lifestyle/67788302.html





Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Tales of Whales

Some days are just not like the others and sometimes the orcas do things that we just can not predict. Yesterday, members of K and L pods swam up San Juan Channel between San Juan and Lopez Islands. That was only the second time this season that they have done that, and we were there to see it. They made it all the way to Friday Harbor before they turned around and headed back south. It was a lovely, mostly clear day and with the orcas traveling in two large, close groups it was easy to both see and hear them.

One of our young guests has had an adoption of "Moonlight" for a couple of years and he was anxious to see her. With so many animals around it was hard to tell at times which individuals were there, but he and I were both pretty sure that we saw her family. There was also "Flash", "Saanich", "Raggedy", "Cappuccino", "Ino" and many, many more.

It was a unique and interesting opportunity to see these animals right in and amongst our islands. No one can say why they choose to come through here, or why they usually do not. There is salmon in the area, as evidenced by the seals and sea lions that we see feeding on them. Even yesterday, in a little cove on Sentinel Island, there was a young harbor seal with a huge fish and lots of seagulls around begging for scraps. So food is available, but whether it is not plentiful enough, or if there is too much boat traffic it is hard to say what directs the orcas' paths to the outer channels and straits. Luckily for us and our guests on the M/V Kittiwake though, the orcas chose a different path this time and we were there to witness it.

So, from Capt. Craig, me and all of the crew at San Juan Safaris, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Jolly ol' Js

It was a double round-trip for those guests coming from Anacortes today. We loaded them on the boat in Friday Harbor and then motored through Upright Channel and Thatcher Pass to get to Rosario Strait right outside of Anacortes. There was some fog again today, but it was well inland and offered a nice soft background for viewing the orcas. And orcas there were.

J pod was all there travelling in two tight family groups down the strait. The four big boys, both calves with their mothers, all of the juveniles and the grand dames as well. J1 "Ruffles" showed us some tail slapping action and then someone popped up in a spyhop. The calves were tucked into the middle of the groups with their moms at their sides and J2 "Granny" led the whole thing. The most picturesque moment came when most of the pod surfaced together for air with the lighthouse at Burrows Island in the background.

We finally ended the trip with a head-on view of the orcas coming right at the boat. A moment only allowed us to revel in the awe of these stunning animals and then we moved away before we disturbed their travel. By this time we were at the south end of Decatur Island, so we slipped through a narrow pass to the coastline of Lopez Island and followed that back around to San Juan Channel and home. A bald eagle, harbor seals and many, many sea birds rounded out our day of wildlife viewing and a close-up of the schooner Adventuress wrapped our day.

So, from Capt. Nancy, Jeanette, MV Sea Lion, San Juan Safaris and myself, thank you for all of your whale watching enthusiasm and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

A Super Safari!

What a day! There were Orca families zooming everywhere with breaches, tail slaps and spyhops galore. We saw auklets and harbor seals and even a bald eaglet in the nest with his parents standing guard in nearby trees. The sun was out and the waters were calm and our guests on the MV Kittiwake could not have been more fun.

Capt. Craig and I took a lively group of visitors through Friday Harbor and down the east side of San Juan Island. Just past Turn Island we stopped to see some harbor seals hauled out on the rocks in the sun and a bald eagle sitting on the very top of a tree causing it to bend over with the bird's weight. We then rode the ebbing tide down San Juan Channel past Griffin Bay and out Cattle Pass. A quick left turn at the southwest corner of Lopez Island and there were the whales.

J1 "Ruffles" along with the rest of his family group went racing past us in a very tight formation and across the opening to Cattle Pass. Once on the other side they slowed down, probably because they were no longer fighting the currents. We could see numerous other family groups in the distance all headed west along the south ends of Lopez and San Juan Islands. They were swimming so fast that we say porpoising and white wave caps each time that the Orcas returned to the water. One individual did a fabulous bellyroll and there was so much tail waving and tail slapping going on I lost track of who was doing what.

After leaving what appeared to be a mix of Js, Ks and maybe Ls we then cruised Long Island and found the mated pair of bald eagles there and then motored over to the coastline of Lopez Island to check out a nest and chick that our sister boat, the MV Sea Lion, had alerted us to. Sure enough the adults could be seen sitting in nearby snags and the eaglet was proudly standing up in the nest surveying his domain. It was very cool.

Today really showcased what an awesome job this is and how fabulous it is to be here in the San Juan Islands. Neither I nor our guests could have asked for anything better. So, from all of us here at San Juan Safaris to all of you adventurers out there, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist



Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Let The Nights Begin!

As spring advances towards summer here and the days become longer in the San Juan Islands, we at San Juan Safaris shift into our evening sunset tours along with the lengthening sunlight. This particular Saturday marked our first late tour of the season and it was a glorious one. The sun shone through a clear sky, but the wind made jackets a necessity, especially out on the water. As Capt. Peter maneuvered us out of Friday Harbor and I talked with the guests aboard the MV Sea Lion we received a report that there was a Humpback Whale not far from us. We quickly traveled south around Turn Point and down Griffin Bay.

We were nearly to Cattle Pass when Capt. Peter slowed the boat and told us all it was time to look. It only took a minute before I spotted a blow 450 yards away at Cape San Juan. This is a beautiful protected area on the southern tip of San Juan Island. The whale was right at the edge of the current line feeding on all of the food that was being pushed through Cattle Pass with the flooding, or incoming, tide. Because the water was boiling around us with the rushing of the tide we lost track of the whale a few times, but always quickly located him again. He was also swimming in erratic patters depending on what his food was doing. Two other boats joined us out in the melee as we tracked the beautiful giant out of the pass.

Once the Humpback had moved out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca we decided to seek calmer waters. We slowly traveled up Lopez Island looking for eagles and then cruised into Parks Bay on Shaw Island. The water was like glass as the land closed around us in the little bay. At the very back of the bay we had the privilege of seeing an Osprey sitting in the top of a tree next to it's nest. Finally, it was a circuit around Yellow Island and an aerial show by juvenile and adult Bald Eagles over a nearby island as the sun sank down.

Our first evening out epitomized the tranquility of the islands and reminded us all that sometimes you need to stop and smell the roses. So, from all of us to all of you, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©