The Sun Has Set

It was inevitable, but sad all of the same. Tonight was our last evening trip. We did not waste it though and we had a lovely group of guests out with us on the M/V Sea Lion. Even though there were no resident orcas tonight we still saw all kinds of wonderful wildlife.

As Capt. Pete toured us through the islands, we stopped time and again for harbor seals hauled out on rocks. Of course, there is always a method to Capt. Pete's madness and he was stopping at all of the places that a transient, or marine mammal eating orca, would hunt. The seals' cute faces watched us from the rocks and water as we glided by watching them. The pups are almost all weaned now and it is getting harder to tell the youngsters from the adults.

Bald eagles have had a good breeding season this year and all of our active nests have now fledged their chicks. With San Juan County having the highest density of bald eagles in the State of Washington, it is not surprising when you see them on each island that you pass. Ashley and I were kept busy spotting not only the adults, but the all brown juveniles as well. With the great evening lighting though, it was perfect for picking them out amongst the trees.

A loop out through Haro Strait unfortunately did not produce any Dall's porpoises, but the whole trip was heavily laden with sightings of harbor porpoises. Their little dark dorsal fins dotted the waters, especially anywhere that there were multiple currents mixing and churning. We did get a surprise though, when we came around the corner between the Cactus Islands and saw a Steller's sea lion. These guys are still supposed to be up in Alaska. This was probably a sub-adult male that just was not quite big enough or sexy enough to win any females. Hopefully next year will be better for him.

We closed out our evening with a cruise past Spieden Island. What an amazing way to end the most beautiful part of our season. The mouflon sheep, sika deer and fallow deer were out in herds. Every hillside and crevice was dotted with animals. They all mingled together, peacefully grazing on the dry summer grass. Several males from each species were out and the racks of antlers and horns were incredibly impressive. In our slow pass along the island, we also had chances to see the lion's mane jellyfish with it's blood red tentacles slowing sliding past the boat.

The sunset was a crowning glory to a last wonderful evening. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, to all of you that spent your evenings with us, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Peaceful Wanderings

As the orcas sought food and adventure in the waters of the pacific, so we sought peace and relaxation amongst the islands. We were without whales today, but our guests did not suffer for it. Capt. Nancy took the MV Sea Lion, guest naturalist Russell and me on a beautiful wildlife cruise under warm sunny skies.

Harbor seals with pups were on every corner and I lost count of all of the bald eagles that we saw. Mouflon sheep, along with sika and fallow deer, were all out on Spieden Island and the humped back and dorsal fins of harbor porpoises could be seen all around us. Even our tans were enhanced by the clean air, clear skies and golden reflections off of the calm waters.

At Turn Point on Stuart Island we were alerted of a peregrine falcon nest and fledgling, but were unfortunately unable to find them in the trees. Russell treated us to the stories behind some of the unusual homes found on the island though and I stunned the crowd when I told them about the one-room schoolhouse. The islands never cease to amaze and they rarely fail to impress. Such is life in this gem of the Pacific Northwest.

So, until the next time that you visit, thank you from all of us at San Juan Safaris and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Think Positive Thoughts

Today began with no confirmed orca reports and rumors that J Pod was hanging out closer to the Pacific Ocean. Our guests were told to remain optimistic because we have a variety of marine mammals in the islands and we never know what could pop up.

The positive thoughts must have paid off because we got a report of a group of Transients hanging out near Iceberg (Lopez Island) and heading northwest towards us. We scooted down the west side of San Juan Island, after getting a quick look at the Mouflon Sheep on Speiden, in pursuit of the Transients.

We arrived on scene just south of Cattle Point to see four Transient orcas: one mature male, two females, and a calf. The group was later identified as the T30s being the mother T30 and her three offspring: T30A (the bull), T30B (the other cow), and the calf T30C. They were swimming around pretty eratically; chaging direction, grouping up, and splitting apart in no predictable fashion. They were swimming at about 4mph and were surfacing in intervals of about 7 minutes.

We observed the Transients for about 1/3 of our trip and spent the rest of the time looking at Mouflon Sheep, Dall's Porpoise, Harbor Seals, Pigeon Gillemots, Glaucus-Winged Gulls, Cormorants, and Bald Eagles.

This trip goes to show that good things come to those who wait....

Megan, Naturalist

Info on Transients from Orca Lab:

The Transient population of the Pacific Northwest has been identified as a distinct race. Their range encompasses the same waters as those used by the Resident Communities of Washington State, British Columbia and Alaska. No one understands how these two races developed, but most likely they have been genetically separated for many years. Physically, the two races are very similar but there are some differences. The top of the dorsal fin of Transient orcas tends to be more pointed than that of Resident orcas. Less obvious, the saddle patch ( the grey pigmentation along the side & behind the dorsal fin ) is further forward on Transients.

The real difference between the two races is in their behaviors and habits concerning their food preferences. Resident whales prefer a diet of fish, and in the summer months almost exclusively salmon. This is why we can predictably watch the Resident populations in key locations along the coast during the salmon season (when the salmon are travelling to the rivers to spawn). Transients, however, prefer to eat marine mammals. The Transients cruise the coastal waters in search of their prey. Transients have been known to feast on Harbour seals, Sea lions, Dall's porpoises, Harbour porpoises, Pacific Whitesided dolphins, Gray, Minke and other whales.

As the rain falls down

Today it lightly drizzled on our wilderness trip. The mist flickered and lifted off of small islands, with the sun gently hazed over. Our guests were enthusiastic and often remarked about their own experiences in the Pacific Northwest.

The bald eagles gave us quite a show! They were close to the boat, and one called out to us. We were able to see porpoises, and it was remarked on and debated about their intelligence level. Many of our guests were curious, and we were delighted to be able to help and try to make their time as enjoyable as we could.

Unfortunately, the whales were too far away for all the boats in the area today. We had an excellent adventure anyway, and the only thing that would make life better would be some hot chocolate!

-Sarah Naturalist

Silver and Family

Below: a Dall's and Harbor Porpoise. Harbors have extremely high testosterone levels and have been known to interbreed with Dall's.

Yesterday was another sun shiny day on the water. Each day's weather conditions seem to be improving and we look forward to have 70 degree weather and sun for each trip. Although yesterday didn't yield orcas, nobody reported a sighting of J's or Transients, we did get some great looks at Dall's Porpoises as well as a few hybrids. The crew has noticed a particular hybrid in the past because it has exceptionally white sides, almost appearing like a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin from a distance. However, we've come to a conclusion this guy, named Silver, is a hybrid between a Dall's and Harbor Porpoise. Harbors, although shy, are not too shy when it comes to reproduction. Their high testosterone levels cause them to seek out females of their own species, as well at the Dall's Porpoise. Because these animals stay with their mothers, we never see hybrids with the Harbors. (Male Dall's don't breed with female Harbors.) Our staff enjoys seeing Silver because he/she was so easy to identify. However, due to yesterday's high concentration of Dall's in the Haro Strait, we quickly learned that Silver has a few twins and therefore may not be so easy to identify. Our guests enjoyed spending time with our playful porpoises and then got some amazing views of Eagles, Mouflon Sheep, Sica Deer, as well as the Fallow Deer. With perfect weather and the diversity of life we saw, we couldn't have asked for a better day.

We have another trip today and will keep our eyes peeled for J-Pod!!!

Whale of a Tale

Below: A group of Transients seen hunting on the 21st near Victoria. Photo by Mark Malleson.

What a perfect day for an adventure! We had a great group of guests come out with us for the perfect April excursion and they were in for a treat. As soon as our lucky friends boarded the boat, Captain Hobbes got word that Transients were hunting near Hughes Pass in Canada. No sooner than we'd given the safety talk we were off towards Canada in search of a small group of Transients.

When we arrived on scene, Hobbes slowed the boat for a dramatic entrance. Guests shouted as they saw dorsal fins on the horizon. We watched them from about 300 yards off and suddenly they disappeared. We searched all around the boat hoping to see something in the distance. Whoosh!!! We all looked in the direction of the noise and six transients popped up about 60ft from our stern! T-14, an adult transient male, was with them and as big and beautiful as ever. (Don't worry all you San Juan Bloggers out there, our motor was off so as not to affect the whales.) Our guests were able to get up close and personal with some of the top predators in the ocean.

Not only did we see transients, but we also checked out some Dall's porpoises, Harbor Seals, Mouflon Sheep, and even saw a Steller Sea Lion hauled out on Green Point! We even had a little River Otter hunting near the docks to greet us when we came in. Our guests got quite a treat today and the season is only beginning! We look forward to our trip tomorrow afternoon at 1pm. Every day is exciting, but today sure took the cake!

(Special thanks go out to T-14 and his family for giving us an incredible show!)

Spying on Speiden

Photo of a Bald Eagle by our guest Dan Konopacki

Yesterday was a fun group in that we took five people out for an intimate trip around the islands. We began our orca search by heading down the east side of San Juan Island so we could high tail it to Victoria if they spotted whales. Unfortunately, there was no whale chatter over the radio and Captain Hobbes decided to turn around and head back towards Speiden because the water was very choppy. (We this these waves contributed to our lack, and everyone's lack for that matter, of seeing whales.) We took our guests to Speiden in hopes of catching something unique and exciting.

The excitement built as we parallelled Speiden because we saw a Bald Eagle kill! There was an adult and a juvenile feeding on a baby Mouflon Sheep carcass in plain view of our boat. We believe the baby died shortly before we got there, perhaps it was a still birth, and the eagles were taking advantage of the opportunity. Our National Geographic experience didn't end there. We also saw two juvenile male Mouflon Sheep headbutting each other. This "play" behavior eventually becomes more than a game when they are old enough to fight for females. They would rear up on their hind legs and crash their heads together with a force so great we could hear it echo!

We left Speiden with great photos and incredible memories and headed out into the Haro to look for porpoises and of course, orcas. We saw a few Dall's, but the waves made it difficult to keep an eye on them so Hobbes took us back around Stuart Island to check out some Harbor Seals and Bald Eagle nests. The trip came to a close as we came around the north side of Speiden, but the excitement was far from over. There were five male Steller Sea Lions hauled out on Green Point. Our guests had seen them swimming in the water earlier, but it's hard to comprehend how huge they are when you just see their heads in the water. These guys were huge and stood up nice and tall for our pictures.

Although we didn't see orca, the trip was a success. We may not be able to guarantee the whales, but we can guarantee fun and a great opportunity to see wildlife being just that... wild.