Port of Friday Harbor Turns 60 -Party

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 Whales December 23

Transient Orca Whales were seen yesterday south of Victoria BC near Race Rocks.
Today We have a sunny, 39 degree day for Christmas Eve. There are a few boats scooting about in Friday Harbor.

Have a Wonder-Filled Holiday!

Colleen and Bill


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Just Keep Swimming

All good things must come to an end and this is just about it. Today was our last weekday trip of the season. As of tomorrow, we will only be going out on Saturdays through the month of October and then we will be done for good. Do not despair though, the orcas will be back next season and so will we. In the meantime, here is the address of a blog that is both educational and entertaining and will satisfy your daily hunger for blog sustenance.

http://bitterendblog.com/

It is not the end just yet though, so as Dora from "Finding Nemo" sings, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming". And swim we did today. Okay, so we were not the ones swimming, because that would have meant breaking the first rule on the boat. No Swimming. But the whales were swimming and we motored right along with them.

Capt. Craig made my opening monologue quite difficult today by constantly coming to the back of the boat from the wheel house to give us updates about the orcas, to point out a seal, and to point out that I had not yet gotten the fenders up. Well of course I hadn't, he wouldn't let me finish my speech so that I could. Finally we were on our way and there surely were whales. Just south of Kellett Bluff we met up with ~9 orcas traveling north. They were well spread out and simply swimming north with no other apparent goal in mind. We followed along with them for about an hour before turning toward Spieden Island and home.

With the orcas popping up in ones and twos at various distances from the boat, I was not able to identify many of them. We did get a great look at L87 "Onyx" though, and he appeared to be on a date with L77 "Matia". Maybe there will be another new L baby. It was a special time spent with the orcas and we saw several eagles, as well as lots of animals on Spieden Island. But, the big highlight for me was when a peregrine falcon swooped past the M/V Sea Lion chasing after seagulls. The gulls were doing everything that they could to stay out of the peregrine's talons and while we were there none of them became dinner. It was a very climactic ending to our trip and helped to cap a most excellent summer spent on the water here in the San Juan Islands.

So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, to all of you excited by the wonders of nature, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

A Sensational Season!

What a season this has been. This is my first year working out on the boats and I love it. I always knew that I would be a good boat person and I am. I have turned into such a wharf rat, it is unbelievable. Even on days that I am not scheduled to be out, that is the only place that I want to be. At the end of the day, if there is still sunlight, then there is still time to be on the water. And it is not just the orcas that have made this such an outstanding experience, even though they definitely help.

No, this summer has been great for the crews on the boats, the staff in the offices, the captains, the guests, the orcas and the wildlife. The weather and the water have been a treat as well, and are what draw me to the boats anytime I have a free moment. It is the swaying of the docks and the shushing sound of the waves on the sides of the boats. Even the distress calls that have arisen this season. Both our own and other boats', like today.

It was a cold and wet day today, but what started out as a trip with no orca reports and a very good chance of no wildlife at all, turned out to be an exciting and invigorating time on the water. One of our fellow whale/wildlife watching boats was in need of assistance, so Capt. Brian, a captain on loan for the day, wasted no time in responding to the call. Luckily the issue was resolved before we got there, but we still took 13 people on to our boat and integrated them into our original tour. Which took a surprising turn for the best, when the formerly distressed boat came across a pod of transient orcas not 2 miles from Friday Harbor, on its way back to port.

Well, that was a boon for us. So we quickly changed direction and had a wet, but wonderful time with the orcas that are labeled as the T19s. There were 5-6 of them spread out and swimming every which way, but we did our best and offered our guests all that we had in terms of knowledge and expertise. The afternoon was a success and the visitors on the M/V Sea Lion could all say that they had seen orcas and been part of a high seas rescue!

Capt. Brian and Lauren were great and I thank them for the job that they did today. I would also like to thank all of our original guests for being so understanding and accommodating when we responded to the distress of our fellow boater. And to all of the people that joined us later, thank you for your enthusiasm and we were happy to have you aboard.

So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, to all of you out there, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Home Away From Home

It was a long trip today, but well worth it. A small group of guests joined us on the M/V Sea Lion and enjoyed a tour of Orcas Island and the State Marine Parks to the north as we motored to Birch Bay near Blaine, Washington. That is the farthest northeast that either Jaclyn or I have been and it is always fun to find some new water.

Of course, it is all home to our resident orcas and they were cruising through life today near the Canadian border. The groups were small and spread out, but we had a lovely time with them all of the same. The first group that we watched was some J pod members; J8 "Spieden" and J22 "Oreo" with her son J38 "Cookie". We then crashed a chaperoned date that J1 "Ruffles" appeared to be having with L53 "Lulu". The mothers, J2 "Granny" and L7 "Canuck", were there to give their blessing to the event.

With a long haul to get back to port, our time with the orcas was over too quickly. It was an eventful parting though, as the orcas started to spyhop, breach and cartwheel as Capt. Craig turned us towards Friday Harbor. The crew was happy, the guests were happy and it was another beautiful day in the San Juan Islands!

So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, to all of you out there, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Hide and Seek

Luckily, we did not have to look too far today, although the orcas were being a bit cagey. Capt. Craig took us out of Friday Harbor at an exaggeratedly slow speed, because the Coast Guard had sent out a radio warning about a submerged house boat that was adrift in San Juan Channel. How something can be submerged and adrift I do not know, but we were on the lookout for it. That was just the distraction that we needed though. We were nearly to Turn Island and we had not gotten up to speed yet when the announcement was made that there were orcas on the west side of San Juan Island at Lime Kiln Point State Park. Wow, what a save; Jaclyn and I took it as an opportunity to run around the boat yelling for joy. Up until that point we were destined for the south end of the island to look for a whale of questionable lineage that was going down on 20 minute dives.

A quick u-turn got us headed in the right direction though, and away we went. As we looped over the top of San Juan Island and motored through the glass-like waters of Haro Strait past Henry Island, I noticed a disturbance in the water well off of our port side. I minute of looking with the binoculars and I spotted a lone orca quickly swimming in the opposite direction to us and unnoticed by any of the other whale watch boats. Capt. Craig once again initiated a slick u-turn and we played catch-up and watched as what turned out to be two orcas with a group of four more behind cruised between us and Henry Island.

With no other boats in our immediate vicinity, we had found the leaders in this orcas experience and we were perfectly situated to watch them all swim by, group after group. J1 "Ruffles", J2 "Granny", K42 "Kelp", K14 "Lea", K11 "Georgia", K26 "Lobo", J27 "Blackberry" and many more. There was baby breaching, adult breaching, tail and pectoral fin slapping and two huge cartwheels just as we left the area. The orcas were absolutely beautiful and our guests had a wonderful time on the water.

So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, to all of you who love the black-and-whites, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!

~Tristen, Naturalist

Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Orca Magic

Capt. Peter, Ashley and I spent the afternoon with "Spirit" and her boys today. A mother's love and authority are never in question and L22 gave a great demonstration of that. All was quiet and calm when we first arrived on scene. L79 "Skana" was doing his own thing and L22 "Spirit" was within sight, for us humans, but in her own space away from her son. They were moving at an exaggeratedly slow pace and "Skana" was above water for so long each time that he blew that we could see the small nick in the tip of his dorsal fin. The dives were long and there were some direction changes, but for the most part they seemed to be drifting with the currents.

Rather suddenly though, "Skana" and "Spirit" changed direction and sped up. They moved in side-by-side and were definitely traveling northwest. As we motored along trying to keep, we were surprised by another male orca that popped up right behind us. Nobody had seen him up until then. It was L85 "Mystery". He quickly joined the others, but then there was another and another! Suddenly we were watching a family of 5 orcas moving quickly through the waters on there way to somewhere important.

It is of course unclear to those of us above water how the decision to change direction and speed was made, much less who made it. But once the word went out, all of the family responded. With our resident orcas living in a matriarchal society, it makes sense that "Spirit" is the one that decides the who, how, when and where. It may be more diplomatic than that, but the decision was obviously agreed upon and/or followed by all involved.

We finally said goodbye to this proud family and wended our way back to Friday Harbor. Once at the dock we unloaded other proud families that had made many memories today as well as a connection with an intelligent and devoted species of the earth. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Sleight of Flipper

In these vast, life rich inland waters you just never know what you are going to happen upon. Even when it is an orca. One of our fellow whale watch companies was off looking for minke whales when, lo and behold, there were orcas around. The first reports were of transient orcas. These mammal eating orcas look just like our fish eating residents, with just a few small morphological differences and a vastly different diet.

Capt. Nancy gave the guests on the MV Sea Lion the run-down as to what to expect, but as we were headed south the news came around that the orcas were actually members of L pod. What a surprise as we had already told everyone that all of the resident orcas were traveling through Active Pass in Canada. The news did not change our plans, of course, because we are looking for those black and whites regardless of the type.

A group of eight animals is what we found near the Hannah Heights area of San Juan Island. Passing on one side and then another, while others blew in the distance were L73 "Flash", L74 "Saanich", L54 "Ino" and one of her offspring. As we watched, the sun started to burn through the high fog and clouds and brought a lovely light to the afternoon.

As the day wore on Kathy and I enjoyed the company of our guests and found eagles and seals and lots of seabirds. We answered questions all of the way back to Friday Harbor and were sorry to see the trip end. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris to all of you, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
P.S. - To the wedding party parents from yesterday, congratulations and we delivered orcas for the ceremony right on time!

~Tristen, Naturalist

Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Turning Points

It was an evening to behold and luckily we were there. Most, if not all, of L Pod passed by the MV Sea Lion tonight and with the number of animals that we saw there must have been some of K Pod as well. Capt. Nancy caught us up with the whale watch fleet just south of Turn Point on Stuart Island. We floated in the golden evening light as group after family group of orcas passed by us. There was Mega and Skana, all of their siblings and mothers and Gaia with his new dorsal fin scars, to name a few.

As the animals neared Turn Point they ran very close to the cliffs breaching and splashing. We saw feeding and high spirits and watched as the different groups glided through the kelp beds under the lighthouse. Our hydrophone picked up beautiful vocalizations that slowly faded as the whales moved away. The orcas blew and breached their way into the distance and we left them cruising northwest into Canadian waters.

On the way home to Friday Harbor we stopped by one of the Cactus Islands to look at 11 bald eagles feeding on a carcass. It was a mix of both juveniles and adults scattered all over the rocks and shoreline. As we watched a very large, all dark brown bird flew in and landed right on the carcass, startling all of the juveniles away. Capt. Nancy and I were hesitant to say what species of bird it was since sightings are so rare, but we think it was a golden eagle. They are occasionally seen here in the islands and it is a lucky person indeed that witnesses one of these striking birds.

What an incredible trip we had tonight and I am so glad that our guests had a chance to be with us. So, from all of us here at San Juan Safaris, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Orca Madness

While a heat wave roars through the Pacific Northwest, we here in Friday Harbor decided to cool our heals in the waters of Boundary Pass. The orcas had been north and east and everywhere according to the reports that we were getting, but we found them heading west towards Swanson Channel and the Pender islands. Supposedly, J1 "Ruffles" had been over near Lummi Island, but almost like clock-work he and his family showed up off of the starboard bow of our boat.

Capt. Craig always seems to know where to find them and he makes Kathy's and my job so easy. He slowly maneuvered the MV Sea Lion around to run parallel to the orcas and keep our customers insight of them. There were a few breaches in the area, but it was mainly a sunny stroll through calm waters. The orcas slowly spread out and dissipated until we were tracking just one or two. So we waved a last goodbye and headed off to see some of the other amazing wildlife in the San Juan Islands.

Flattop Island, a National Wildlife Refuge, had several mature bald eagles sitting on it and each little rock that stuck up had a harbor seal on it. We even saw one female on Ripple Rocks that had been stained rust color from excess iron in the waters where she has been living. Cormorants sunned on the rocks nearby and harbor porpoises fed in the area. It was a good reminder of the bounty of this area and that orcas are not our only natural wonder.

It was another great trip well attended by both wildlife and guests. So, from all of us here at San Juan Safaris to all of you sun babies out there, 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 Fairytale Ending...

Last night was incredible! Our guests did not realize how good they got it! We circumnavigated San Juan Island, leaving to the south and meeting up with the Killer Whales (Orcas) of J & K pods on the west side. The seas had calmed down...(earlier we had 2-3 footers & white caps)....but by the evening it was flat calm and you could see a thick fog bank looming in the Strait between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula. The Orcas were spread out and we got great views of a 1 or 2 here and there travelling south. We moved a half mile from Lime Kiln and shutdown to drop the hydrophone in. The underwater vocalizations and echolocation were incredible! We had no idea where the vocalizations were coming from...which direction or which whale, since there were none nearby. Sound does travel 4-5 times faster in water than air, so they could be a mile or more away! At one point, one of our younger guests aboard remarked "Are you sure that sound's not coming from their butt?! It sounds like a fart!" Haha! Did that get the crowd going....

Enthusiasm is contagious...we all couldn't help but smile and laugh when this same young guest first saw the Orcas and shouted "Wow! I didn't know wildlife could be so cool!"

We saw some great behaviors....logging (when an Orca just sits at the surface with its fin & head poking above the surface for minutes), flipper slaps, tail slaps, and some fishing in the rips where currents collide. Most of the whales seemed to have turned around and started to head north. So hopefully that means plenty of salmon for them and they're sticking around our waters for the next few days!

As we rounded the north end of the island you could see a few dark clouds hanging over the San Juans. The lighting this time of night in the summers is spectacular with the sun getting low in the sky. Then coming south through San Juan Channel you could see one end of a rainbow touching down on Orcas Island, the other on San Juan Island! Just as we docked, the entire rainbow filled in and we had a complete arch! I think our guests got the impression that it's always picture perfect like this out here. Not quite, but last night it was!

-Jaclyn, naturalist
Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Orca Photos by Haley Hasted

Orca in a partial breach

Orca Breaching

Who0peeeeeeee a breach

Four Orca Whales
A BIG thank you to Haley for sending these in to our photo contest.
Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

The Best Laid Plans...

Can go awry. You design a vacation around a wild animal that decides that it does not want to be on display that week. You devise a foolproof schedule and then the world conspires against you and nothing is on time. You take every precaution and still chaos ensues.

Such was our week in the whale and wildlife watching business. You never know when that perfect storm is going to hit, but when it does you always feel it. When times like this come upon us we in the tourism industry, and especially the wildlife based tourism industry, appreciate the frustration that they can cause during someone's hard earned vacation. We also greatly appreciate the fortitude with which the public faces each of these challenges.

Twice this week boats have gone afoul here in the islands. One on some shallow rocks and the Kittiwake today had mechanical troubles. To top it off, the orcas have not been seen in two days because they are out in open ocean. On all of these occasions though the guests have shown great understanding and have done their best to help the crews, companies and other visitors. Whether it was calmly being removed from one boat to another for transport back to port or whether it was gamely looking for elusive minke whales that seemed desperate to hide. What could have been miserable circumstances were turned into new adventures and pleasant motor cruises through the help of the wonderful visitors to the San Juan Islands.

So, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to personally say thank you to all of you who have shared your time with us here this week and who remembered that patience is a virtue. As always, I look forward to...

Seeing You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

From Canada to the Coal Docks

It may not sound glamorous, but the day we had today on the MV Sea Lion definitely was. Capt. Craig got us out the door in a hurry since the orcas were all the way up in Active Pass between Galiano and Mayne Islands. It was petal-to-the-metal the whole way and in two hours we were northeast of the pass, out in the Strait of Georgia and I could see splashing on the horizon. It was still several minutes before we got there, but the dorsal fins and breaches were obvious well before we were on scene.

The orcas were spread out traveling in ones and twos and they must have all had their Wheaties this morning. There was one breach after another off into the distance and we had just gotten into the mix of it when one big male launched himself clean out of the water 200 yards from us. Jaclyn and I guessed it was J27 "Blackberry", but he was moving quickly away and it was hard to get a good look at the saddle patch behind his dorsal fin.

There did not seem to be much feeding going on this afternoon, as all of the animals were travelling very quickly and we did not see the erratic behavior that we normally would. Obviously, there was some important event that they all had to get to since they took us across the strait towards the coal docks and Tsawwassen ferry dock and we finally had to bid them goodbye. They continued their rapid trek and we turned for home and made the long, but truly lovely journey back to Friday Harbor.

It was all water and whales today and a boat load of wonderful guests. So, from all of us here at San Juan Safaris, to all of you water babies out there, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Canada Here We Come!

The whales were proving that they are the dominant marine species today. While we were rocking and rolling through the waves and being whipped by the wind, the orcas were effortlessly swimming along through the Canadian Gulf Islands. After we took the MV Sea Lion out of the dock today we headed for Turn Point on Stuart Island. The last orca report that we had had said that they were already past Lime Kiln and were headed North. At Haro Strait we gave way to a huge ocean-going liner from China and then motored across the strait into Canadian waters where we met up with other whale and wildlife watching boats.

The sun was quite warm and helped to take the chill off when the salt spray from the waves would catch us unawares. As striking as the orcas are though, it was rare that we noticed anything other than their antics. Spyhops were abundant when we first saw the whales off of the coast of South Pender Island. While swimming across the opening of Plumper Sound the tail slaps and cartwheels started. It definitely seems as if J pod has an abundance of energy these days, as we have seen them several times this week and they have been very active each visit.

While Jeanette talked with guests on the front of the boat and I entertained at the back, Capt. Craig maneuvered us through the day and at Saturna Island turned us around and drove us back towards San Juan Island. We made a quick run past the Cactus Islands so that our guests could see bald eagles and harbor seals, and then over to Spieden Island to see some exotic deer and sheep. Finally, all of our sleepy kids (and adults) were ready to see Friday Harbor again and our day was wrapped up a relaxing cruise down San Juan Channel to home.

Our day was lovely, as were our guests. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris to all of you island trippers, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

This just in...

"Here's my review -

We really had a good time. My wife and I took the whale watching tour on 26 June 2009. Nancy captained the boat and the naturalists were Jacqueline and ??. They were all very professional and knowledgable. They were also very patient and helpful with all the participants, even the smaller children. It was a very enjoyable experience. Be sure to take warm clothes!"

Thank you to Rick and his wife for joining us on another fabulous whale & wildlife trip. We appreciate the heartfelt response and are always glad to receive feedback and photos. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris, we will...

See You In The Islands!

~Tristen, Naturalist

P.S. - I was the other naturalist on duty that day. Clearly I need to work on my delivery.

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. ©

Natural Entertainment

Life is good as a naturalist these days. The Orcas are back in the islands and the summer is in full swing. With the 4th of July coming up, as well as Friday Harbor's centennial and the sesquicentennial of the Pig War there is no shortage of special events to fill those hours that can not be spent on the water. Luckily for our guests today, it was a day spent on the water and in the company of whales. And not just giant black and white dolphins, but real whales as well.

As we were making our way down the Strait of Juan de Fuca we got reports from another boat about a minke whale near Salmon Bank. It turns out that there were actually two whales and we watched for several minutes as they surfaced and fed. Each time after a breath sliding quietly back beneath the waters. Shortly though we were once again on the trail of the Orca. Luckily for us some of the other wildlife watch companies had scoped out the action before we got there.

The Orca whales, actually the world's largest dolphins, were spread out over a large area similar to where they had been the day before. There were a number of family groups numbering from approximately 4-6 individuals feeding and traveling within sight of the south end of San Juan Island. Even though there had been reports that L pod might have left the area, that was who we found today. All the groups were pretty focused on what they were doing and so there was not a lot of rambunctious behavior. But there were some quiet vocalizations heard as one family group passed by the MV Sea Lion.

Even though the south waters were as calm as could be today, it soon became time for us to go. So Capt. Nancy, Kathy, our guests and I bid the Orcas farewell and motored on back to Friday Harbor. On our return trip we caught sight of a bald eagle, some harbor seals and even a couple of harbor porpoises. It was a full and lovely day with the abundance of nature to entertain us and the sun coming out to chase away the clouds.

So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris to all of you loyal Orca fans, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©