And Away We Go...

Can you believe it? Winter is gone and we are back on the water again!

Hello all, it is me, your intrepid marine naturalist here to guide you, teach you, entertain you and celebrate with you all things orca and wildlife. It was a wet but mild winter and now we have graduated to a cool blustery spring. The skies are happy, the plants and wildlife are happy and we salty dogs are happy to be back at what we love. Traveling the waterways of the San Juan Islands.

Today we took our first trip of the season out for a wonderful wildlife tour. It was a little hectic to start as there was a torrential hail storm just before we boarded the guests. Once it stopped though and the boat was ice free we did not get another drop of rain or hail throughout the trip. The M/V Sea Lion was in good shape and ready to go and so were Capt. Craig, Lauren and I. Nothing could keep us back from the tour that we had all been anticipating, and of course the islands did not disappoint.

There were spotted harbor seals on every rock and eagles on every island. Sea gulls, cormorants, auklets and a flock of Bonaparte's gulls all whisked by us on the breezes. Spieden Island is green once again and the herds of mouflon sheep and fallow deer were spread along the prairie right down to the water. Our highlight by far though, was seeing an adult peregrine falcon perched on a cliff side on Stuart Island just below Turn Point Lighthouse. It seemed to be surveying Haro Strait from its seat keeping track of the comings and goings of boats.

It was a great first day back out on the water and I am excited for this season. New babies, old friends and the excitement of time spent on the Salish Sea. 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. ©

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. ©

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. ©

Rare glimpse at Peregrine Falcon Off San Juan Island

Here is a Peregrine Falcon taken by Michael Bertrand while the boat was moving and the bird was moving.Michael is a major name in Washington State. His professional photos can be viewed at:http://www.michaelbertrandphotography.com/ Here again is the Peregrine Falcon from Sunday July 6, 2008
Here are two mature Bald Eagles also taken off the boat that same day.
The large rock is an example of a glacier erratic.
Quite numerous here in the San Juan Islands.