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. ©

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. ©

Friendly Canada!

Once again we turned our bow towards Victoria and Canada today. The orcas, J pod to be exact, were at the Victoria Harbor heading east in a resting pattern. Capt. Craig tried to give them some time to swim to us by stopping to view other wildlife, but the orcas were swimming too slowly and we needed to be making better time. So he jumped on the throttle and away we flew along the south end of San Juan Island and across Haro Strait. There were a few minutes of indecision when an unknown boat reported orcas at the Lime Kiln Point Lighthouse, but another whale watch boat was able to determine that it was Dall's porpoises. Canada was still the way to go and luckily, we were still headed in that direction.

We arrived at Discovery and Obstruction Islands to find that all of J pod was tightly grouped together and traveling towards San Juan Island. They made several direction changes, as if they were unsure about which way they wanted to go around the two small islands. But that worked out well for us, because we had many excellent photo opportunities. Mt. Baker loomed large in the background and the whole pod surfaced together several times with breathtaking scenery in the distance. It was a stunning afternoon spent with the orcas and really confirmed that September is the best month to be in the islands.

As the orcas finally came around Obstruction Island, we were arrested by the sight of San Juan Island in the strait. The orcas made their way up and across Haro Strait, so we thanked Canada for its hospitality and bid the orcas adieu. It was a wonderful day to share with our guests and as always Lauren was a treat to crew with.

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

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

A Plethora of Playmates

It would be easier for me to list the animals that we did not see today, rather than to list the ones that we did. I think that the only sightings that we did not log were of the Titanic and the Loch Ness Monster. Jaclyn and I could hardly contain our excitement, which is to say that we completely abandoned all trappings of professionalism to run around the boat screaming, every time we saw something new. Capt. Craig insured that we saw all that we could today by monitoring the "chatter" on the radio and doing a wonderful job of getting us to each new adventure.

So, our line-up for the day was as follows:

• Orcas
• Humpback whales (3)
• Minke whale
• Steller's sea lions
• Harbor seals
• Dall's porpoises
• Harbor porpoises
• Bald eagle
• Common murres
• Marbled murrelets
• Sooty shearwaters
• Phalaropes
• Seagulls (various species)

I love the San Juan Islands and the Pacific Northwest and we at San Juan Safaris know that you will too. 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. ©

Su, Su, Su, Superpod!

It was a whalestravaganza today on the water. Orcas from the north, orcas from the south and us in the middle of it all. East Point on Saturna Island was the meeting spot and the Strait of Georgia was the playground. I was hoping that we would see all of the whales get together, but I did not think that it would actually happen. It did though and Capt. Pete, Kathy and I were there on the M/V Sea Lion to see it. Our guests saw it too, so it was a stunning day all the way around.

East Point is best known for it's lighthouse and the fact that the first orca was live captured there. Of course, they were actually trying to harpoon it, but things went awry and "Moby Doll" ended up in an aquarium. Consequently, it was very fitting to have this mass demonstration of orcas off of that point today. Blithely going about their natural processes under the comfort and protection of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and the watchful eyes of the whale watch operators, Soundwatch, researchers and law enforcement.

All three resident pods were represented and they seemed thrilled to see each other. There was tail slapping and lobbing, spyhopping, breaching by young and old, and continuous mingling and vocalizing. Our hydrophone did not do justice the beauty of the sounds, but it took us down into the water with them and allowed us to be part of their world for a little while. Unfortunately, there is never enough time when we are with the orcas and we finally had to leave. It was a lovely day though and one that many guests said that they would never forget.

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

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

Seasons Come and Go

"To everything, turn, turn, turn...", so they say and that is true of life here in the San Juan Islands. The indicators are small currently, but the times they are a changing. I saw a second Steller's sea lion in a week today, which means they are starting to wander back down here from Alaska. This one was probably another sub-adult male that was not that impressive to the females, so he is back in our waters to work on his physique so that he has more success next year.

These large otariids, or eared seals, winter-over here in The Islands and then spend the summer in Alaska feeding and wooing the women. They are a very large seal and their faces heavily resemble that of a dog. Amazingly though, they are directly related to bears. This is also true of harbor seals, but as a true seal, harbor seals are a step further removed and have been adapted to living in a marine environment longer than the sea lions have.

Another marker of the changing seasons is the end of our sunset trips. These were all lovely times on the water and I will miss them exceedingly. Of course, we still have our afternoon tours and we are still seeing our endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. Again today actually, we were off of the south end of San Juan Island and saw members from all three resident pods. The J pod males were there, as were either L7 "Canuck" or L77 "Matia", and K40 "Raggedy" with here brother K21 "Cappuccino".

There were many more animals around, maybe even all of them, but they were spread out in a way that made it hard to tell. It was definitely almost a super pod, just without all of the acrobatics and vocalizations. It appeared as if we caught them during a resting and traveling period, with maybe some slow feeding going on as well. Either way, it was a lovely day on the water and I truly enjoyed our guests as well as my co-crew Ashley and Capt. Craig. The M/V Sea Lion needs its recognition as well, since it has served us admirably this season and is a very comfortable boat to both work and sightsee on.

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

See You In The Islands!
~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. ©

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. ©

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. ©

The Wonder of Whales

How do you measure the quality of a moment? What is it that makes some indelible and others ephemeral? Why aren't all moments created equal?

Today was one of those types of days. It was grey and overcast with a little bit of rain in the air. The water was steely but calm and nature seemed to be holding it's breath. An eagle floated slowly past, harbor porpoises surfaced erratically and the breezes were still. There was a sense of bridled anticipation coming from the guests, the crew and even from the boat itself. Would the whales move out of range? Would we have traveled all those miles simply to see empty ocean? Would our memories be restricted to the wind and the waves?

Alas, no, the other companies had not led us astray. As we cleared Boundary Pass and entered the Strait of Georgia there were the other wildlife watching boats and whale blows and Orca dorsal fins could be seen amongst them. We slowly joined the throng so as not to disturb the magic that the whales cast over everyone and took our place in the moment. It did not take us long to realize that there were family groups spread everywhere and that you had to keep your eyes moving to take it all in. We saw J1 "Ruffles", J28 "Polaris" and J26 "Mike" among others. All of J pod seemed to be there with some extras as well. The animals were excitable and transferred that energy to us through their breaches and spyhops, tail slaps and splashes.

As always our time with the Orcas seemed too short, but soon we had been there nearly an hour and it was time to head back. We slowly departed the dream-like scene just as we had arrived and watched as the whales and their human sentinels faded into the foggy background. Our minds cataloging and storing the precious memories that we had just amassed. So, from all of us at San Juan Safaris to all of you dreamers out there, thank you and we will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©

It's A Humpy!

This is a week of firsts, I am telling you. Today we were treated to another rare sighting and that was a Humpback Whale. Even the captain said she has not seen one of these in the waters directly around San Juan Island in two years. The whale did not seem to realize the frenzy that it was causing with the wildlife watching companies. Clearly it was just there to eat and not be a media star. Capt. Nancy, Jeanette and I fell under the whale's spell just like all of our guests on the MV Sea Lion. We anxiously awaited every blow and exclaimed as excitedly as anyone when we finally saw the tail fluke. The seemingly young animal was travelling, or possibly feeding, shallowly so there was only one deep dive and that is when we saw it's large beautiful tail. It was a great experience for my first humpy sighting.

When we finally tore ourselves away from the Humpback as it swam off into the sparkling waves we decided to go in search of seals and baby eagles. We cruised along the coast of Henry Island as it guarded the entrance to Roche Harbor and then over to Sentinel Rock. There we relaxed with the Harbor Seals as they indulged in an afternoon nap in the sun. A couple of Oystercatchers kept watch for yummy tidbits of food up in the rocks.

Spieden Island was quite today with it's golden grasses along the southern exposure. As we came up to the large eagle's nest a guest spotted an adult Bald Eagle cruising along the face of the island and then up into the nest. Slowly the front of the nest became visible and as the adult hopped out of the nest and onto a branch, up popped an eaglet. It is no longer grey and fluffy, but has started to get it's adult feathers. At one point it stood up tall and looked right at us with the parent sitting nearby.

What a cool day with our majestic wildlife and this week has been one wonder after another. The puffin and the Humpback and then a baby eagle. What magic abounds in this beautiful place. So, thank you from all of us to all of you and we at San Juan Safaris will...

See You In The Islands!
~Tristen, Naturalist


Orca Whales and Wildlife Are Our Only Business. ©