Photo of Spring Street Landing next to the ferry in Friday Harbor
April 22, 2011 at 4:30 PM
At 5:00 pm it is bright, sunny and warm - probably close to 60 degrees.
Saturday, April 23, tomorrow will be our first daily scheduled tour for the season. Still a few seats left.
Transient Orca Whales have been making a splash in the San Juan's this past week.
GET UP HERE!
A new L Pod calf, initially spotted in Juan de Fuca Strait last week, is the first recorded calf for 20-year-old L82 said Ken Balcomb, executive director of The Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wa.
It is the second L Pod calf of the season, but L47..., the other mom, has not had any of her previous four calves survive,
"This one is doing well so far, so we hope this will break the pattern,"
http://www...
The daily trips may be done, but that does not mean that I do not still get the chance to get out on the water. Today we had a charter and that is really the way to go if you are a naturalist. Or even if you are a guest. The groups tend to be relaxed and fun-loving and ready for anything. There are usually fewer people on the boat and sometimes the crew even gets snacks. It also means that the routine gets shaken up. We leave at different times and sometimes even from a...
I did the 'Whale Plane' from Lake Union Seattle. Forty five minutes on a fantastic small sea plane, with wonderful views. Went on smaller boat from San Juan safaris with only 12 on board. We left early as we were all on board to give us the best chance of seeing the orcas.We roared off very fast, which was very exciting. The naturalist aboard was very friendly and...
"Ruffles" and "Granny". Photo courtesy of Sandy Buckley
The San Juan Islands are famous as the setting for the Pig War and for their orcas. Of those famous orcas, two are the most sought-after by visitors for sightings and as photo subjects. They are J1 and J2, also known as "Granny" and "Ruffles". They are the oldest members of their respective sexes in the Southern Resident population and our most well-known orcas. Granny is estimated to be 99 years old, and Ruffles, who...
Today we ventured to Active Pass in Canada to admire those beautiful black and white creatures known as Orcas.
It is not very often we have to travel this far to see them. Thanks to the gorgeous weather, our guests definitely did not mind the boat ride. The longer boat rides are often very nice because we get the opportunity to know the guests on board a little better and delve into deeper subjects relating to the Orca population. Also we get to see many of the islands along the way and talk...
Each day as we cruise out of Friday Harbor, with hopes of seeing whales drifting about in our heads, I start the guests of with an introduction to the San Juan Islands and the all the wonders the islands offer. I often mention in this introduction that we as naturalists love questions. Not only do we have a passion to educate, we all have a passion to share the facts that YOU as a guest want to know. As an educator, I feel that people retain information better if it is something they...
Today was an exceptional day, amazing wildlife everywhere and beautiful weather! The animals seemed to get bigger and bigger as we continued our trip. We started by observing some harbor seals warming themselves on the rocks, these animals weigh about 300lbs as adults. Our next stop was the much larger Sea Lions that we spotted in Cattle pass. They have been hanging out in this area fishing for the past few days and it's been exciting each time to see them. We were now on our way...
I went out with an especially cheerful group of people who were 0ld friends with eachother. In 1992, they flew around the world in small planes, over Russia. Now they get together every year, and this year they got together in San Juan and chartered the Kittiwake. The name of their group was the International Friggin' Crazy Flying Club. So as you can imagine, they were a fun group to go out with.
When we left, it was gray, a thin blanket over everything, but relatively warm. The...
It has been said by the locals that this is the largest run of Sockeye Salmon we've EVER had (at least in a lifetime). Everywhere you looked off the west side today, there were purseiners, fish jumping and orcas feeding. Fat and happy whales, they lolled about slowly, on long dives, taking their time, scooping up all of the salmon that would fit in their conically toothed mouths. Some of them must be eating for two. We can't see when an orca is gestating because they have a large...
