With the sun shining strong today, the only place I wanted to be was out on the water. We walked off the heated sidewalks of Friday Harbor and made ourselves comfortable on the deck of the SeaLion. The warm breeze made for a very enjoyable ride. Captain Mike informed the crew that we were heading to the west side of San Juan Island to look for our infamous Resident orca whales. Well, we didn't have to look very hard! We spotted "Cappuccino" traveling widely spread out from the other members of Kpod. Cappuccino's distinct V-shaped saddle patch made him easy to identify. His saddle patch, the gray marking beneath the dorsal fin, is "open" meaning that it contains areas of black. The water was extremely smooth today and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. We had spectacular views of Mount Baker and the Olympics. Even Mount Rainer was visible in the distance. After dazzling over the orcas, we traveled back north towards Friday Harbor, spotting Dall's porpoises along the way. Harbor seals basked in the sun on many of the rocky outcroppings. Everyone was excited to see a few seal pups! Swimming harbor seals were continually spotted as we neared Friday Harbor.
Sally,
Naturalist