Fall… The crisp sunny days, the approaching of scarf weather, and of course Pumpkin Spice everything… It is a gorgeous time of the year, and while coming to the San Juan Island any time of year is an absolute must, Autumn tends to be an especially gorgeous time of year out. The trees begin changing color, quintessential overcast morning weather returns, and the days are still long enough to get out and enjoy!
Just because Autumn is approaching doesn’t mean there is any less to see out here in the San Juans, in fact fall is a great time to join us on the island for a wildlife trip! There are many migratory animals that are just now arriving to the Salish Sea, in addition to all our year round residents that call these waters their permanent home!
Humpback Whales
One of our most notable migratory animals that we excitedly welcome into the area during the fall are our humpback whales! Humpbacks head up to Alaska for the summer months and then back down south to Hawaii, Mexico… some over achievers even swim all the way down to Japan! That means we are lucky to have Humpbacks in our waters right about now!
We are very excited to welcome these majestic creatures back into our waters, it has only been within the last few decades that we have had Humpbacks migrate regularly through our waters. At one point humpbacks had been almost completely gone from our waters as a tragic result from the whaling industry, but now we have a fairly regular population of humpbacks that continues to increase year by year! Out here we love our humpbacks because they are a true conservation success story!
Steller Sea Lions
Another group of animals that we are very excited to welcome back to the area are our Steller Sea Lions! These critters have spent the summer months vacationing in Alaska for breeding season, and have now begun returning back down south for the winter months.
These creatures are massive! Steller Sea Lions are the largest species of Sea Lion in the world, and we get to play host to them for most of the year! These Sea Lions are about 12 feet long and weigh about 2,500 pounds! We will most often see them hauled out on the rocky shorelines or rocky formations growling and sunning themselves providing much entertainment!
California Sea Lions
This time of year we also begin to see California Sea Lions in the area! These guys range in habitat from Central California to southeast Alaska, many making the San Juan Islands their home for the winter months. California Sea Lions are more petite than their Stellar Sea Lion relatives, only weighing about 250 pounds for females, 750 pounds for males, and measuring in at around 8 feet long.
Migratory Birds
As Fall comes we have an exciting community of migrating birds that begin working their way into our area! We have over 200 species of birds in the San Juan Islands, many of which join us in the islands this time of year!
Some of the migratory birds we see in this area are:
- American Wigeon
- Harlequin Duck
- Northern Harrier
- Rhinoceros auklets
- and Puffins!!!
That’s right- Puffins! The San Juan Islands sees Puffins this time of year, in fact Smith Island is the Puffin haven of San Juan Island! Tufted Puffins are the most common species of puffin seen in the islands, with the occasional Horned puffin. Tufted Puffins are only about 15 inches long, but make up for size in beautiful and vibrant colorations! They are predominantly black, but have a white mask and big, bright orange bill. The islands are pretty far south to see them, so it is always an awesome adventure when we get to see Puffins on our trips!
Not all animals migrate though! We have quite a few “old faithfuls” in terms of animals that stay here year long!
Bigg’s Orcas
Our Bigg’s Orcas, also known as Transient Orcas, reside in our waters year around. Bigg’s Orcas are on of the two ecotypes of killer whales we have in the Salish Sea. Southern Resident Killer Whales and Bigg’s Killer Whales both call the San Juan Islands home. These two ecotypes may both technically be the same species but there are many differences! These two ecotypes haven’t interbred in thousands of years, speak totally different languages, and have very different diets.
Our Resident Orcas exclusively consume Salmon, specifically Chinook, where as our Bigg’s Killer Whales are our marine mammal eaters. Bigg’s Killer Whales eat harbor seals, sea lions, and harbor porpoise. The San Juan Islands are at carrying capacity with our harbor seal population, which means that our Biggs Killer Whales are well fed! I like to equate it with humans and our favorite, restaurants- if you have restaurant you love, find the menu to be delicious, and have a nice booth with a view, why would you leave?! The same idea is true for our Bigg’s Killer Whales, thus we have the treat of seeing them throughout the year!
Harbor Porpoise
The San Juan Islands have two species of porpoise that call the area home. Most common are our Harbor Porpoise population. These little guys are only about 6 feet long and 150 pounds. In fact, oftentimes guests will refer to these porpoise as “baby dolphins” because of their petite appearance. They are the smallest cetacean in our waters, which makes them pretty skittish as well, because of this we find them to be fairly boat shy and get our best looks of them when they travel in larger groups.
Dall's Porpoise
We also have our Dall’s Porpoise in our waters. Often times the initial inclination from some people is to think they are “baby orcas” because of their black and white coloration that is quite consistent with that of orcas. The best way to tell the difference is size- Dall’s porpoise are much smaller than orcas, only about 6 feet as well, and have a much smaller dorsal fin. In contrast to Harbor porpoise, Dall’s porpoise are much for playful and often will be seen riding the bows of the boats, and darting quickly by producing their iconic “rooster tail” spray.
Harbor Seals
Finally we have our Harbor seals. As mentioned these guys are very plentiful in these waters. We estimate we have anywhere between 250,000 to 300,000 just in this area! That put’s us at carrying capacity in terms of our harbor seal population! These little guys are only about 5 feet long and weigh approximately 200 pounds, and are affectionately referred to as “rock sausages” since they are most often found hauled out on rocky islands or shorelines. These guys are a common treat to see out here in the islands, and always a popular hit on our trips!
That is just a small slice of the wildlife that exists in the San Juan Islands during the autumn months! Fall is the perfect time to come on a Whale and Wildlife Tour- now that you’ve read about it come join us! You can make reservations online here or by calling our reservations team!
Tip:
Once your on island for your Fall adventure, Riptide Café is your go to for all things Pumpkin Spice- after all a good Pumpkin Spice is a must this time of year and you’ll want a cup of coffee to keep you warm and toasty while adventuring out on the water with us!
Until Next Time,
Alexandria