Logan Stecker | M/V Kestrel | August 4th 2025 | 2:00 pm
What an amazing adventure today! Some great orca behavior was watched and some surprise wildlife popped up out of nowhere.
We started our day going straight over to Cypress Island to look for reported whales. We found a group of 3, including 2 large males, identified to be the T019s. Having not seen this group in the area for multiple months, this was quite exciting! We followed them around the island as they stayed close to shore travelling. Pretty good viewing of the whales the entire time as well as a close-up view of a Bald Eagle. They continued into a kelp patch where they began a hunt, spy-hop, and tail slap which was spectacular! They successfully took down a seal and shared a 300lb feast!
On our way back we searched Bird Rocks for hauled out seals. We found a few cute ones but to our surprise we discovered an unreported sea otter! Sea otters are no0t very common in the San Juan Islands and this was an astonishing find! The sea otter was grooming itself in a small kelp bed. Cormorants and gulls nesting on the island decorated the scene with their musical calls as we watched the wonderful mammal in its full glory! Sea otters have been extirpated in much of their range due to hunting for their pelts which has devastated kelp forest ecosystems that otters are integral to maintaining the health of.
What a complete surprise to end the day on! Its so wonderful getting to share place with people from all over because this archipelago is truly magical.