For the second day in a row we found ourselves in Haro Straight. It was another beautiful, glassy day on the water and as we rounded the northwestern corner of San Juan Island we could see blows to the south. There were 4 Transient Orca whales. There was one big male with a huge, notched dorsal that was bent over slightly to the left at the very top. There were also two smaller whales (one presumably a female/mother) and a calf in the pod. We stopped and watched to see where the whales were headed.
We watched them dive and maneuvered out alongside of what seemed to be the direction the whales were taking. About 5 minutes later we found out we were wrong. The whales popped up almost a mile southwest of where they dove. A few surface breaths and they dove again. We sat in the same spot; reluctant to advance because of the previous direction change. The next time the whales surfaced to the east, back toward San Juan. We sat for about 15 minutes and watched them mill. Through the binoculars we could see Dall's Porpoise right next to the whales! We waited in anticipation for what would surely be lunch. The whales did a 180 and headed back toward Canada. Apparently they were not interested. Lucky Dall's.
With the lighting at a better angle we got a good look at the adult dorsal fins and at the little calf. We observed the whales a bit longer and then left so as not to overstay our welcome and so that we could look for other wildlife. We drove past a breeding colony of Pelagic Cormorants and saw Harbor Seals, one lone Steller Sea Lion, and Bald Eagles galore on our journey back.
Hooray for whales!
Laura, naturalist, San Juan Safaris