Whale Sightings Blog

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Today started out with a steady drizzle that seemed as if it was not going to stop. As usual, once out of Bellingham Bay and a bit out into the islands, there were some blue skies trying to peek through the clouds and the drizzle stopped. It never really did get ‘sunny’ today, but our whale watching more than made up for that. Our journey took us up the Strait of Georgia, past Point Roberts and to the British Columbia coal docks and the ferry terminal for the B.C. ferries. Here we encountered J pod. We had some good views of the new babies (two born this winter). We also had many good views of both J26 Mike, and J27 Blackberry. They are both 18 year old males. They grew up together and were playmates when they were younger. Nowadays, Blackberry spends quite a bit of time with his six year old brother J39 Mako. “Mako Kujira” means sperm whale in Japanese. Mako , Blackberry and sister J31 Tsuchi were orphaned last year. They’ve always been a tight family group, and now Blackberry has Mako close to his side most of the time. Mike was with his mom J16 Slick, and her three other calves. The youngest is two year old J42 Echo. J1 Ruffles and his small family group were off in the distance. The whales were very spread out and appeared to be foraging right in front of the coal dock.  We saw many spyhops and tail slapping, and a few pectoral fins waving in the air. There were a few breaches off in the distance.Then they started travelling west, with the leaders clipping right along at a good speed. This was Slick and her calves (18 year old Mike really shouldn’t be called a calf anymore!) It was finally time to say goodbye, and before we could finally leave these whales, a juvenile gave a double breach unexpectedly off the port side. When we thought we were finally heading away, it gave another half breach. It’s really hard to leave at this point when there is still so much action going on. However we had stayed as long as we could. Because we went up the Strait of Georgia today, the sightseeing is not very good. In other words, we are in a more open body of water than if we were going right through the islands. There isn’t the opportunity to slow down at a reef or small island to view wildlife and plantlife. We did see a few harbor porpoise and a few harbor seals swimming by. Our birding today consisted of Heerman gulls, glaucous wing gulls, cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and Caspian terns. Even with the grey weather we all enjoyed another spectacular day out on the water.

Photos: 

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Today was one of those rare days when all three resident pods needed to go out to the ocean to get enough food, so we like everyone else did not get to enjoy their company.  While we did not get to spend time with our favorite Orcas, we did get to see some other lovely wildlife.  As we rounded Carter Point, we spotted two eagles in two separate trees.  We also saw some harbor seals checking us out from the water a few times throughout the day (as well as those who were hauled out and warming up).  Groups of cormorants and rhinocerous auklets flew low along the water and past our bow on different occasions, and we even saw some cormorants on navigational buoys with their wings spread wide to dry out and two blue herons “surfing” on pieces of wood as they sat on the kelp bed. On our way home we passed by the Cone Islands where we viewed more eagles and a nest shaped like a beehive that looked to be between eight and ten feet high and which we estimated weighed between 1200 to 1500 pounds.  Despite not being able to spend time with our residents, we still had a lovely trip with a great group of understanding passengers.

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

 

Today was a bit overcast. As we headed out of Bellingham Bay, our spotter plane landed next to the boat and Pilot Dan talked to Captain Terry. We then headed around Carter Point on the south side of Lummi Island and stopped to look at a bald eagle in a tree. We’ve been seeing the eagles almost every trip, but soon they’ll be heading up the rivers to feed on the salmon returning to spawn. Their chicks are out of the nests (chicks? they’re as big as mom and dad, but a mottled brown without the white head). So every trip in the next couple of weeks it will be a treat to see the bald eagles. We were enjoying the scenery and cruising along when we became enveloped in a thick fog. We kept thinking that it would burn off, but it just kept getting thicker! Were we going to be able to see anything in this? As we went west out into Haro Strait towards Vancouver Island, it was if a curtain had been drawn back. There we were in the dissipating mist and seeing orca fins slicing through the water. The fog continued to lift until we could see San Juan Island on the east side and Vancouver Island on the west. And everywhere there were whales. Within half an hour it seemed that we must have seen every calf under the age of five! Every group of whales had a little one with them. It was easy to tell the ones that were born this year (three) because they looked so tiny. However, they are two to four hundred pounds at birth and six to eight feet long! At this point they stay very close to mom. There were numerous tail slapping and head stands, and then multiple breaches. A few spy hops; where just their upper body comes out of the water and they take a look around.  As we drifted along, L5 Tanya and her son L73 Flash (23 years old) swam by the bow of the boat. Two adult males were clearly visible L74 Saanich and L78 Gaia. K22 Sekiu (22 year old female) gave us some good looks as she swam by our star board side and then behind the boat.
J1 Ruffles was far off in the distance. We also saw some of K pod. So it appeared that we were seeing a superpod today! Eventually it was time to head for Bellingham Bay. On the way home today we saw a harbor porpoise with a calf. Now that is one tiny cetacean! Because of the fog, our birding was scanty. A great blue heron, cormorants, Heerman’s gulls, glaucous wing gulls, pigeon guillemots, marbled murrelets, and rhinoceros auklets.

We had our navigator, Rusty on board today. A great help in the thick fog!

Photos: 

Saturday, August 8th, 2009

 

On our way out just around Carter Point, we spotted a pair of bald eagles: one in a tree snag and its mate down below it on the rocks along the water’s edge. We also saw a number of harbor seals hauled out sunning themselves. We caught up with the whales south of Hein Bank. Initially they were spread out and mostly milling around. Then the action began! There were whales everywhere; breaching, tail slapping, cart wheeling and somersaulting.  When we looked out, we noticed a mother and calf approaching the boat. We were stopped in the water with our engines off as we are supposed to be if any whales approach us. This mother and calf went alongside the boat rolling onto their backs and glided up past our bow. We could see the green water over the white patches of the whales, and the mother was looking up at us! At the same time she and her calf were going along our port side, two whales came up on our starboard side and also swam past our bow!  We went home through the middle of the islands, through narrow Peavine Pass, a beautiful area and great birding. We saw our first red-neck phalaropes of the season. When we start to see these little birds, it reminds us that our summer is half over. These little birds stop here to feed on their migration to the seas in the Southern Hemisphere. They breed up north in the Arctic and subarctic tundra. So they have a very long migration! When they get to the Southern Hemisphere they mainly stay at sea. This is common with many marine birds: they only stay on land long enough to breed and raise their young. It was another special day whale watching filled with unexpected treats out in the San Juan Islands.
Photos: 

Friday, August 7th, 2009

Our trip began with overcast skies and a bit of apprehension as the whales had been moving quickly far north and were reported being in Active Pass (Canada) early in the day. We weren’t sure that we would be able to catch up with them. We decided to go ahead and try, and our long voyage paid off in a truly wonderful way. On our way we spotted a bald eagle in a tree snag. He was checking us out with as much curiosity as our passengers had for him. We also saw a small group of harbor porpoise. There were harbor seals hauled out on some rocky reefs warming up. Then the whales! We arrived at Active Pass and the whales were milling and very spread out. Even though they can be spread out for miles, they still stay in constant communication with a series of clicks, whistles and squeals that can be heard by them for at least fifteen miles. Our resident orcas are usually very vocal, and it’s always exciting when we put our hydrophone in the water and can listen to them. After close to an hour of milling, they became very active and we saw breaching, cartwheeling, tail slapping, rolling, and upside down tail slapping . The highlight of the day was when seven to eight whales were all upside down and tail slapping at once; we were watching synchronized tail slapping! They were churning up the waters and at times were breaching and rolling almost onto one another. Whales are very tactile, and they do tend to do a lot of touching. Even a young calf got into the act, rolling over on to its back and tail and pectoral slapping with the others. We finally had to say our final goodbye to the whales for today as they tail slapped a final farewell. We were sent home with memories of a most special day.

Photos: 

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

 

Thursday, August 6th, 2009
A mix of marine cloud and filtered sunshine greeted us as we began our trip. Along the way we spotted bald eagles, harbor seals, cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and a small group of harbor porpoise milling around as they fed. At Andrews Bay we encountered J pod, which had been the leaders with K and L pods trailing behind. Initially they were mostly milling around, but as they became more active they became very acrobatic. There was tail slapping, breaching, and pectoral slapping. We saw lots of fishing activity. As we started home, K and L pods travelled our same route down the west side of San Juan Island. At five different times we had to shut down because the whales were coming up to the boat! Lots of breaching, spy hopping, and tail slapping! Passengers got some great photo opportunities today. We even saw a research boat with the black lab ‘Tucker’ doing his job. When he’s at work he stands on the bow of the boat and sniffs for whale poop so the researchers can scoop it up with a fine mesh net. There is a lot of data that can be collected from these fecal samples. A great treat was two tufted puffins hanging out with a rhinoceros auklet off of Iceberg Point (south end of Lopez Island). We slowed down to take a look and the puffins simply lined up next to each other as if to say “Here’s your picture!” It was truly a fun and special day.
Photos: 

Sunday, August 2, 2009

 

We had a most amazing day! The water was calm throughout most of the trip, the sun was shining, and we had a beautiful trip up to Active Pass in Canada. The whales had been seen heading north. On the way up we saw a couple of bald eagles, some cormorants, pigeon guillemots, harbor seals hauled out on the rocks, and some harbor porpoises. A special treat for our guests was our spotter plane, which came by and tipped its wings at us as it did a fly-by over the boat on its way to locate the whales. Once we met up with the whales in Active Pass, we were treated with a most spectacular show. The whales were breaching, tail slapping, spyhopping, cartwheeling, doing upside-down tail slaps, and rolling—and they kept up that behavior all during the time we spent with them. We watched two whales breaching right next to each other at the same time. In addition to the excitement of the whales and their show, the guests were treated to the absolute beauty of Active Pass, with its lighthouse, turbulent waters, and BC ferries passing by. On a scale of 1 to 10, this day was a definite 10!
     "I am extremely honored by the experience I shared with the crew and others. The activity I witnessed was awesome. This could not have happened if it wasn't for the crew. I will always cherish this time thanks to Don "San Juan" (our captain), Wif and the lovely young ladies full of knowledge and a great gift of hospitality. Again I extend my gratitude for making my vacation with my father a lasting memory. P.S. I got some amazing photos of the action as well and will try to send them your way.
Wendell Greenleaf, ADC
(The photos are great, and we hope to post them soon!)
Photos: 

Saturday August 1, 2009

 

Today took us up Rosario Strait and over the top of the islands. We stopped on the southwest side of Lummi Island to see bald eagles. There were a few harbor porpoise feeding in the tide rips, and harbor seal moms with pups swimming. The whales were at the top of Haro Strait. We had part of L pod and K pod. K21 Cappuccino was highly visible with his large wide dorsal fin. He’s a 23 year old male. Also we could easily identify K14 Lea and her calf born in 2008 only known now as K42. The calves receive their nicknames with a vote from the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor. They don’t receive their names until they are at least a year old. The whales were foraging and milling. When they hit the big tide rip, the action began! There were lots of tail slaps, pectoral slaps, spyhops, and triple breaches by different whales one right after the other. Looking behind the boat, a whale was speed swimming (porpoising) towards us. All of a sudden it was nearly ‘flying’ past the boat. The whales were spread out. This is a large body of water. They were heading south, and after a couple of hours we headed east through the middle of the islands. We went through scenic Pole Pass and Peavine Pass. Our birding today was: bald eagles, pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, common murres and numerous gulls. (We had a very proficient five year old who was keeping up with all the birds!) Comments: “Not too long. Great scenery and very well managed, great commentary and cooperating orcas.”
Photos: 

Friday, July 31, 2009

We began the day greeted by some wind and a welcome cooling from the marine cloud that came in overnight. A couple of bald eagles high in the trees off Carter Point checked us out as we cruised by. A bit of  thin fog blanketed areas in Rosario Strait, but once the fog dissapated and the sun broke out, both the temperature and activity warmed up. We spent time with more bald eagles, cormorants, a great blue heron, pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, common murres and even a small group of harbor porpoise.These usually boat shy ceteceans tolerated us and instead of diving, they jumped back and forth chasing fish. We caught up with with K and L pod between Constance Bank and Middle Bank out in Haro Strait. We spent the afternoon with them, watching a large male, L41 Mega in the lead. Lots of pectoral slaps, tail slaps, and some breaching made the trip memorable for our passengers. The highlight was when a young male, K26 Lobo approached the boat and went under, coming up on the other side just a few feet away. As we left to go home the whales stayed with us travelling east towards San Juan Island. Finally we broke away and said goodbye as we headed home.

Photos: 

Sunday July 26th, 2009

Today was J pod and a minke whale! We stopped to look at a bald eagle on Viti Rocks and a few harbor seals that were hauled out, and then headed for J pod. They were out in the straits below Lopez Island. With J pod in the distance, a minke whale surfaced right in front of us. We stopped to watch it surface a few more times. J pod was travelling west until they came upon Salmon Bank. Then they began to do a lot of tail slapping, pec slapping, speed swimming, and foraging. It was pretty active in the rip tide there. We watched the whales for a couple of hours and getting some looks at the new calves. The weather was beautiful and the seas were calm.