September 14:

Today we had the Elderhostel group aboard, and as we prepared to leave the dock, the persistent cloud cover broke and out came the sunshine.  A good omen for soon we were viewing all sorts of wildlife.  One benefit of being a naturalist is that every day is unique and today was certainly that in spades!

As we approached Whale Rocks, we were able to see several Stellar Sea Lions, including one big male that launched from the water up onto the rock haul-out.  Then a short jaunt to Salmon Bank and we shut down to wait and listen for whales.  The water was flat calm and you could just hear a gentle ringing of the bell on the Salmon Bank marker.  Soon that was drowned out by the sounds of multiple blows and some of the most incredible vocalizations I have heard in a long time!  Echolocation click trains were mixed with distinctive K & L pod calls and even some calls I have never heard (one sounded like the typical creeky door sound in any Halloween soundtrack!)  One female surfaced about 100 yards from the boat and logged at the surface making raspberry sounds and then she did a great imitation of a motorboat by blowing bubbles!

Sooner than we wanted to, we had to leave this area as other wildlife was calling.  Offshore of Lime Kiln we saw several Dall’s Porpoises and even one large hybrid porpoise!   As we headed west, we saw the Hawaiian Chief making her way north and just past the sailing vessel was a very rare treat—THREE HUMPBACKS!  They had mostly black on the undersides of the tailflukes, and 2 were quite large.  We watched for awhile and thought–can the day get any better?  Well, by this time we decided to head over the top of San Juan Island and make a quick stop at Speiden Island.  There we saw three bald eagles feasting on a carcass, and you could hear them calling to each other from a long way away.  Many mouflans roamed along the shore.

An awesome September trip!

John Boyd (JB)
SSAMN Marine Naturalist