Sunny weather continues to grace the San Juan Islands and we had two wonderful whale watch trips on Saturday!  The morning trip took us to the westside of the island where we found some of the J-Pod whales foraging by South Beach.  One of the big teenage males, J-27, was cruising easily through the choppy water, while a mom and youngster cut closer into shore.  Polaris and her calf were a welcome sight this morning!  We came back around Hall Island to check out the Harbor seals, and then it was on to the roaring water of Cattle Pass where Captain Pete gave one of his “tides and currents talks” along with a demonstration of how a whirlpool works!

The afternoon trip took us to the east and across Rosario Strait.  Here we found  some of the  J-Pod whales we had seen yesterday as they moved into Canadian waters and headed north, probably to the Fraser River.  Today they were moving south, lazily cruising the shore of Lummi Island with a few stops for foraging.  We watched J-26, Mike for a long time as he swam along with his mother, J-16, Slick.  I kept wondering….where or where were the other two siblings we usually see with this family?  Suddenly, off our stern quarter a quick flash of a little fin appeared!  Here comes Echo!  Three year old Echo quickly joined up with mom and darted back and forth.  Echo didn’t miss the chance to demonstrate some of the tail slap moves that are becoming perfected!  Practice makes…well if perfect is big splashes…then…PERFECT!

On our trip home I told Captain Pete…”Please find a Bald eagle for us to admire!”  He did better than that.  First he discovered an Osprey sitting high in a tree overlooking the Orcas shore…and as we watched it take flight and soar high above us, he noticed…yes…a beautiful adult Bald eagle in the next tree!  We don’t get to watch Osprey very often and this one flew close enough for us to admire it’s beautiful black eye liner markings.  The Bald eagle just remained statue still….and watched us!

Another wonderful day on the water….times two!

~Nan