If you think you see a VERY small fin…you do!  This is the newest member of K pod, K-44!  Mom is probably the fin tip right in the front, and big brother following along to the side.  It’s been a magical few days watching this subfamily group in the K pod, grandmother, mother, new calf and big brother, all swimming together.  The smallest member of this foursome is three weeks old!

The trip this day is in flat water, bright sunshine, and the whales move about in small groups, very spread out. What luck to come across the group with the newest whale in the Southern Resident Killer Whale popultion!

There are more surprises….the steller sealions are back!  These massive sealions once again appear on rocky islands or hunt in the fast moving currents.  The tides are huge right now and cause whirl pools and white caps in Cattle Pass.  Perfect for fishing…especially if you are a marine mammal!

For that matter, the birds are abundant too.  The winter migration is in progress…the tiny phalaropes are back and dart about in Haro Strait!  We discover a fledged Bald eagle chick sitting on the ground on Spieden Island as the adult swipes the prey from it’s talons.  The chick “hop flies” back up the hillside as the adult swoops gracefully up into the nest calling to the youngster.  Hum, how to get “lift off”???  We all cheer as the chick succeeds at a flight back UP to the nest!

Oh…and the darling Harbor seal pups!  So many heads popping up everywhere with big questioning eyes!  Here’s a photo of “Mom and Me”….check out the mom cheek to cheek with her young one!  Whiskers….upside down!

We experience some wind later in the week, with whales heading north toward Canada in Haro Strait.  We watch as the families group up to cross more open water, and then race over to the shore of the next island.  Speed swimming is awesome!  Just as I say, oh it would be so great to see a spy hop now…bingo!  A big spy hop!  So, why not ask for more?  We do.  And they do!  Amazing!

Truly lots of surprises….big and small!

This morning our trip takes us to a meet up spot with some of the J pod whales from yesterday.  Only today they are headed south, and west…and toward us!  Before long we are floating along watching J pod females and males cruise the island shores in bright sunlight.  The blows create a sense of mist surrounding the whales as they speed toward…Friday Harbor?  Yes, right to San Juan Channel, joining the summer boaters and ferries in a busy busy place!

We took a little whale break to investigate some wildlife refuge islands full of harbor seals.  Some of the pups ride merrily on their mom’s back!   Bald eagles abound, and one spot has two eagles engaged in feeding off of something inbetween the rocks.

We beat the whales back to Friday Harbor, enjoying the sunny and warm weather.

Our afternoon trip took us right back out into San Juan Channel, and with whales so close, we have lots of time to investigate an eagle nest, harbor seal haulouts, observe a great blue heron and then, surprise!  A steller sealion is hauled out on the tip of Whale Rocks!  It’s early to have this sighting…so…it will be fun to see if more return soon…or if this one male is just on a very different schedule!  We enjoy the whales as they pass very close to the San Juan Island shore, cutting inbetween rocky islands and then heading up past South Beach!

A beautiful, golden afternoon spent with Jpod and the K13’s in Haro Strait. The whales were in a resting pattern for most of the day which created some breathtaking images:

Well!  Hello There!  Check out that little head sticking right with J-28, Polaris!

It is a great day on the water, with summer returning to the San Juan Islands on Friday.  Yipee!  We have the opportunity to watch J Pod travel up Haro Strait right along the north end of San Juan Island and Henry Island.  The whales are definitely in traveling mode and making quite good time at that.  They are grouped up together, and with probably all the J’s and the K-13’s it makes for a lot of whales at once!  Folks gasp at seeing so many fins come up and go down….then again, up and down…. like sycronized swim class!

The water is flat and fairly calm in the morning, but by afternoon the tide defines a different combination of whales and sea.  The families are still moving north, but now through one to two foot waves in patches of current.  We can see calm water over by shore and Turn Point Lighthouse.

Captain Pete decides to take a little break and we push the bow of Western Prince II up to “the wall” or cliff on Stuart Island, seeking out the falcons we’ve watched this summer, but they are perhaps hiding today.  Then, back for more views of the southern resident whales.

Our trip home takes us past some harbor seal haulouts with many pups sticking close to the mums.  Ah…and a few adult bald eages feeding on…”something”…on the the rocks near by.

As the whales continue north, we head south.  But what about tomorrow?

Another great encounter with J and K pods today up near Turn Point on Stuart Island. We were able to spend quite a bit of time with the new baby, K44, traveling with his mom, K27 Deadhead:

Our afternoon trip takes us out to the west side of San Juan Island, a favorite spot for our Southern Resident Killer Whales.  Perhaps the fishing is great today as the whales swim and breach over toward the shore.  Lots of action!

J Pod families move along together and it’s a beautiful sight!  Why does time pass so quickly when you’re watching whales and wildlife?

Today we find two eagle chicks standing in the nest, with an adult perched in a neear by tree.  Soon….fledging!  Each day I see the chicks, now fairly large dark shapes on the nest edge, I wonder if tomorrow they will be there?

Now that we’re half way through July the harbor seal pups are plentiful!  What a sight to see, pup riding high on mom’s back, or bobbing around in the currents.  Today we see as many as 30 little seal heads popping up here and there!

A glorious Wednesday morning and what could be better than to watch J Pod cross Rosario Strait?  Oh, well, maybe watch J Pod forage and cross the strait?  Or, maybe, forage and breach and race off toward Lopez Island?  Yes, all of it!

The water today is almost flat calm.  The sighting conditions are excellent!  We follow San Juan Channel through Cattle Pass and head off toward Whidbey Island.  J Pod is spending some time this year exploring the bays south of Anacortes and today we have a fine view of Deception Pass bridge as the whales swim past it.

The adult males swim further south, the females and youngsters cut across the strait, right past the channel bouy, and strike out for the south Lopez shore.

Our passengers today are with the Roads Scholars group, and this San Juan Island trip called “Whales and Trails”  is intergenerational.  We have grandparents, parents and kids together for this experience and it’s the perfect trip!  Sunshine, calm water and whales all around us!

It’s almost hard to wrap our brains around how amazing the whale sightings have been over the past several days. It seems like every time we venture out on the water there are more incredible things to see and surprises around every corner! Today we encountered a super pod off the west side of San Juan Island. A super pod happens when all three of our resident orcas pods (J, K, and L pods) join together in a giant, massive group. There is usually lots of socializing going on along with some mating behavior (yes… x-rated whale watching). All of the antics of the whales are such a joy to observe and should never be taken for granted. We had an amazing encounter with L55 Nugget and her two youngest kids, L109 Takoda and baby L118 who was born just this winter and has yet to be named. L118 sure is a cutie-pie!:

Well, today we had two trips out on the water.  And one thing I really love about my job is no two trips are ever the same.  For the first trip, we had a very nice group aboard the Western Prince.  And we had lots of whales to choose from (isn’t that a tough problem to have first thing in the morning.  Do we go to the Transients near Active Pass?  K Pod down at False Bay?  J Pod at Turn Point?  Well, we decided to go see J Pod, and by the time we headed up north they were already approaching the Pender Bluffs in Canada (which enabled us to “practice” our Canada-speak, eh?).  But our decision turned out to be a great one as for a nice period of time, we were the only whale watch boat with the whales.  We watched as a very large group of Js were slowly moving their way along the shoreline.  J27 and gang were definitely checking out the kelp beds, and at one point, the whales were being watched on all sides–us on the outside side of the whales, and harbor seals and people along shore.  Lots of surface percussives including spyhops and breaches!  Time passed far too quickly and soon it was time to head back to port.

A quick lunch break and then it was time to meet the passengers who would be traveling out on the Western Explorer.  So for me, different group of passengers and a different boat–and a different group of whales even (see, my job is varied!)  By the time we left the dock, J Pod was quite a ways to the north, but fortunately the Ks were still doing the “west side shuffle” along San Juan Island.  So south we went.  And as we headed out of Cattle Pass, we took a wide swing out past Salmon Bank and found a small minke whale.  Flat calm waters made spotting the whale from quite a distance easy!  Before long, we were off again to go see K Pod.  We were only with Ks for a bit before they suddenly veered offshore and began to vocalize quite loudly.  This just so happened to coincide with a call on the phone from one of our Canadian friends who told us that the members of L Pod that had been out west had made it to Discovery Island and were headed right towards San Juan.  So a short reposition and soon we were viewing over 30 members of L Pod!  L79 Skana.  L41 Mega.  As the whales got closer to K Pod, they began to slap the water with their tails.  At one point there were 6-7 whales tailslapping at the same time.  One female passed the Western Explorer and decided to push her calf onto her rostrum!  Lots of vocals, spyhops, a few breaches, and the whales began to mill everywhere at once!  Soon though it was time to head back, but we did manage to find 3 more minkes (for a total of 4).

Another awesome day “at the office”.

We had an incredible day of whales! We saw humpback whales, resident (salmon-feeding) orcas (K pod), and, much to our delight, a HUGE group of transient (mammal-feeding) orcas. There were 15 +/- transients traveling in tight group through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We saw lots of spyhopping and some interesting social behaviors. Normally we only see very small groups of transient pods, usually consisting of no more than 6 individuals, so this encounter was a very special treat because we were able to see so many. Most were juveniles and females and there was one big male traveling along with them. Here are some photos from the day’s encounter:

K27 Deadhead (it’s a funny name, I know. She’s named after Jerry Garcia of the Greatful Dead) welcomes her first little bundle of joy into the world - K44! This little calf was probably born on July 6th or 7th and the Center for Whale Research has already confirmed that it is a male. The new little baby seems to be very healthy and has no trouble keeping up with mom. CWR reported that when they went to photograph the baby for the first time, Deadhead pushed it up to the boat on her head! It’s almost as if she was showing off. Here is the only photo I have of the new baby. It’s not very good, but you can make out the tiny little guy in the left of the photo. Congrats to K Pod and K27 Deadhead. We hope this little guy lives a long and happy life:

We had two trips out on the Western Prince today. It was a gorgeous, lazy, sunny Sunday. The whales spent the majority of the day resting in Open Bay off the south end of Henry Island. We saw all of J pod, the K13 subgroup, and L87 Onyx all in a tight bunch methodically surfacing to take breaths while they all took a LONG nap:

What a fabulous day of whale watching!  Since July 4th falls on a Monday, the island begins swelling with visitors on Friday….and there are lots of foks with hopes of an Orca whale experience!

This morning our trip takes us to Rosario Strait, way over by Anacortes.  We find J Pod traveling south in family groups.  There are lots of boats, but the whales keep on a southerly track swimming swiftly at about 8 knots.  Can you pick up the third fin in this family photo?

The sunshine has finally filled the skies of the Pacific Northwest and we are all appreciative.  Flat water allows great views of our southern resident pod.

This afternoon we find the whales rounding the south end of Lopez Island, still traveling in small groups, with several large males on the edge.  Down by Salmon Bank bouy we enjoy lots of seabird sightings!  Rhinocerous auklets have their beaks full of small schooling fish!  Wow!  Great catch!

It’s an easy day to stay and enjoy the sunshine, warm temperatures, glassy water and incredible mountain views.

J Pod and L-87, hurry up the westside of the island.  Maybe some meet up plans?  Or perhaps tonight to the  Fraser River?  As we turn in Cattle Pass to return to Friday Harbor, it only leaves me to wonder, “And what about tomorrow?  Where will we find you?  Where are you going?  Adios!”

Oh look!  One last feather floating on a silent sea!  Maybe an omen for good luck tomorrow!?

This day starts early with a ride up to Roche Harbor to pick up folks traveling with Backroads Tours.  A grey, northwest day for sure, but with so many whale sightings lately, spirits are high.  Our trip down the west side of San Juan Island is a smooth one, in fairly flat water with no wind.  We see the Salmon Bank bouy from way off, but no fins?  Scanning 360, help from everyone…and then, blow in the air!  We watch whales on both sides of the boat for a wonderful hour.  The breach!  The tail slaps!  Then the two group come together.  They move off toward Salmon Bank….maybe for salmon!?  There is lots of socialization going on as the whales roll, turn, twist, do a few back strokes, and then, hey! … Fins up everyone!  If whales could dance, this would be it.  Maybe they can!

We stop to see 100 or more harbor seals hauled out, and one bald eagle among a sea of cormorants at Whale Rocks.

For the trip home, out come the blankets and woolie hats.  Our guests from Flordia got a real taste of the Northwest this morning!

Back out in the afternoon to find the whales were really “making tracks”….or “fluke prints” as they are now headed north up Rosario Strait.  Now this is a first for me….watching whales by Burrows Island, with Anacortes close by!  The J family is joined by the K-13’s and yes, L-87 for this afternoons travel.  Again, flat water makes whale watching so easy!  Foraging behavior keeps the whales very busy.  Let’s hope it’s productive and tonight they have full bellies.  Folks with their eyes glued to the action, have the awesome experience of watching orca whales do orca whale things.  One sub-adult male goes for a record with 17 tail slaps in a row!  A few young ones spy hop their way along followed by adult females.  Then some rolls and twists for what I decide to call a “Whale Jumble.”  Is that like a good old fashioned “Pig Pile?”  But whale style!

Lovely, lovely day on the water.  Fantastic whales.  Smiling faces.  Good company!

J32 Rhapsody has been one of the most entertaining whales to behold this season. It just seems that she has discovered how darn good she is a breaching - if fact most of the photos I have of breaching whales this year happen to be her! Yesterday was no different. We had a fabulous encounter with the J11’s, the J22’s, and the J17’s on the west side of San Juan Island yesterday. The whales must have had full bellies because all they were doing was playing, playing, playing! J32 Rhapsody certainly wasn’t going to be left out of the fun. She breached over 7 times yesterday! What fabulous fun to watch her fly though the air!

Wow has it been a busy week! We’ve had the very pleasant issue of having whales everywhere! J pod has been around consistently for almost the entire month. They have been swimming the classic “westside shuffle” where they just constantly travel up and down the west side feeding on salmon. They have also, every now and again, been doing big loops around all the islands in search of food. The K13 subgroup has also been hanging out with J pod for a over a week now and of course, L87 Onyx continues to be the honorary J pod member. Come out and join us on an adventure! More notes from the field coming soon! Stay tuned!