http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog Whale Watching Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:43:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en WOW!  What a fabulous day on the water....and a memorable last trip of the season!  Leaving Friday Harbor with promising weather and the news that orca vocalizations were heard on the Port Townsent hydrophone three hours before, spirits are high.  The water is flat clam today and yesterday's rain and ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/10/29/one-last-tripone-last-wow/ October days offer surprises!  The weather can be a picture perfect of the grey and misty Pacific Northwest....OR...exactly the opposite...with warm autumn sunshine bathing the islands, water and wildlife in bright morning light or golden glow. The last two weeks have been outstanding in variety of animals, birds and weather.  Even ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/10/24/october-dazeautumn-haze/ OK, I know it's been awhile since I posted on the Western Prince blog.  It's not from lack of wildlife though.  So let's recap the month of October so far.  As anyone who knows me is aware, my favorite month to see whales is Setpember.  Well, October is shaping up ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/10/09/october-so-far/ It's the "Stinky MINKE Whale"!!!  Our trips this week take us all around the Salish Sea.  On Thursday we have great sightings of the Southern Resident Killer Whales off Salmon Bank.  The weatheris cloudy and grey, but the Orca whales are busy traveling south and then to the west with ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/09/25/its-a-wild-life/ Oh, September?  Where are you going?  Things are changing so fast.  Take the sea birds for instance.  Quick!  Out come the winter outfits.  Check out this Common Murre.  Ususally the coloration is a solid dashing black for the entire head and upper body, with chic sea bird white on the ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/09/18/swiftlyseptember-passing-by/ 9/11 People ask me sometimes if my job gets routine.  For example, today we had two trips aboard the Western Explorer.  Both times we went to the south end of San Juan Island.  Both times we saw the same groups of whales.  But each trip was anything but routine, and both ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/09/11/a-picture-perfect-september-sunday-91111/ Whales and weather are fabulous lately!  The Southern Residents spent last Thursday and Friday circling around their usual territory here in the San Juan Islands.  Both J and K pods transited Haro Strait heading north on Thursday afternoon, and then on Friday we had J pod almost all to ourselves ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/09/11/whales-and-weather-wonderful/ Well, with the changing of the month, I come to my favorite whale month of the year.  That's right--September whales.  What makes them so different from the whales we see the rest of the year?  It's hard to really put into words.  Do they breach more, or spyhop more, or ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/09/05/september-whales-have-returned/ By Friday the sunny weather has returned to the San Juan Islands, but the Southern Resident Orca whales are still missing.  With almost flat calm water and a warm breeze it is easy to stand on the foredeck and look....and look...and look for seals, sea lions, sea birds....and fins!  We ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/09/04/t-is-for-transientss-is-for-surprise/ We've had oodles of transient (mammal-feeding) orcas in the area the past several days. Transients orcas, in stark contrast to our resident orcas which mainly eat salmon, only dine on warm-blooded prey (e.g. seals, sea lions, porpoises, and even other whales). There are about 30 transients hanging out in Puget ... http://orcawhalewatch.com/whale_watching_blog/index.php/2011/08/29/t31/