Written by Alison
on Jul 18, 2024

Killer Whale Watching

Killer Whale Watching

June 27, 2024 PM – When we left the dock the wind was starting to pick up. As we headed north we got a little bit of spray and then the seas calmed down. We were excited to check out the same big group of Orcas that we had seen on our morning trip. They had continued to south and were now off of Sidney Island, BC. We headed west around the top of San Juan Island and were soon encountered 11 Bigg’s Killer Whales on the east side of the island. This group was made up of Orcas from 3 different matrilines: T49A – Nan, a 38 year old female traveling with 5 of her 6 offspring. We had Noah, her oldest son at 23 years of age, Nat, her 3rd oldest at 13, Neptune at 10, Nebula, her only daughter at 7 and little “Smoosh Face,” with the cute underbite, who was born in 2022; T46B1- Tread, a 21 year old female and her 2 offspring ages 9 and 2; T36A1- Tierna, a 19 year old female with her 2 year old calf. They continued south searching among the rocky islets look for seals. The few seals we saw on the rocks were on high alert and staying put was their best chance of not becoming a meal for the orcas. As we approached Darcy Island the seas started to get lumpy so we decided, after a nice long encounter, we would go look for other wildlife. We crossed back over to the US, went through John’s pass and out into Boundary pass. We scanned for Humpbacks, but did not see any so we headed to White Rock to check out the Harbor Seals that were snoozing on the rocks. We had one last stop at Flat Top Island were we spotted a majestic Bald Eagle then headed for home.

Photographer and Naturalist: Alison Engle – Instagram: @Alisonengleart – Website: www.alisonengle.com

Western Prince Wildlife Adventures – Instagram: @Westernprincewildlife – Facebook: Western Prince Whale Watching

Written by Alison
on Jul 18, 2024

Killer Whale Watching

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