Orca Whales in Sight!
Our guests are watching J-Pod Orca Whales on the morning tour! Stay tuned to the Whale Report for details on all the wildlife we saw today on both of our tours from Naturalist Jami Nagel!
(An interesting note for 2008 - Orca Whale sightings at Lime Kiln Park on San Juan Island are down by 50% this year. Researchers have stated that there are more Salmon in Rosario Strait, very close to Anacortes, than there are in Haro Strait which is close to San Juan Island. We have sighted Orca Whales very close to Anacortes in Rosario Strait the last 4 out of 5 days.)
"Our course took us through the inner Islands on our 9:30 am tour for a scenic ride. Our passengers were treated to many seabirds and several bald eagles. We caught up with 2 subpods of J-pod just off False Bay, San Juan Island. They were milling with no real direction. We did get to enjoy some playfulness by the J42 the youngest member of J-pod. We also had some great looks at Mike, J42's oldest brother. As we headed toward Anacortes we enjoyed one of my most favorite spots in the island, the south end of Lopez. We tucked in between Castle rock and were treated to several harbor seals hauled out with their pups nursing! There were many pairs of Pigeon Guillemots fishing in the calm water.
On our 3:30 trip we didn't have to go far! We headed up Rosario and found the rest of J-pod foraging at the north end of Cypress Island. Our guests got to enjoy several breaches, spyhops and even an impressive cartwheel. We spent some time with the elders of J-pod Granny J2 (the matriarch) and her son Ruffles J1 (the oldest male in the southern resident). We were also treated to a guest appearance by Faith L57 who was spending much time with J-pod females (J-pod females don't mate with male of their own pod they mate with males from K and L pods)! We also enjoyed harbor seals fishing the flood tide, many seabirds, great blue heron and a bald eagle!-Naturalist Jami Nagel
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 5:00 PM
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