Summer seems to be in full swing these days with sunburnt noses on the guides, sandal tans on the dock hands, and whales all around. The orcas have been spotted right outside Roche Harbor for the past two days. Nothing like having whales right out your back door!
Great Whale Watch Tour Sunday. J-Pod had been foraging along the west side of San Juan Island all day, and decided mid day to make their way into the larger straits. By 3:00pm, they were 6 miles southwest of Hein Bank, at the confluence of Haro Strait and the Straits of Juan De Fuca. The entire pod was very spread out, foraging as usual. We had a small group of guest, as well as employees on their day off.
We were fortunate to have some good views of J-16 and...
This week we've been having spectacularly low tides, and as a result of that extra exposure of rock all sorts of animals have come calling. Joe, Tom and I paddled out of Roche Harbor for a 3 hour tour and we were soon rewarded with wildlife sightings! Not only did we see a few raccoons turning over rocks and hunting crabs, but a fox as well! We were able to quietly slip by along the shore as they went about their business of catching a meal.
The absolute highlight...
This is the first entry for our new blog. Our goal is to provide an outlet for discussing everything from our wildlife sightings on tours, to our carbon neutral goals.
This week's fog and clouds lifted in time for a beautiful day on the water as I paddled out for a private 5 hour tour. We decided to circumnavigate Henry Island and lucked out with good currents and great wildlife sightings.
Early on we looked at a number of surf birds and Bald Eagles and were in turn checked out by some curious but wary Harbor Seals as we quietly slipped past. As we rounded Kellett Bluffs we paddled slowly by a noisy and active Pelagic Cormorant...
We had a fantastic trip today. The Thackray family from Bainbridge Island were up for spring break cycling the San Juans. Brett, Maureen, Sophie (15), Anna(12), and Erin(7) were all in good spirits despite the cold. The weather was clear, cool, and partly sunny. Very light winds, and great conditions for a paddle.
We launched from San Juan Outfitters dock in Roche Harbor, and immediately encountered a number of seasonal birds: Surf Scoters, Harlequin Ducks...
San Juan Island Whale Watch report from Saturday, April 11th:
The predicted rain held off for us, and Captain Brian P. and I headed out into the sunshine as we left San Juan Island in hopes of whales. Reports of whales off the Saanich area of Vancouver Island held true for us, and as we came close to shore we sighted them. At first it looked like a small group of two individuals, but as we drew closer we could identify two adult whales and one small calf! The...
Tuesday, April 1st 2008. Captain's Log. We had a great trip today!! First trip of the season with whales. It was a cold (45-50) sunny day, and we were fortunate to have a whale sighting off the west side of San Juan Island. The early report was transients. They were later identified as J-Pod (residents). The Sea Hawk is in Roche Harbor for the summer, and we had only a short trip to West Side of San Juan Island where we encountered the first group of whales....
Whale Watching & Sea Kayaking Friday Harbor
One more quick Whale Watching update. I ran into a fellow captain "Hobbes" yesterday, and he mentioned that he ran into a couple of Transient Killer Whales this past Saturday when out on the water. His sighting was not reported on any sighting networks, but it was firm sighting. Lots of whales in the area. Typically this time of the year our Whale Watching Tour from Roche Harbor focuses more on general wildlife...