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"This morning we found ourselves off the southwest side of San Juan Island in an area called Salmon Bank! It was at this underwater shelf that we found a very shy Minke Whale that gave our guests a couple of quick looks before giving us the slip! Two other boats even joined us shortly after finding the Minke and they weren't able to find this elusive whale!! We decided to venture out to Hein Bank and then head towards Smith & Minor Islands. There we found 3 more Bald Eagles bringing our total up to 9!! Our guests also enjoyed looks at 9 Black Oystercatchers, a few hauled-out Harbor Seals, one giant eagle nest on the beach, and a Tufted Puffin!!! Smith Island is only one of two islands in the area where Tufted Puffins nest. The afternoon lead us back into the Strait of Juan de Fuca but rather west towards Vancouver Island and the city of Victoria. There we found Pender, T14, a Transient Orca whale!! We watched in the low light of the sinking sun as he made his way slowly through the water. His over six foot tall dorsal fin cut through the water allowing our guests some great photo opportunities! After a great visit we turned for home and along the way we met back up with a Minke Whale at Salmon Bank! Could this have been the same Minke that gave us the slip earlier in the day? Maybe. Other wildlife highlights of the day included a Harbor Seal hauled-out in a balencing act on a floating log, Surf Scoters, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, hundreds of Harbor Porpoise feeding in the tide rips, a Caspian Tern, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants, and a couple of Common Murres. Throughout the day we enjoyed glass calm water conditions and views of Mount Baker & Mount Rainier against a backdrop of blue skies!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 10:45 PM
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