A Bounty of Wildlife
"On this crisp fall day in October the area was just teaming with wildlife! As we left the marina we found a mature Bald Eagle soaring towards Cap Sante Point! This quick look wasn't going to be our only chance at seeing eagles for the day only got better! We rounded the point finding Common Loons sitting at the surface in between dives, Cormorants flying close to the waters surface and near the end of Guemes Channel we even found a California Sea Lion hauled out on a channel marker waiting to pose for a few photos!! Our wildlife adventure continued as we made our way south down Rosario Strait where we found Harbor Porpoise, Western Grebes, Common Murres, Glaucous-winged Gulls and Heerman's Gulls!! It was just East of Colville Island where we found a mated pair of mature Bald Eagles perched on the Lawson Reef marker!! The two sat regally atop the marker as our guests rattled off frame after frame of photos of the two who appeared to be posing just for us!! After our eagle fix, we continued towards Salmon Bank where we found a Harbor Seal thrashing about the surface with a nice sized Salmon hanging out of his mouth! This activity not only grabbed our attention but also the attention of some gulls flying overhead! We watched as a scene right out of National Geographic unfolded before our eyes!! After his last bite we continued on, and it was only moments later that a Minke Whale was spotted up ahead! Rather shy at first the Minke appeared to be playing hard to get!! We waited patiently and finally the patience card paid off when he reappeared and decided to become more friendly!! It seemed the longer we watched the more interested the whale became in us!! Maybe this Minke was partaking in a little people watching?! With some great looks because of some close passes our guests became expert Minke spotters! We even got a great look at his 2 blow holes and even heard his exhalation as it surfaced!! The glass calm water helped in tracking the whale as footprints were created after every surfacing and the percussion from its tail left rings at the surface!! After a considerable amount of quality time with the Minke we continued our search for more wildlife! Our journey brought us to Whale Rocks where more than a dozen Steller Sea Lions were hauled out on the rocks and swimming about in the waters surrounding the island! Their grunts and roars carried across the water as a couple where involved in a battle over a piece of prime real estate!! Soon it was time to head back towards home port but along our journey we also saw Pacific Loons, Surf Scoters, Great Blue Herons, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots and even some Harbor Seals hauled out on the rocks!!" - Naturalist Kate Janes
posted by Island Adventures Whale Report @ 7:10 PM
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