Stellers vying for space & T124C Cooper on 6/5/24 cruising up the west side of Orcas.
Two humpbacks near Deception Pass, with one spy hopping on 6/7/24.
(Bottom left and center Photos by Matt Nobles)
June 5
Starting a cruise with juvenile Stellers vying for buoy space off Sinclair Island, is certainly not uncommon, but this time several males in the water swam towards our boat, possibly looking for a spot to haul out, instead of fighting for space on the buoy.
We met up with T124C Cooper around Crane Island by Orcas, and followed his resting-paced travel all the way north to Point Doughty. He made some efforts at a harbor seal which woke him up, and got us a bit more active views of Cooper.
June 6
On the whale cruise, we first spotted a juvenile humpback south of Lopez Island near Castle Rock. He was a smaller animal and was sticking close to the island, which made him difficult to follow, and we ended up losing sight of him. We decided to wander off searching for other animals, and ended up finding him at the bottom of Rosario Strait.
The small whale eventually started doing more regular surfacings that we were able to follow, until we got some great consistent views on open water, finishing off with a tail fluke as we left the scene.
On the bird cruise, we enjoyed lots of wildlife. Our first stop was at Eliza Rocks where we saw some cormorants and glaucous wing gulls. We also got to catch some glimpses at harbor seals while we were there. We headed west towards the Cone Islands where pigeon guillemots like to nest in the cliffs. We got to see some in the cracks in the rock walls. We headed south towards Bird Rocks where we got to view more cormorants, some Harlequin ducks, and more gulls. Then we got to take the scenic route towards Castle Rock where we saw at least 8 turkey vultures hanging out on the rocks and soaring above. Michael showed us an active eagle nest on Blind Island.
Soon after leaving the eagle’s nest, there was a humpback! So our bird tour turned into a full wildlife tour and we got to watch a humpback on our way to Smith Island. Where we soon got eyes on a puffin and lots of rhinoceros auklets. We saw probably 10 different puffins hanging out, and Captain Michael spotted a Pacific loon.
After spending an hour with puffins, we made our way back north and we came across another humpback. The day was very full of adventure.
June 7
Started the day off with looking at some Stellers on a navigation marker. There was one in the water that desperately wanted to get a spot, but he couldn’t make it and the other sea lions did not want him up there some growls and grunts were exchanged.
We got on scene with 2 humpbacks north of Deception Pass. They were giving us some amazing looks at their tail flukes, and the calf started to get excited. This calf was born in 2021. It started tail slapping a bit on deep dives and then it spy hopped! Even Captain Casey has never seen a humpback spy hop before. It felt like slow motion, truly an unforgettable experience! The calf was “waving”, showing us its pectoral fin, as we departed.
June 8
Stopped at the buoy marker near Sinclair for Steller sea lions. Lots of the standard dominance display against several in the water.
Met up with Divot and the 2024 calf in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A few great flukes and some good close surfaces.
June 9
Quite the whale day, with two different eco types.
Viti Rocks had a few Harbor seals, while the buoy had 3 sleepy juvenile Steller sea lions.
We made our way quickly over to Spieden Island and Haro Strait where we started watching the T49As – Nan + Charlie 2.
Then suddenly the Southern Resident Killer Whales came quickly up the strait from San Juan Island, and were pretty spread out. We tend to avoid the SRKW’s as they are endangered and in understandable tighter regulation. However, a surprise visit from them is always a a treat.
The T49As dove under water and were lost for a bit, while J-Pod passed us by. We caught back up with them closer to Henry Island before needing to make our trip home.
