T65As Friday Harbor to Point Roberts

Killer Whales All Day Long

We knew we were seeing Orca today before I ever left the house. The T65As were seen in Upright Channel and then going right by Friday Harbor at 8:00. Our second tour guests thought they saw Orca in front of the harbor, and it turns out they did. We had T65As Friday Harbor to Point Roberts throughout the day. They had swum right by the harbor.

Harbor Seals and Pups and Sea Birds

On the way to our first viewing, we had stopped by to see Glaucous-winged Gull chicks, Harbor Seal moms with their pups, Bald Eagles, and Rhinoceros Auklet.

Once we were with the Orca, I kept hoping they would discover the occasional porpoise that swam by or a harbor seal. There were no kills on the first tour, that we witnessed anyway. We left to see other marine life, and as soon as we did, we heard over the VHF radio a kill had taken place.

Geyser of Blood

The second tour was more of the same. However, this time, we did see a seal kill and a geyser of blood changing the water to a crimson color. I had put my hydrophone down to hear them vocalize. The only thing we heard was some pretty intense echo-location clicking going on. I was coiling my hydrophone cord up, and that is when the blood bath took place, and I missed the shot.

Testing a Rental Lens

For the third tour, I switched lenses to a rental 500mm prime, that had just arrived, and Lisa brought it to me at the dock. We trekked our way up north, this time to Point Roberts. The whales were playing around, having fun with each other. When I arrived on the scene, they had made a kill. One of the whales started playing with the intestines, dragging it around with its dorsal fin. A few kayaks paddled their way in to close as did a couple of paddle boarders. The 200-yard approach limit applies to all vessels and objects of any kind. We were enjoying our day spent with the T65As Friday Harbor to Point Roberts and a beautiful sunset on the way home.