This is Nature, Not a Zoo
Today is one of those days when I am very aware that nature is not a zoo or entertainment park with a concrete tub. Even though we see orcas nearly every tour, my guests wanted to see Orca, but on this day it was not to be.
The morning tour conditions in the Strait of Juan de Fuca was rough seas with dense fog. If there were Orca, none of the company’s found them. There was a pod down towards Seattle, but nothing showed in the San Juans or the Salish Sea beyond Puget Sound. So, we spent the day viewing gray and humpbacks. One of the pics shows the bumps on the top of its head. Those are hair follicles.
Humpback Whales
We began the day watching a pair of humpback whales known as Big Mama and Heather. These two were pretty much sleeping and not real active with no fluking. We wandered over to another whale known as Raptor and did see him fluke for us. I then moved on to check more unsearched water for Orcas before heading back to Friday Harbor.
Gray Whale and Super Hornet Growlers
The second tour I heard the seas had laid down, and there were three active Minke Whales lunge feeding. We headed that direction seeing Stellar Sea Lions on the way. However, once in the coordinates of the Minke sighting we were not fortunate enough to see them, the seas were still tossing us around a bit too. I did not want to spend too much time there and moved on, and we found a Gray Whale to admire its beautiful colors. A couple of blow hole shots showing two blowholes.
We were viewing the Gray right at the end of the runway for the US Navy. The F18 Super Hornets were training, and we probably were there for a dozen or more flyovers after taking off, and the noise was so loud it hurt the ears. This jet is nicknamed the “Growler” because of its sound.
Then we left the Gray Whale to see Tufted Puffins. The weather was picking up again, so after locating one of the puffins and a few shots, we headed home.
Raptor, Big Mama and Heather
The third tour we headed north again to view humpbacks. This time with Raptor, he was very erratic and not easy to keep track of as he changed course. He was feeding in a pretty large area. The weather up north was nice, though, and the sunset was beautiful. Big Mama and Heather were being viewed a few miles to the north of our position. We spent as much time as we could with the humpback and then headed back home from the Strait of Georgia. It was an excellent way to end a day of viewing Gray and Humpbacks.
Check out some of my other photoblog pages at Whale Tales.
Follow us on Facebook.
Follow us on Instagram.
