Rain could not keep us away from the whales today as we departed North out of Friday Harbor. It was a bit foggy as we left, but the further north we went, the clearer it became. Then, just south of Turn Point we spotted J-2 “Granny” swimming along Stuart Island by herself. We watched as the 101 year old killer whale surfaced and dived. The rest of J-pod wasn’t far behind her including J-27 “Blackberry”. After watching the whales go by for a while we started back towards San Juan Island. Along the way back we stopped by Spieden Island and saw two juvenile bald eagles as well as Muflon sheep. Around the north end of the island we noticed a couple more bald eagles all around the same spot; they were munching on a deer or sheep carcass! It was an incredible sight. The fog then thickened as we slowly made our way through it to the docks, giving the Salish Sea an eerie calm, and a great ending to the trip.
~Kristen, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris