AM whale watch tour
Biggs Killer Whales: T36s
Today we got a taste of how illusive the Salish Sea and its locals can be. We began our search to the south scouting in Rosario Straight. We made a brief stop at bird rocks to hang out with some harbor seals and Cormorants before turning north to try to find a report from Salt Springs in Canadian waters. On our way north, we found a brown Pelican bobbing in the waves, a rare and exciting sight! Once we’d reached the north end of Lummi Island, we got word of a group of orca whales at the south end, so we flipped around and cruised back down the coast.
When we first rolled on scene, this group looked to be the T36As, a pod lead by matriarch and mom T36A Leland. However upon further inspection to photos, we realized we were actually hanging out with the T36s, not the T36As. The matriarch of the T36s is nicknamed flapjack, Lelands mother! Leland no longer travels with her mother’s pod, having a family of her own now, but Lelands sister T36B Tittertap was present with all of her own calves, following Flapjack up Lummi’s coast.
Confusion about which family we were on scene with stemmed from one of Flapjack’s offspring, T36B1 Bhotia, who has a similar notch on her dorsal fin to her cousin T36A1 Tierna. T36B1 Bhotia, T36B2 Greenfelder, and youngest sibling T36B3 Chip, all traveled with their mom Tittertap and their grandmother Flapjack.
We moved with the T36s in pristine emerald waters as they made their way north with a pep in their steps. At times, the family was strung out and traveling loosely, then tightly packing together for a gorgeous family photo. After spending time with this pod, we peeled off and made our way back into the marina with a summer breeze pulling us in. The warm weather has been too good to us lately! We can’t wait to get back out on the water again for another adventure.
-Amy
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AM whale watch tour
Biggs Killer Whales: T65As, T77D, T77E
The orcas seemed to be loving the summer sun that has finally started shining, because we had amazing surface activity on both our morning and afternoon tours! To begin our morning adventure, we headed south to visit Williamson rocks. This wildlife refuge provided a nice resting spot for flocks of Glaucous-Wing gulls and Cormorants, as well as a peaceful rookery of harbor seals nestled in with the rocky tideline. Continuing down into the straight of Juan de fuca, we soon saw the T65A family in the distance. With the T65As were two members of the T77s, T77D Alcyon, and T77E Misneach. Leading the T65As was famous mother and matriarch T65A Artemis. She had all of her youngsters with her, from her oldest son T65A2 ooxja, to her youngest daughter T65A6 Callisto. All except for T65A5 Elsie, who, despite being the young age of seven, usually travels for extended periods of time away from the family. This group actively traveled as they made their way south, rolling on the surface, poking their rostrums up, spy hopping, tail slapping, and lunging! One close pass had guests running from our starboard to port as the T65As swam right under the boat! T65A2 ooxja surfaced right along our port side tightly woven with his mother Artemis and sisters Callisto and Ellie, close enough to see the impressive wobble of his six-foot dorsal fin. Alcyon and Misneach surfaced next, followed by a calm breach from one of the young females only about fifty yards from the boat! Once these whales had cleared far enough away, we turned on our engines and slowly departed, waving goodbye to the T65As and T77s.
Rolling back up north, we got a look at a few sea lions competing for the golden spot on top of a marker. We also made a stop at smith island and got lucky enough to see a tufted puffin bobbing over the waves! We finished our adventure at south Lopez where we spotted pigeon guillemots, more harbor seals, nimble swallows darting over our heads to collect summer insects, and two massive bald eagles watching over the entire scene from high in the tree tops.
The sunshine and warm wind guided us back into the dock as we closed out another breathtaking, picture perfect day in the Salish sea.
-Amy
PM whale watch tour
Biggs Killer Whales: T36As
This afternoon we took a completely different route, turning north to try to track down an earlier report. We weaved up past Guemes island and into the outer island chain. Passing the Little Sisters wildlife refuge, we spied a few harbor seals enjoying the heat of the afternoon and a bald eagle using the rocks as a nice vantage point to scout the environment below. Continuing up into the straight of Georgia, we ran into the T36As! This matriline is lead by mother T36A Leland. Traveling with her were her calves, T36A1 Tierna, T36A2 Kailas, T36A3 Storm, and T36A5 born in 2021. Also traveling with this group was the newest member, rumored to be Tierna’s first calf, T36A1A born in 2022. This little youngster was so new they still had a tint of orange, marking a calf only a few months old.
This family was incredibly active at the surface with the most consecutive spy-hops and rostrum surfacings I’ve seen in a long time. With each re-oxygenation surfacing, at least one member of the family would almost always stick their faces above the surface to see what was going on. With the warmth of the afternoon sun and the postcard worthy backdrop of mount baker, this encounter could not have gotten any better. We hung out with this family for as long as we could, but with a long trek back home we soon needed to depart.
On our way home we slowed up for some rambunctious sea lions playing king of the hill on a marker off of Sinclair island. With golden hues and strings of purple lining the islands, we glided back into the dock. Hanging out with our Biggs Killer whales is always a treat, but it’s especially wonderful getting to know the new calves and the next generation of orca whales!
-Amy
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Island Adventures 