“Phenomenal”, as my mother-in-law would say. Leaving the splendor of Yellow Island, we doubled back on a ferry report of orcas at Orcas Island. We found the T49A’s that we left at Darcy yesterday heading through Pole Pass. After a harbor seal snack, they made a straight line at speed for Green Pt. Long down time followed by explosion of surface activity and porpoising fleeing stellar sea lions. The T49A’s were then escorted along the southern edge of Spieden by tight groups of stellars roaring with mouths agape close to the rocks. Occasional flurries as the orcas ventured into their tight knit groups. The day ended with silhouetted orcas at sunset rounding Spieden pointed towards Johns Pass and the Cactus Islands lit by a full moon.
Lady Bird or Lady Bug on Buttercup
Indian Paintbrush, Blue Camas and Buttercups wildflowers of Yellow island
Wildflowers, Yellow island, Nature Conservancy, San juan Islands
T49As pass through the narrow Pole Pass of Orcas Island
T49As Deer Harbor Orcas Island
T49A4 and T49A3 and Wa State Ferry hunt Harbor seals near Wasp Pass
T49A1 hunting Harbor seals
Gull grabbing a snack of seal meat
T49A4 and T49A3 hunt Harbor seals, Yellow island
T49A3 with T49A Transient Orcas hunting harbor seals together
T49A1 and T49A4 racing towards Spieden Island and the Steller Sea Lions
The start of the attack on the sea lions
Sea lions fleeing from the T’s
Chasing after sea lions
T49A’s watched closely by the sea lions
Transient Orcas T49A’s watched closely by the sea lions, Speiden Island, San Juan Islands
T49A
T49A1
T49A with calf T49A4
T49A1
Orcas at Sunset
Orcas at sunset heading for Johns Pass
T49A3 with the setting sun
Another boring sunset in the San Juans
Full moon guiding us back to port