Wildlife Update
This summer has been one of the best in terms of daily whale sightings around the islands. J, K and L pod have been here since early June and appear to be getting enough salmon to keep them here for the near future. Both of the newborns appear well along with some of the older whales such as Granny (J-2) who is approximately 90 years old. The younger males who last year were still juveniles have grown and spouted their dorsal fins and now look almost full grown. One young male in J pod, Blackberry, was unrecognizable to me when I first saw him this year. He grew and has a dorsal fin almost six feet tall now!
The salmon runs have been excellent this summer. There was a fishing derby at Deer Harbor Marina a couple of weeks ago with salmon being brought in weighing over 30 lbs. and not by only one boat. Most of the boats in the derby caught salmon.
We have noticed a sharp decline in sea birds this year, especially glaucous wing seagulls. I've heard the nesting sites here and along the coast have failed. If you are near the water take a look around and see if you see many gulls. It's interesting that gulls are a bird we kind of take for granted. They always seem to be everywhere, ready to take any opportunity for food whether it be organic or nonorganic. Not this year. Hopefully the population will make a rebound in years to come and this year is a rare occurrence and not a sign of trouble in the ecosystem.
An interesting sighting of late has been a couple of sea otters seen on the west side of San Juan Island as well as near Speiden Island. We've heard the sea otter is slowing making a comeback on the coast after being reintroduced there a few years ago. These otters must have wandered in, found what they like and have decided to stay, at least for the short term. It is a real treat to see such beautiful animals here again.
For the month of August our schedule remains the same, 9:30 AM and 2 PM trips from Deer Harbor Marina and Rosario Resort. There are courtesy phones outside our offices if no one is there. We now have a courtesy phone at Shearwater Kayak's office in Eastsound (thanks Jeff and Tom).
The salmon runs have been excellent this summer. There was a fishing derby at Deer Harbor Marina a couple of weeks ago with salmon being brought in weighing over 30 lbs. and not by only one boat. Most of the boats in the derby caught salmon.
We have noticed a sharp decline in sea birds this year, especially glaucous wing seagulls. I've heard the nesting sites here and along the coast have failed. If you are near the water take a look around and see if you see many gulls. It's interesting that gulls are a bird we kind of take for granted. They always seem to be everywhere, ready to take any opportunity for food whether it be organic or nonorganic. Not this year. Hopefully the population will make a rebound in years to come and this year is a rare occurrence and not a sign of trouble in the ecosystem.
An interesting sighting of late has been a couple of sea otters seen on the west side of San Juan Island as well as near Speiden Island. We've heard the sea otter is slowing making a comeback on the coast after being reintroduced there a few years ago. These otters must have wandered in, found what they like and have decided to stay, at least for the short term. It is a real treat to see such beautiful animals here again.
For the month of August our schedule remains the same, 9:30 AM and 2 PM trips from Deer Harbor Marina and Rosario Resort. There are courtesy phones outside our offices if no one is there. We now have a courtesy phone at Shearwater Kayak's office in Eastsound (thanks Jeff and Tom).
