September is here and off to a very “September” start! The water has been calm, and the whales have been amazing as has the other wildlife. We saw killer whales on all 11 tours this week and had a few bonus humpbacks encounters as well.
This week we had visits from the T018, T049A, T109A, T099, T137, T036, and T060 families of orcas.
On Sunday evening’s tour we caught up with the T018 and T049A families of orcas, who have been traveling together an awful lot for the past couple of weeks. As we got on scene with them in the Wasp islands, they were seemingly in travel mode, working their way through this beautiful section of the San Juan Islands. But, as they came around Reef Island, there was an explosion in the water and we immediately recognized a couple of the youngsters were chasing birds! It was so funny (not funny for the birds!) to watch these little whales play with the poor birds, repeatedly tail slapping, grabbing them with their mouths, and even chasing them upside down. Little T049A6 “Charlie II” has developed quite the reputation for being such a curious, and playful little whale.
September is the best month of the year to go whale watching! Not necessarily because the whales are better or worse, but because the weather is typically calm, and the recreational boat traffic dies down quite a bit. If you’re considering an adventure, now is the time to do it and we hope to see you soon!
