May 15
A lovely, calm, sunny day on the water! From about 1:15pm to 2:15pm, we watched J- Pod very slowly swimming north across Open Bay, off of San Juan Island, against the ebbing tide. They were bunched up into 2 close, tight groups. A beautiful sight to see all those fins coming up together and one after another, with glimpses of J-44 & J-45 tucked in the middle. Their yellowy- orangey patches really stand out! The Orcas seemed to be resting, almost treading water in the same area for quite awhile, then there was some tail lobbing from a few trailing whales and a surprise flash of a "pink floyd"! Reports were of a few of K-Pod with J-Pod. At about 2pm they seemed to wake up, changed direction heading fairly fast south, then they all dove for a few minutes, came up, turned back north, picking up speed as they swam toward Stuart Island. I can only imagine the 'conversation' that took place in deciding the directional changes! Lots of rotund harbor seals sharing space with 3 adult & 2 young eagles- feeding on a fish- on Sentinel Rocks, further awing our visitors with the diversity of wildlife that call the Salish Sea home!
Caroline Armon, San Juan Excursions

May 15
Awesome day on the water, Friday May 15th. I was on a Zodiac and we encountered J pod in resting formation off Kellett Bluff, Henry Island at 12 noon. They were really bunched up together which was amazing to see. They headed slowly north against an ebbing tide. Conditions were fantastic. Saw Ruffles and Granny. Image is cropped in (see photo above) .
Marie . Orca-Magic Prince Of Whales

May 15
With the sun shining and the water sparkling, Captain Nancy, the other naturalist Tristen, a group of (as always) enthusiastic and eager guests, and I took off from Friday Harbor with the hopes of meeting up with J pod. To the excitement of guests, naturalists, and captains alike, J pod (the most resident pod [pod = family unit] from the Southern Resident Community) has been in the area almost every day for the past couple weeks. Captain Nancy heard word that the group was moving slowly up Henry Island. We arrived on scene between Henry and Stuart Island around 1:40 pm to find what appeared to be all of J pod moving in one tight knit group and travelling in a resting pattern. The group moved slowly along. They had no particular destination in mind, switching directions at will. Distinct members of the pod, like - J26 (Mike), J27 (Blackberry), J1 (Ruffles), the two babies (!), and J30 (Riptide), swam amongst the pod. All members made their appearance for the crowd of pleased guests. It was a wonderful afternoon for whale viewing due to the mild weather and calm waters. J pod also made the viewing pleasant because of their slow travel and tight knit group.
On the way back toward Friday Harbor we travelled alongside Speiden, stopping first at Sentinel Rock to glispe at an adult bald eagle and hauled out harbor seals. Grazing and meandering on Speiden's southside we saw a few fallow deer and quite a few herds of both male and female muflon sheep. In a tree overhanging the water in the middle of Speiden's southside shoreline we spotted a bald eagle watching over its nest, which has a chick in this season! We had a full array of wildlife to view today and all returned happy and worn out from a wildlife- packed afternoon!
Ashley Chapman, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris